For my mother...

Note: My mum is back home in South Africa & I'm in South Korea!

The other day my mum left this comment on one of my blog posts: 

 you are such a great human being you deserve but only the BEST!!!

you are my inspiration

My immediate thought was, What?! I could duplicate those very words right back to my mum and still, it wouldn't be enough to express what I feel about her. This post is long overdue, but as they say - better late than never. So for the next few minutes, I will dedicate my time to writing about the angel in my life - my mother.

Everyone says my mum & I look like sisters. In photographs, many mistake one of us for being the other. For me, this is a huge ego boost because I think my mother is beautiful. Anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting and knowing her will agree with me. If you get to know her as a person, you will soon realize that her inner beauty exceeds her outer beauty. She is selfless beyond words and her qualities make me beam with pride to be her daughter.

She is the only person on earth who can empathize and sympathize with me about anything, anytime. Whether she's sleeping, sick or busy cooking, she will make the time to listen to me bitch and whine, cry or talk like a chatterbox that I'm known to be sometimes. Every morning when I check my e-mail I am guaranteed to read a message from my mum either wishing me a good day ahead or complimenting me on my blog.

I've learned countless lessons from my mother - many of which I'm sure she's taught me unknowingly. I've seen her retaliate unkindness with genuine love and grace. My mother deserves not only the Best Mother of the Millennium Award, but also the Best Wife of the Millennium Award.  If one day I can be even half the wife and mother that she is, my future husband and children will consider themselves damn lucky to have me.

I don't say it as often as I should, but I'm saying it now for the whole world to hear (read?!) - I love my mother. She has supported me through every single monumental phase in my life. Right from birth to school to university to leaving home when I moved to Korea in 2007. There were other things in between all these 'phases' in my life which nearly brings me to tears as I think of them.

The only fault I can find in my mother is that she doesn't realize how special, beautiful, loved and appreciated she is. We shouldn't assume that she knows this. Of course, we (her family) are appreciative of everything she does, but it's so important to verbalize this. This is what I'm doing now.

Everything I am is because of her. My knowledge of dressing, jewelry, skin care, hair care, shopping, running a household (which I'm still learning because I'm single and live alone!) and so much more is all credited to my mother. If you've been following my blog, you'd know that I've been blogging about things I'm grateful for on a daily basis. This entire post is for my mother who I'm grateful to God for.
I love you, Mummy x