My mom is one of the strongest people I know.

And I’m ashamed to say this, but…

It took me until now, when I’m expecting my first child, to truly understand what she’s done and sacrificed for my siblings and me.

You see, my mom could’ve done so much with her career.

She also went to Columbia and was one of the only female engineers back in the 80s.

She even landed a job at AT&T (the Google back in the day)!

But gave it all up to follow my dad back to Hong Kong and raise my siblings and me.

She was only 25 years old when she had me.

Thinking back to that age, she really could’ve done so much with her career:

✅ Climbed the corporate ladder;

✅ Gone to business school; and

✅ Become a C-suite executive.

But she traded all that in for nappies, endless school runs, and homework nights.

The kind of sacrifice that no one ever sees, and society still fails to appreciate.

I will forever be grateful for what my mom has given up for me.

She was the coolest mom - willing to go on crazy adventures like visiting Brazil and waking up to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat with me.

Things that I almost took for granted!

Now, only now, do I start to see it from her side as a mother.

And not the beneficiary - her child.

So here is my (very belated) tribute post to my mother and all the mothers out there.

Moms truly play such a huge hand in shaping our lives, don’t they?


P/S: Feel free to reshare if this post resonates with you. What are you most grateful for?