SMAS Student Jie Zhang: My Turn to Take Care of Her Happiness

Sunday, May 10th, is Mother's Day.   Here, in this beautiful essay, San Mateo Adult School Distance Learning student Jie Zhang pays tribute to her mother.

My mom is an ordinary Chinese woman for her age. She was a welder working in a steel factory. Because both of my parents needed to work, I was raised in my grandparent’s home since I was born. My mom took 2 hours bus to see me after work every day. One day when I was 8 years old, I had a fever. I was too sick to go to school. I lay on the bed the whole day. The only thing I wanted was when I opened my eyes next time, I could see my mom’s face and she could bring me my favorite snacks on her way back. We did not have a cellphone or even a home phone in the 1980’s. My mom did not know that I was sick. It was a miracle when I took a nap and opened my eyes again, I saw my mom’s face. She brought my favorite snacks and she put them into my mouth. At that night, she carried me on her back, walked to a hospital which was 2 miles away from home. She left home at 5:30 next morning to go to work.

My mom was my superwoman in my childhood. She was never tired, never sick. (Actually she never let me know that she was sick). She was so brave to face all kinds of difficulty to raise me.

When I went to high school, I finally could live with my parents. Like any other young person, I started to argue with my parents. I complained to my mom that she put too much attention on me, which made me feel pressure. I was eager for independence. I couldn’t wait to explore my own life outside.

It was my wedding day. When the wedding reception was over, my husband and I said goodbye to every guest. In the end were my parents. I suddenly felt bad. I managed to say goodbye to my parents. I observed a slight hesitation when my mom turned to go. She must have been crying. But she just kept going with my dad. My dad patted her back to comfort her. I realized that both of us hadn’t prepared to separate from each other. In the past, we went out together and went back together. But on my wedding day, for the first time, we went out together but went back to our own home. When my parents were lost from my view, I couldn’t take it anymore. I burst into tears.

Many years later, I moved to the United States. This time, our separating moment was not that heartbreaking. Because my mom had developed her own life and she believed that I had become as strong as strong as she was.

Growing up and being separated is painful. But it is not always bad. I am living on the other side of the earth right now, 5900 miles away from my mom. However, I have never felt so close with her. I love her so I want to set her free. It is my turn to take care of her happiness. My mom spent more time with her sisters and friends after I left. She and my dad traveled half of China with their friends. She learned to send pictures to me using her cellphone. We chat a lot on the internet. From these pictures she sent me, I see a happy woman with so much interesting experience. I am sincerely proud of her. 

Thank you, Jie Zhang, for sharing your wisdom with us.

All SMAS students are invited to share their writing on this blog.  Talk to your teacher or Teacher Cynthia in Room 28 if you have writing you would like to share.