Today, 54 years ago

My dear mother, late father,
papa Deki and kids,

These photos may not be the best photos we have ever had. But they are the the best I like, among the others.

Photos help us keep the memories of important events, love, celebrations, happy as well as unhappy moments.

I just wanted to let you know today, the same day I was born 54 years ago, how much I have owed my mother and late father for the life you gave me. The day you found baby me as small as a beer bottle as the results of my premature birth.

I was born Lie Tho Nio
(Very Hokkien name!)
The name was given by my grandpa
from my father's side

I may not even have been born alive with the poor condition. But who knows, the Divine Power above and possibly the good karma I had accumulated in some previous lives in the past allowed me to try to cry, to feel the fresh air I tried to breathe, and to enjoy the warmth of my parents arms of love holding my so-tiny newborn body. It was May 20th 1955, and it was such an auspicious day for me. Having been born to my parents and the family I grew up with, I never lived in the dearth of love, care, and affection. My parents showed me their love in their own ways; they gave me things I would need before I asked from them; they comforted me with their soothing words when I was in pain; and despite all convenience, they made my life so complete with valuable warnings, advice and reminder they gave so I would stay on the path they had showed me. They did this fully for my own sake, for my own future.

Giving them a Silver Anniversary Surprise

Mother ---

Who suffered the most when I was born?
Who took care of my personal needs the most
when I went to school?
Who stayed at my side the whole night and day
when I fell ill and inconvenient?
Who taught me how to be a refined woman,
good wife, and good mother?
Who got my wedding well-prepared,
took my hand and showed me
what a marriage would be like?
Who has never stopped worrying about me
even now when I am 54 years of age?

not-so-clear but very precious picture to me!
They wanted nothing from me
but a happy daughter.
a happy wife,
a happy mother
and later.. a happy grandmother-to-be

When we were much younger.
Mother had always been
the first one I turned to, to share things with.

Thank you, dear mother and father
for having made me what I am now.

Some people said, we were so blessed with a pair of children, boy and girl. That is actually what married couples want for children, I heard.
Thank you, papa, for the pair you gave me. I may not have been the best wife or mother, but for the last 27 years at least I have tried my best to be one.

We are getting old now. We cannot even hide the white strands of our hair, the "doubling" of our sizes, the wrinkles of our skin all over the body, and lately, our degrading memory system performance which seems to start troubling us.

But that doesn't change anything between us. It's not exaggerating if I say that the only change I feel is that I love you more than I did you in our first 20 years of marriage! You don't have to believe my words. Just see how I want to stay by your side more, to never stop sharing things with you, to take care of your meals, your clothes, everything... especially when you are not around like today, when you are somewhere else on duty. I want you to tell me to do something for you or you ask if you can help me do something for you.






Thank you, papa Deki. You have been with me for this long, and I still want to be with you and the kids, much much much longer. The years have been good to us, sure, with ups and downs. And as you are nearly 55 and that I am now 54, we will continue to love, support and take care of each other the way we have always done.

Thank you for being the responsible and caring father for our children regardless what they think of how your ways of teaching them should have been like.







Thank you, my dear kids. You have done your best to reach your goal, with pain and suffering.
Thank you for being the first persons I am always worrying about because that means you always allow me to love you. And know that LOVE is the only thing I can give you, and support you with.

I Love You ALL !!

Hari Ibu

Di setiap negara, Hari Ibu dirayakan pada waktu yang berbeda dan dengan maksud yang berbeda pula. Selain ada yang secara tradisional, ada pula yang merayakan Hari Ibu secara modern. Tetapi maknanya sama, yaitu: Menghormati arti seorang ibu dan mengungkapkan cinta anak kepada ibunya.

"Berbakti kepada orangtua sama dengan
memberi teladan kepada anak"
(~Master Cheng Yen~)

Mamie Bertha

Ide

Tante Betty

(Foto-foto dibuat oleh Oom saya tercinta, Suherman,
pada peringatan hari perkawinan emas
ema dan engkong, tahun '77 .
Terimakasih, Oom, sudah mengabadikan
peristiwa yang penuh arti bagi saya pribadi)

5.4.09

Happy birthday to you!

Thank you for being my mother,
someone who gave birth to me,
nurtured me with your loving hands,
and protected me from harm.

Thank you for always
standing beside me
and trying not to let me fall.

And when I happened to fall
you were always there
to catch me and told me that I'd be alright.

It's true that this body is my own
but it was you who gave birth to
So when I am in pain
you feel the pain even more
than I myself do

It seems like you love me
more than you love yourself.
You worry about me
more than you do about yourself.

Thank you for being my mother,
for your endless affection,
your endless care.


How can I repay?

May you be happy
May you be free from
physical and mental sufferings
May your interesting life
continue to go on
May your loved ones
stay close to you
and help you see
how much you mean to them.


Happy birthday, mother,
many many more to come!

I Have So Much to Say
about My Dear Parents

But no words can depict their kindness
and their hardship.

Nothing I own can repay their love,
their tears and their sacrifice

They love me
more than they love themselves

They have served their duties
to my upbringing
and made me what I am now.

Father...

Today I was missing you so much

Sometimes you come to my dreams.

You speak like you used to speak

You laugh like you used to laugh

I can still see you drink your coffee

and smoke your cigarettes...

I can even almost feel your presence

every time I long to see you

like today... when I was missing you so much.

May you be happy in your present life

May everyone who holds you dear to their hearts

know that you will always let

the pleasant memories of you live on.

Thank you,
my precious mother,
for your examples

I learned that
without you, I would not have become a girl
comprehending what a girl should be like.

I would not have understood
that being a wife to her husband
is not only to stay by his side
and give him children.

But more than that,
a wife should enjoy loving
and caring for the husband
and the people he loves

A wife rejoices
even when her husband doesn't have
anything to give but his Love

A wife takes care of the love, faith,
and honour, her husband has given her
and she should become someone in his life
worth loving and respecting
till death separates them.



I'm lucky, I'm your daughter

Mom

Each line of the wrinkles on your face
tells of the long stories of love and pain.

They tell of the abundance of
your love and compassion
to nurture your kids
every minute of your day and night.

They tell of millions of
worries about your kids' wellbeing
instead of your own.

They tell of
the pain of raising your kids
without letting them know it verbally.

The wrinkles tell the story of
how much you dreamed of
getting your kids to the gate
to walk on their own roads safely.

The wrinkles say a lot of things
a mother always does,
wants, prays, hopes, and wishes
for her kids to live a good life
and to be someone
that others can trust and respect

Thank you, mom,
for the wrinkles on your face






@>------>-----------------

Aku baru mengetahuinya...

Bila tubuhku sakit karena penyakit,
tubuh ibuku lebih sakit lagi.

Bila aku menangis sedih,
di dalam hatinya, ibuku pasti menangis
lebih sedih lagi.

Bila orang lain menghinaku,
ibuku merasa lebih terhina.

Aku baru mengetahuinya
justru setelah aku menjadi seorang ibu!

A million memories
in the making.
The precious companions
on the path of life.

To me, parents were
the first people I could lean on
and learn from,
A reflection of love,
a source of wisdom,
loving advice,
and kind encouragement,

(photos: my parents when they were young ~
father was a heavy smoker!
He had to go through a difficult time
with his heart and kidney failure)


I was very lucky,
the last few months of his life,
I could stay where he was,
be at his side, and take him
any where he wanted to go

A million memories of him
are still alive
making me smile remembering
what a special father and friend
he had been to me!



me myself, suffering from
the hyperthyroidism that
totally changed me physically.

There is no love
as noble and selfless
as the love of a father and a mother

(Master Cheng Yen)

Mom
with Doret Kollerer

Still remember Doret and her dog, GUY,
sweet, obedient, cute..?

I know you and Doret
would have shared a lot verbally
if either you spoke English
or she spoke Indonesian

But what Doret did for us
was more loving and caring
than any languages in the world
could express

If there are words that can describe her,
then they are
METTA, KARUNA and MUDITA
are the best to do it!

@>------->---------------------

Foto Jadul...

Cantik ya, mamaku ini?



Pernah beliau mengeluh
karena rambutnya sudah memutih
dan kulitnya sudah berkerut
dimakan usia.

Lalu beliau bilang,
"Aduh, sudah tua, bungkuk dan jelek begini,
malu kalau lihat foto sekarang!"

Saya jawab,
saya bahagia melihat foto-fotonya
yang bungkuk, dengan segala garis tua
di wajah dan seluruh tubuhnya,
karena DIAlah ibuku!
Kalau yang tampak di foto sekarang
masih tampak seperti beliau waktu muda,
maka saya akan berteriak...
"No, No, No, she is not my mother!"

:))


Biar udah berkerut dan beruban,
dibanding anaknya, ibuku ini masih tampak
jauh lebih cantik.. hehe

Being my mother

you always want to give
the best love to your children quietly, secretly,
like the wide, deep, blue sea
that holds everything in it,
giving them life, and taking care of them.

A mother is

a teacher
who helps her children
to learn about life
and points them in the right direction,
letting them make their own mistakes
and then helping them pick up
the pieces afterwards

Happy Mother's Day

@>------>-------------

Hari Onde/Tang Ce/Dong Zhi

Sebenarnya peringatan datangnya musim dingin itu hanya berlaku di Cina, tempat tanah leluhur kita. Namun ada satu yang membuat saya amat terkesan oleh ibuku ini..... Baktinya kepada orangtua dan leluhur yang terus dipeliharanya, dari muda hingga sekarang.

Tang Ce, tradisi (dan engga ada hubungannya sama agama) yang dimaksudkan sebagai acara berkumpulnya keluarga dalam menyambut awal musim dingin (di negara leluhur), masih dilestarikan di keluarga kami. Ini semua berkat ibuku yang penuh bakti kepada leluhurnya.

Sudah banyak orang yang melupakan tradisi ini, atau sama sekali tidak mau menjalankannya karena mereka pikir itu menyalahi aturan dalam agama mereka, atau menganggapnya superstitious. Saya dan keluarga sudah sepantasnya bersyukur, masih bisa terus mengingat jasa kakek-nenek serta leluhur dengan cara ini. Berbakti kepada orangtua dan leluhur bisa dengan cara apa saja, termasuk melestarikan tradisinya.

22 Desember 2008

National History Museum, Taipei

Happy Mother's Day

The bond between mother and child
creates a support that is constant
while everything else changes

Being a mother

takes a hard time
to teach her kids
to always focus
on something they have planned
so that success will come
their way

Happy Mother's Day 22 December 2008

The Wonder of Motherhood

Ketika kecil dan aku terjatuh,
sekali dua kali, engkau akan mengangkatku,
dan mengusap-usap bagian tubuhku
yang terasa sakit, sambil sekali-kali meniupnya.
Tetapi kemudian ketika aku jatuh lagi,
engkau akan memberiku kesempatan
untuk belajar berdiri sendiri
agar aku tahu bahwa sehati-hati apapun
aku bisa saja terjatuh,
namun yang penting, aku tahu
apa yang harus kulakukan,
karena di dunia ini tidak selalu
memberi rasa aman dan nyaman.

Itulah kasih ibu sesungguhnya!
That's the wonder of motherhood!
Thank you, mother,
for all the lessons you wanted me to learn.

Every advice you give
means all your love to me

It takes someone special to be a mother
Happy Mother's Day
22-December-2008