Mother Dearest Mother...

So it's Mother's Day, and I'm incredibly far away from my mother. I was watching an elderly woman walking slowly along the sidewalk to the train station, gingerly lifting her canes one at a time, and I thought that no grandmotherly type woman should be alone on Mother's Day. But I don't speak enough Czech to say anything, and they tend not to take overly kindly to strangers, so I just sat on the bench with my friends and watched her walk past.

In church today the children went up on stage and sang and recited poetry and words of thanks to their mother's, father's, and grandparents for about half an hour. They were so cute up there, especially the little boy in the bow tie. I was especially impressed by the girl who can't be more than 4 who sang an entire song by herself into the microphone. Reminded me a bit of myself back in the day, when, not to be outdone by anyone, I would gladly stand up in church and sing some special or another. Ah, those were the days.

They only officially celebrate Mother's Day here, and supposedly they kind of honor father's on this day as well. Still, the main word I got out of their singing was "Maminka" which means "Mommy" and "Bombališka" which means "Dandelion" a word I only recently learned, and therefore was extra aware of. They seem to be considered beautiful flowers here, which my friend Crystal heartily agrees with. We've decided her neighbors are going to have words about her and her children in future town meetings as she encourages the blowing of dandelion seeds in the future...

I guess I really just wanted to take a moment to say how much I appreciate my mother. It is difficult to spend a lot of time in a foreign country. I love to travel and to have new experiences, but I truly do miss being around my family. Every time I walk past cheerful gardens, or bright flower boxes I think of how much my mom would love to see them. While I often feel like the world is a very small place, I know that its size makes travel difficult, and that my mother will likely never see this funny little place where I live. I feel so blessed that she and Dad were able to come and visit me in Hong Kong, and would really love to have them here, but I remain aware that some dreams aren't likely to ever come true. So instead of spending Mother's Day with her, all I can do is wish her all the best from far away as I practice singing our annual song:
Mother Dearest Mother,
How great God's love must be,
Who in His wisdom chose you,
To guide a child like me.

I would gladly if I could, you repay,
Doing all the things I should,
Walking in God's way.

Mother Dearest Mother,
How great God's love must be,
Who in His wisdom chose you,
To guide a child like me.

On that note, I did discover a solution to her inability to post on my site. So Mom, and anyone else who doesn't have an official "identity," if you are reading this and want to comment on my blog, after typing in the code word for verification that you are, indeed, a real person and not a machine, all you have to do is click on the Anonymous identity, and you'll be able to post without having a blog of your own. You don't even need to put in an e-mail address. They just want you to admit that you exist.

It's another beautiful day and my lessons are planned, so I think I'll go out for a nice walk through the square and down by the river. I'm still determined to take advantage of every lovely day possible for fear that it'll start snowing again before I know it.