Happy Birthday amma!

Amma. Loving, supportive and totally huggable! A powerhouse of inner strength, a die-hard optimist, an epitome of 'Laugh and be happy, no matter what the situation'.  As I age, I realize more and more how strong a woman my mother is and when I compare my college education , my work experience to her worldly wise ways, I am nowhere close to her. Being the home maker that she always has been she has at various times added quite a varied and colorful experience to her kitty. She has sewn blouses for some people in our neighborhood, she used to sell bedspreads and bedsheets out of our house. She single handedly oversaw the construction of our house along with managing all household chores and 3 children. My father's entire universe was his work. My mother paid bills, made all home related purchases, took care of our needs. I remember vividly, we used to live in this complex with 8 houses. There was an electric motor to pump water from a well to 2 overhead tanks from where all houses received their tap water. Most of the time that motor would not function properly. My mother would use a wrench and pry a tube open. Then feed water into it to fill the air gap and then screw the cap back on. Every single time the motor would stop working , which was very frequently, it was only my mother who took it upon herself to fix this. When even that didn't help, we'd go back to drawing water from the well with rough, braided thick ropes. I've drawn water from the well and seen my mom do it until I was 15 or 16. For a really long long time until I started my undergrad, my mother washed all our clothes on an old fashioned stone slab.
She worked briefly sewing and doing quality control at a Garments exports factory that her friend had newly started. Every stint she had to go out of the house to work, she beamed with happiness. She worked extra hard to cook, clean and run errands during these spells. Nobody forced her to work outside the house. In fact we all loathed it. I've been spoilt by a stay-at-home mom, in that, the one or two odd days that she ever had something important to do and I had to get our house keys from a neighbor's house after school, I was angry, teary eyed and very resentful. Nothing screamed 'NORMAL' more than my mother opening the door when I got back from school.
    When we moved into our own house, there was a B.Ed college on the same street and  an associated hostel. My mother ran a small stationary business out of her house. That didn't go too well. But she built a huge network of friends with the students and teachers. One time when they were looking for an office admin, her short-hand and typing skills came in handy and she worked there for almost a year. We frowned and she gushed with glee. Now I can understand how important it was for her to get out at least for a few hours and discover herself beyond her domestic duties.
 During all times in my life that I've felt low or under-confident she always lifted my spirits, she has a great outlook on life. No matter what stress or difficulty she's in, she chooses to be grateful and look at the less fortunate. She's very fun-loving and is a friend of my friends, my sisters' friends, and my daughter's friends. She is way more open-minded, understanding and accomodating than I am at my age. She learnt to use the computer to email and chat, effortlessly. Whereas my electrical engineer dad is still reluctant to make the computer his friend. Adaptable, resourceful and easy going - you could put her anywhere on this planet and she'll be fine.
She travelled alone from Bangalore to san Francisco and then from here to Toronto with a stop over in Vegas. In Toronto she spent 20 days with me sans TV/ cell phone/computer. I worked without taking a day off and she happily lived her days reading a few books and taking long walks. Evenings and weekends I'd take her out. We watched 'Bend it like Beckham' and she loved it. We visited downtown Toronto and Niagara over the weekend , what a beautiful mommy-and-me time it was!
  If an optimist says, the glass is half-full, my mother would pour the water into a smaller glass and call it 'completely full'. Her cup always runneth over!  Whether you take her on a hike or to some friend's house, whether it's to the temple , for bowling or to try a different cuisine - the enthusiasm is the same. And if you cancel after discussing all of this as you have to work late, no problem. She'd await me at home with food, a smile and something to laugh about.
Never complaining, always happy, kind and considerate even to strangers; Quick to forget, quicker to forgive - I don't know how she does it!
Amma, there's none like you or will ever be! Happy Birthday!