Mother's love

(Baonghean) - A new day, I woke up earlier than usual. At that time, at home, my mother was also up, busying around in the yard or in the kitchen, cooking a pot of pig feed, frying rice for my father and leaving a pot of green tea next to the stove.

I will wake up and start morning exercises to feel refreshed. I scoop a cup of water and lightly water the medicinal plants. They are sprouting yellow buds that gradually turn green. How hard it was for my mother to go all over the winding roads of my hometown to get a rootless sapling. My mother planted a bush in front of the house, and another bush in the rice field across the street. It grows wildly in hidden corners. My mother said that this variety is easy to grow and good-natured, easy to eat, and if you eat it often, you will become addicted. Before going to school, I worked hard to make a fake pot to take with me. I planted it in the dormitory's drying yard and took care of it every day. Partly in the hope that it would cure my illness. Also to ease my longing for my family and my mother. After that, I dressed neatly and went to have breakfast. My mother still told me: "If you don't eat breakfast, your memory will be bad. Breakfast is the most important meal, don't skip it." But at home, my mother always skips breakfast. No wonder she has trouble remembering things. She always blames it on "being old".

Illustration photo - Internet

You know, Mom, I also neatly arranged the bookcases and wardrobes. Mom always told me that girls should not be sloppy, it would easily become a bad habit, and later when I got married, I would be scolded, it was a pity. At those times, I just smiled: "Mom, don't worry, I'm not getting married." But the truth is, I always feel sad because I think that one day when I get married far away, Mom will have to wait for me even in my dreams. Mom often sighs, I'm married far away. Who knows when...

Mom, I have to learn to eat things that I never thought I could eat. Bitter melon is very bitter, but Mom said eating it is good for your health. Mom said to take a nap, sleep less, if you don't sleep you will be tired, and when you do things in the afternoon you are often not clear-headed. I always remember what Mom said, but sometimes studying doesn't give me time to rest. If Mom knew, Mom would be very sad. But life is so busy that sometimes we can't do the things we want, and sometimes I am the same. I started the second half of Vu Lan holiday by going to the library to read books. The pages of books took me to many strange lands. And I wish that one day Mom could leisurely read books...

The last half hour of the day, before the night fell on the streets, I spent walking, exercising my legs. My legs had been arthritic since I was little, my mother took me to the hospital but I ran away home because I was afraid of injections. I have been sick for more than twenty years, and for the same number of years I have brought heavy worries to my mother. My legs are very weak, they tremble when I am exhausted, ache when the weather changes its mood and are tired when I have to walk too far. And I remember my mother always telling me to exercise and walk to exercise my legs. At night, I called my mother with a burning longing. Our home phone had very poor reception, I could only hear her say a few words but still felt warm and anxious. My mother had spent a day for herself without knowing it, mud covered the entire calendar month and day...

I missed my mother on a day like that, still the same daily routines that I poured all my love into. At night I studied and went to bed early, because my mother said staying up too late was not good for my health. When I fell asleep, I would probably dream of white storks spreading out over the vast, boundless fields of newly-ripened rice. I would see herds of cows leisurely grazing. I would hear the giggles of children herding buffaloes, their mouths still carrying the scent of roasted sweet potatoes and cassava. I would see farmers writing country music on the sunny fields...

Vu Thi Huyen Trang