A letter to the moms in my life

Today is Mother's Day and it is also my Mom's birthday, which makes it doubly difficult to be absent for the second year in a row. Instead, I am dying of a relentless heat and facing a reality that does not include water. The village well, for the first time ever, has run dry. Thank you climate change. But today, it's not about me, it's about moms.

Really, my mom only has herself to blame for me being here, so far from home. Had I had a more conventional, less passionate person for a role-model, I might have been content to stay where I was instead of pursuing a dream. Without her love of travel and other cultures, that deep-seeded curiosity and wonder that drove me out of the PNW may never have surfaced. And had it not been for her ability to face and conquer insurmountable challenges, I am not sure that I would have known how to summon my own inner strengths during the times when life has been less than ideal. So mom, it may your fault that I am not there today for brunch and a historical home tour, but I am truly grateful for that. These past two years have been difficult, but they also have been important, and amazing, and irreplaceable. And the good news is that soon I will be home, where I can continue being your stubborn, self-righteous, rigid daughter.

And then there is my sister, a mother as well as my best friend. I know she thinks me crazy for being here, but that has never stopped her from being there whenever I needed her and to listening to all my crazy stories and reading all my ranting, boring, and occasionally sentimental blogs. Like our own mother, she has met challenges that I don’t think I would have been able to face. Everyday she works towards being a better person and a better mother to my beautiful niece, whom I miss more than anything. I don’t think she knows how much I admire her for her strength.

And to all the mothers, thanks for raising some amazing people, especially the ones I have had the good fortune to know and work with closely. And if your child tells you one day that they want to run away from you two years to join the Peace Corps, chances are, you have only yourself to thank, and for that you should be proud.