Summer 2016, for the first time in years, I took a full month off from work, except Mama duties. Mama duties are usually housework including preparing bento lunch for my daughter. But this summer I had to drive her to the nearby station and pick her up around midnight a few times a week for her dance gig rehearsals. Oh, boy! It was physically and financially demanding. I am so glad that I've got a job that can support her doing what she really loves. In Tokyo, you can get pretty much every product, but nothing is free of charge. Even maternal love can cost a high expectation. I have no question about the value of my daughter's presence on this planet. I believe she's got some missions to complete like I do. Not so many people are aware of their missions and she has not found it yet. But I have no question about she's here to share her precious life with people she loves. I'm not sure how big her mission is, but it is something unique and something Momo will love doing. When she does it, she would feel fulfilled and right. As a mum, my ultimate goal is to support her when she needs in order to find it, her mission or a purpose of her life if you like. But I admit I expect too much sometimes. I sometimes forget she is who she is. She is a unique individual. She is not me. We share so many common traits as human, yet she is not me. Especially when thigs are heck tick, I get stressed out and forget one of my essential missions in this life: Momo's mum. Someone who loves her unconditionally no matter what. I do love her but sometimes unconditional part can be distracted by my own ego or unreasonable expectations. I remember as a teen, wondering how come my own mum loves me unconditionally like my grandma did. Perhaps she did but she was worried about me and thus tried to overprotect me. This kind of behaviour can be mistaken as denial. It took me quite a while to get over or realise she does not deny my existence. So, for my daughter, I try to support her as much as possible without overprotecting her. I admit, I have not found the best middle ground between protections and freedom. All I can do is to hope that she will understand my intention. Perhaps she does and the birthday present she bought for me was a token that she understands my struggles and appreciate my presence in her life as well. Let me believe that. Let me indulge in the thought for a while since it is the end of summer.
Being a mum is such a challenging experience for me because I was spoilt as a kid and became very self-conscious, self-absorbed and self-destructive. Especially, the last trait got me in so many troubles and took me so long time to realise what my mission might be. Thanks to influential people in my earlier life, I became aware of the negative traits and tried to overcome them. I still have a lot of faults, yet a bit better than I used to be. On top of my personal struggles to be better, fulfilling mum's role is not so easy. I am far from my ideal mum who is so understanding and compassionate, yet fun to be around. The failure to be the ideal mum got me irritated and stressed out from time to time and ironically say and do something mean-spirited to my beloved daughter. I wish I could take a deep breath before I cast such words. Well, in spite of my faults, she is becoming a person who is capable of seeking the purpose of her life and doing her best to get it done. I am sure about this much more than before now.
Last night, in my car, as I drove her back home from her dance practice around midnight, I heard her mumbling, "Ah, it was a great summer." At the moment, I felt fulfilled. Such a moment empowers this silly mum to be the best she can.
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