Everyone wants happiness. Everyone needs happiness and everyone has his/her own happiness. We have different definitions of happiness. Some define it on the things they own, to the things they love, the situation they have been and some define it on how the people around treat them. For you how you define happiness?
Well my mom has her own happiness. She is a mom that is not perfect but giving her best to us -her family. She is 64 years old now very healthy and hardworking. She wakes up early in the morning to pray together with my father. As early as 5:00 a.m in the morning she cooks food for us especially for father and brother who has different jobs. She prepares the table and the food that would brother and father would bring, she serves with smile and enthusiasm. After father and brother would leave the house around 7:00 o'clock, she feeds the chickens in the backyard and Sweeps the dry leaves that had fallen in the yard, then collects the laundry and starts washing them with bare hands. I actually offer her to buy a washing machine but she refuses. She happily wash the clothes and hang them in the clothes line. Around 10:00 o'clock she is done washing the clothes and start to fill all the container of water since water is not available in the house. After filling them, she sit for awhile and lit her tabbaco which she prefers to be covered with banana leaf. Minutes pass, around 11:00 o'clock she starts to prepare lunch. After preparing lunch and having lunch at around 12:00 in the afternoon. She lay down for awhile. I don't know if she really is sleeping or just thinking. She then get up and prepare herself for getting some firewood. Around 3:00 in the afternoon, she start chopping the woods and arrange it in the fireplace. Sometimes during Saturday father do the chopping. But part of her household chores is chopping and putting them in the fire place. After putting all the chopped woods she feeds the chicken for dinner and starts to prepare food for our dinner. When father and brother arrived in the house, together we ate dinner. We talk and ask how's everyones' day. Telling stories and throws funny jokes. After eating mother clean the kitchen and prepares to sleep. She always ask me to put some oil on her back to ease her back pains due to all day chores. And sleep soundly after. The next day, and all other days of her life was like that, as far as I could remember.
One day I ask her if she is tired and even ask he that she is no longer obliged to do things for us especially washing the clothes because we are not young anymore and still can manage to cook even on busy works. But she told me the most amazing thing that I wasn't expecting to hear.
"As a mother of 4, this has been my life, and even my world. If you take this -washing, cooking and cleaning the house from me, this means I am no longer your mother. This means I am useless and And this means you no longer needs me. This means my life ends because this is my life. And I no longer consider this as responsibilities, I consider this as my happiness. I am happy as I wash your clothes and see you clean, smell good and comfortable. I am happy seeing you ate the food I prepared. I am happy serving, doing this household chores. Please don't take this away from, just this things. This makes me happy everyday" she said.
I was dumbfounded of the truth of what she says. I couldn't explain what I felt that moment and what to react. I just smiled at her and promise to give as she wish.
On that day onward I always compliments her whatever she does for us. I don't care what people might think but that's her happiness, taking care of us, I shouldn't have taken that away, her happiness, her life from her. I just always appreciate her and remind her to never be to hard to herself and rest sometimes, to change clothes when she is sweating. And eat what she wants to eat. In that way she will be more than happy. Let us appreciate how mother is important but never forget also that her happiness is simple and pure. Cherished her, give her her happiness.
