mom of the year award...

I have been given this award by my blogging sister, Raden Galoh, who thinks I deserve it.

She has also given the same award to my sister, Nuraina, who certainly deserves it more than me. Nuraina has brought up her two children remarkably well. They are so sweet and well-mannered. And smart too. Nineteen-year-old Adel Hakim and his sister, Shaira, 16, are bloggers like their mom whom they absolutely adore!

Thank you Raden. Am honoured but rasa a little malulah because there are more deserving mothers out there. I am really puzzled as to how I have qualified as a recipient of this virtual award.

To those who do not know me, I am not a young mother struggling to balance career and motherhood. But as they say "I've been there and done that". I am, in fact, a grandmother of three. My two “kids” have grown up. Jasmine is 36 and Jehan, 31, and both are married with children of their own.

Anyway, the award comes with a set of rules:

1. Admit one thing you feel awful about (involving being a mom).
2. List 7 things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you
3. Send this to 5 other moms of the year that deserve a reminder that they too are the best moms that they can be.

Here goes:

Admit one thing you feel awful about (involving being a mom)

Guilt is the biggest thing that every working mother has to contend with – for not being with your children when you feel they need you most and not spending enough time with them. You want to be the best in your career and at the same time the best mother. Am always in awe of mothers who succeed in being both.

Did I feel awful being a working mom and away from them (when they were young)? Yes, sometimes. A little guilty - for missing out in their lives while they were growing up. The thing is I really liked my job - as a journalist - despite the crazy schedule and the crazy hours.

But my children adjusted well into my routine and accepted the fact that their mom worked crazy hours. What kept me going was the family support that I had. I am grateful to my late mom. She was a mother of 10 who single-handedly brought us up to be what we are today and helped me raise my daughter, Jasmine, who is a mother of my eldest grandson, nine-year-old Adam.

I have also 72-year-old Mak Cik Halimah to thank for. We employed her to take care of my second daughter, Jehan, 31 years ago when she was two weeks old and I was in confinement. She was a mother to Jehan, taking care of her and loving her while I was at work. I knew Jehan was well-loved and in good hands. That was what mattered most. I have never considered Mak Cik Limah an outsider. She is still with us. In fact, we count her as part of the family.

2. List 7 things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. (Tak payah tujuh. Satu cukuplah. List panjang sangat nanti macam puji anak sendiri)

What can I say? They are special in their own way. If I am going to be honest, the only thing I can say is that I love everything about them. Everything ...warts and all.

3. Send this to 5 other moms of the year that deserve a reminder that they too are the best moms that they can be.

I don’t know that many moms in the blogsphere. But since we are celebrating the International Women’s Day today, I am dedicating this Award to All mothers.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a stay-at-home-mom or a working mom. You’re still a mother!