Editor's Note : I picked this out from an email that was sent to me, and I'd like to share it with you. =)
EIGHT LIES OF A MOTHERThis story begins when I was a child: I was born
poor. Often we hadn't enough to eat. Whenever we had
some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice.
While she was transferring her rice into my bowl,
she would say 'Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry.'
This was Mother's First Lie.
As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in
a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish
she caught, she could give me a little bit more
nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught
just two fish, she would make fish soup. While I was
eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat
what was still left on the bone of the fish I had
eaten; My heart was touched when I saw it. Once I
gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she
immediately refused it and said, 'Eat this fish,
son! I don't really like fish.'
This was Mother's Second Lie.
Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to
a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes
which she filled with fresh matchsticks. This helped
her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry
night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes
by candlelight. So I said, 'Mother, go to sleep;
it's late: you can continue working tomorrow
morning.' Mother smiled and said 'Go to sleep, son!
I'm not tired.'
This was Mother's Third Lie
When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother
accompanied me. After dawn, Mother waited for me for
hours in the heat of the sun. When the bell rang, I
ran to meet her. Mother embraced me and poured me a
glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The
tea was not as strong as my Mother's love, Seeing
Mother covered with perspiration; I at once gave her
my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said
'Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!
This was Mother's Fourth Lie.
After Father's death, Mother had to play the role of
a single parent. She held on to her former job; she
had to fund our needs alone. Our family's life was
more complicated. We suffered from starvation.
Seeing our family's condition worsening, my kind
Uncle who lived near my house came to help us solve
our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw
that we were poverty stricken so they often advised
my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to
remarry saying 'I don't need love.'
This was Mother's Fifth Lie.
After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it
was time for my old Mother to retire but she carried
on going to the market every morning just to sell a
few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was
steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She
said, 'I have enough money.'
That was Mother's Sixth Lie.
I continued my part-time studies for my Master's
Degree. Funded by the American Corporation for which
I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a big jump
in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy
life in America but Mother didn't want to bother her
son; she said to me 'I'm not used to high living.'
That was Mother's Seventh Lie
In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had
to be hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean,
I went home to visit Mother who was bedridden after
an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was
heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble but
Mother said, 'Don't cry, son! I'm not in pain.'
That was Mother's Eighth Lie.
Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died.
YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL!
> > M - O - T - H - E - R
'M' is for the Million things she gave me,
'O' means Only that she's growing old,
'T' is for the Tears she shed to save me,
'H' is for her Heart of gold,
'E' is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them,
'R' means Right, and right she'll always be, Put
them all together, they spell 'MOTHER' a word that
means the world to me. For those of you who are
lucky to be still blessed with your Mom's presence
on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who
aren't so blessed, this is even more beautiful.
