The Mother in Christchurch...

Dear journal,


"I will bring you home," said the mother of one of the nurses who was among the casualties in the recent earthquake in New Zealand.

As I watched her on TV, I felt her emotions as she weakly wiped the tears on her cheeks. Though I saw that there was still this hint of hope in her eyes that her daughter is still alive, I know that she has also somehow prepared herself for the other possibility.

I have been through a hearthbreak before, too, but I know that the ache that I felt back then is incomparable to the pain of a mother who has just lost a son or a daughter. I may not have experienced it and I will never experience it because I am not a mother and I will never be one, but at least I can recognize what they're feeling. And my empathy goes to every single one of them.

Carrying a human being inside you for months is a major task that only great people can do. Some not so great people have done the job, too, and you can't actually judge the difference. It is because the true basis of motherhood is not how a woman delivers a baby, but is actually how she raises her child. It is based on the kind of values that her child has, the principles that he practices, and the beliefs that he has on his faith.

The scene of the mother crying probably affected me because I love my mother so much. Like most of you, I wouldn't wish such fate into myself and to my mother.

In May of 2008, I wrote an essay for my mom. Here's an excerpt.

She is the most special girl in my life next to no one. For the 3 years that I have been away, there was not a single moment that I felt that she was not there. Her presence in me was so strong that I did not need her to be with me physically, for just the thought of her brought me her hugs and kisses from accross the seas. And now that I am with her again, I take this opportunity to show her how much she means to me.

She is the one who really completes me. She is the reason why I am here, and I shall be grateful for that forever. Some people say that they are ready to die for others so that they may call themselves "noble." I say, I am willing to live all my life just to make my mother's life noble. Because for me, mothers deserve much nobility like that of a hero. Because my mother? Yes, she is my hero.
Remember, lightning could strike anytime...