by Alison | Oct 6, 2011 | Childhood, Family, Life Lesson, Malaysia
Image used with permission from E By Elaine
When I think back on my childhood memories, I see moments — like it’s on a patchwork quilt.
I am two. My second brother pushes me, and I fall and land on our pet dog, Rufus. Sweet, gentle Rufus turns his head as I land, then growls and snaps at my ear. I remember being horrified and offended at the same time. At my brother. Lesson learned – watch where you fall, little one.
I am two and a half. I sit proudly with my baby sister in my lap. I smile at her, she’s my new doll. Except she moves, and gurgles! I’ve never loved anything or anyone more. Lesson learned – sisters are awesome.
I am four. In kindergarten, a bigger girl pushes me off the swing. I shrug, walk to the sand pit and start digging with a little spade, pouring sand into a bucket. She comes over, snatches the spade off me, throws it. Outwardly, I shrug. Inwardly, my four-year old self holds a deep-seated grudge that would last for over 20 years. Lesson learned – forgive and forget.
I am six. Running, screaming from my second brother (again) wham! Right temple makes contact with a wall, sneakily hiding behind a thick curtain. Six-year old head splits, blood spills and a scar forms, forever reminding me of this lesson learned – watch where you’re going, literally and metaphorically. You never know what’s behind that curtain.
I am seven. My nanny and the housekeeper, who’s looked after me since I was born (I was told) is leaving. There are tears. From my mother. She told me years later she was terrified of having to look after 4 children all by herself. She couldn’t even cook. Lesson learned – never, ever depend on just one person. Also? Learn to cook.
I am eight. My parents are out for the night, leaving us kids with my 13 year old brother in charge. He slights me in a manner which I can’t recall now. I threaten to tell my father. I do. I hear yelling, then screaming. He’s being belted. I lie in bed and whimper, thinking how much trouble I’m now in with my brother. Lesson learned – don’t be a telltale.
I am ten. Standing behind my second brother (yet again), who’s holding a lit match, balancing on the bathtub, as he lights the old-fashioned water heater. A swift turn of the body, a lit match goes straight into my eye – fortunately, my reflexes are faster than my screams. Result, a burned eyelid and no lasting effects. Lesson learned – stay away from your sibling who seems to attract danger.
I am twelve. Teetering on the edge of puberty. I pick a fight with my younger sister, ten. It’s a battle of hair pulling, scratching and arm biting. Result? I get blamed and punished. Lesson learned – older siblings are supposed to know better.
What lessons did you learn from your childhood?
This has been an original post to World Moms Blog by Alison Lee in Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia. She can also be found blogging at Mama Wants This!
Photo credit (with permission) to E By Elaine.
Alison is a former PR professional turned stay-at-home mother to two boys. Growing up in a small city of Ipoh, Malaysia, Alison left home at 17 to pursue her studies in the big city of Kuala Lumpur. At 19, she headed to University of Leeds in England and graduated with a degree in Communications. Returning home to Malaysia in 1999, she began a 10-year career in public relations, event planning, and marketing, working for various PR agencies and one of the world's biggest sports brands. After a decade of launch parties and product launches, concerts and award shows, international press junkets and world travel, Alison traded all that in for a life as a first time mother in 2009, and has not looked back since. Aside from writing for her blog, Writing, Wishing, Alison is the Founder and chief social media strategist for Little Love Media.
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by Twinmom112 (USA) | Sep 27, 2011 | Family, Life Lesson, Motherhood, USA
While growing up, I never knew I was “different.” OK, I knew that my household wasn’t exactly the Brady Brunch, but I had no idea how “different” I truly was.
As a little girl, I was certain about only a handful of things: 1) my father was always present, my mother was not. 2) My father easily forgave us, my mother did not. 3) My father always remembered the things I needed, my mother did not.
My mother was an alcoholic. Ahhh yes, I said it. No shame … no embarrassment … at age “thirty-something,” it is just a fact. (more…)
Born on the West Coast, my parents quickly came back to their roots on the East Coast, and so the “Jersey Girl” stigma was put upon me. I spent the first part of my childhood in Northern New Jersey – but eventually settled in Central Jersey, where I will live for the next 25 years! Even branching out to attend college at West Virginia University – I still found myself surrounded by “Jersey” – some things you just can’t get away from!
I was married at 27, and my husband and I transitioned from New Jersey to Pennsylvania. After building our house and getting acclimated to our “new home,” starting a family was definitely our next step. Unfortunately, we never anticipated the journey we would embark on. For the next 3 years, our introduction to the world of infertility was something that we never expected! Growing-up, I just assumed that when I was “ready” to be a mother … I would. Something greater than me had other plans!
After an intense time of highs and lows – we got the greatest news ever! On May 24th, 2005 it was confirmed – parenting twins would be the next stage of our lives. And so it began…I never imaged, for one second, I would be the mother to twin daughters! Today, like most parents, “juggling” is a word I use often! I attempt to “juggle” my full-time job as the Sales and Marketing Director for a catering venue with my job as a mother.
Together with my husband and our families – we make it work! I am so proud to be a part of World Moms Blog. I believe that the lessons I can learn from other mothers are invaluable. I couldn’t be happier to be a part of such a wonderful community of mothers!
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by Maureen | Sep 22, 2011 | Bilingual, Family, International, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Scoops of Joy, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
At the moment I’m living in Jakarta the capital city of Indonesia. Having both parents from different Indonesian ethnic backgrounds plus spending large chunks of my life living around remote mining areas of Indonesia, it’s always tough when people ask where I really came from so in short, I am Indonesian. When I was married, I used to live in upstate- New York and in a small town called Dothan in Alabama before moving to China for a couple of months. I’ve been back in Indonesia permanently since 2009.
What language(s) do you speak?
Indonesian and English although I speak a tiny – emphasis tiny – bit of Dutch and if it can even be counted, I can say a few lines in Mandarin, courtesy of being there for a little bit.
When did you first become a mother?
I became a mother 5 weeks earlier than my initial due date thanks to my severe pre-eclampsia. My son was born on December 7, 2006 from an emergency c-section after a whole month of being bed ridden. (more…)
by Salma (Canada) | Sep 21, 2011 | Adoption, Canada, Inspirational, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Salma
How do you gain your children’s trust …how do you keep that trust?
Years ago, while working in a busy hostel, I met a young woman who was addicted to crack cocaine. Amira was 2 years old, and Iman was 4. I was a young mom, who knew little about everything, but wanted to save the world.
I was very afraid for her son, A, who was 6 months old at the time, a little sweetheart with two little teeth that flashed when he smiled up at me for the first time from his stroller.
In my chosen field (of work), words like crack, HIV, suicide, poverty, and prostitution were repeated so many times, that it became something that we took for granted. What wasn’t mentioned and discussed was that there were “mothers” who were in this situation. Mothers who were going through all of these things with their children watching on. (more…)
An Imperfect Stepford Wife is what Salma describes herself as because she simply cannot get it right. She loves decorating, travelling, parenting,learning, writing, reading and cooking, She also delights in all things mischievous, simply because it drives her hubby crazy.
Salma has 2 daughters and a baby boy. The death of her first son in 2009 was very difficult, however, after the birth of her Rainbow baby in 2010 (one day after her birthday) she has made a commitment to laugh more and channel the innocence of youth through her children. She has blogged about her loss, her pregnancy with Rainbow, and Islamic life.
After relocating to Alberta with her husband in 2011 she has found new challenges and rewards- like buying their first house, and finding a rewarding career.
Her roots are tied to Jamaica, while her hubby is from Yemen. Their routes, however, have led them to Egypt and Canada, which is most interesting because their lives are filled with cultural and language barriers. Even though she earned a degree in Criminology, Salma's true passion is Social Work. She truly appreciates the beauty of the human race. She writes critical essays on topics such as feminism and the law, cultural relativity and the role of women in Islam and "the veil".
Salma works full-time, however, she believes that unless the imagination of a child is nourished, it will go to waste. She follows the philosophy of un-schooling and always finds time to teach and explore with her children. From this stance, she pushes her children to be passionate about every aspect of life, and to strive to be life-long learners and teachers. You can read about her at Chasing Rainbow.
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by Fiona Biedermann (Australia) | Sep 19, 2011 | Family, Grandparent, Inspirational, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Oceania, Parenting
I feel too young to be a nana. Nanas or grandmas, whatever you choose to call them, are old and grey – in my mind anyway. My grandmothers were both old and grey, and I loved them both dearly when they were alive.
One was a “nanny” and one was a “jonnie” (a name that stuck when one of my cousins was unable to pronounce grandma). One lived in Portland,Oregon in the USA, and the other lived on the east coast of Australia. In other words, they were both long distance grandparents. I hated that they were both so far away.
I became a nani on the 27th June of this year, yet I don’t feel old, and I’m not grey (a few strands don’t count do they?). (more…)
Fiona at Inspiration to Dream is a married mother of three amazing and talented MM’s (mere males, as she lovingly calls them) aged 13, 16 and 22, and she became a nana in 2011!
She believes she’s more daunted by becoming a nana than she was about becoming a mother! This Aussie mother figures she will also be a relatively young nana and she’s not sure that she’s really ready for it yet, but then she asks, are we ever really ready for it? Motherhood or Nanahood. (Not really sure that’s a word, but she says it works for her.)
Fiona likes to think of herself as honest and forthright and is generally not afraid to speak her mind, which she says sometimes gets her into trouble, but hey, it makes life interesting. She’s hoping to share with you her trials of being a working mother to three adventurous boys, the wife of a Mr Fix-it who is definitely a man’s man and not one of the ‘sensitive new age guy’ generation, as well as, providing her thoughts and views on making her way in the world.
Since discovering that she’s the first blogger joining the team from Australia, she also plans to provide a little insight into the ‘Aussie’ life, as well. Additionally, Fiona can be found on her personal blog at Inspiration to Dream.
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by Maman Aya (USA) | Sep 12, 2011 | 9/11, Life Lesson, Motherhood, USA
I know that this is a blog about moms and being moms (and this is my first post)…. but this is a story of me, before I was a mom or a wife, while I was still just my mother’s daughter.
It was the worst day in my life, 10 years ago, on September 11, 2001. There was the worst attack on US soil!
I was at work that morning, in the World Trade Center (building #4, which was one of the smaller buildings along the edge of the Twin Towers). (more…)
Maman Aya is a full-time working mother of 2 beautiful children, a son who is 6 and a daughter who is two. She is raising her children in the high-pressure city of New York within a bilingual and multi-religious home.
Aya was born in Canada to a French mother who then swiftly whisked her away to NYC, where she grew up and spent most of her life. She was raised following Jewish traditions and married an Irish Catholic American who doesn’t speak any other language (which did not go over too well with her mother), but who is learning French through his children. Aya enjoys her job but feels “mommy guilt” while at work. She is lucky to have the flexibility to work from home on Thursdays and recently decided to change her schedule to have “mommy Fridays”, but still feels torn about her time away from her babies. Maman Aya is not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, but has been drawn in by the mothers who write for World Moms Blog. She looks forward to joining the team and trying her hand at writing!
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