mum was a construction worker before she retired. she was such an ordinary woman, giving birth to three girls, of whom i am the youngest. my grandparents weren't happy about that. the old people at that time, you know, liked grandsons much more than granddaughters. but mum brought up her three children courageously despite the indifference of my grandparents.

the following stories are unforgettable things about Mum in my memory:

1. when i was 6 years old, i began my eduacation in the kindergarten. like most children, i didn't like to be caged in an place totally unknown to me. i fled from the kindergarten alone one afternoon and went to the construction site to look for my mum. mum didn't say anything and took me home after she finished her work. as soon as she arrived home, she picked up a stick and beated me angrily and harshly . i was greatly frightened and cried. it was the first time and maybe the last time mum had beaten me like that. i never fled from any class from then on.

2. after i went to the primary school, i was good at my study. however, i was shy and timid, always becoming the victims of pratical jokes by some naughty boys. i always went back home and complained. mum went to the school and reported the bad jokes to the teachers, but in vain. finally, mum gave up and told me:"if they did it again, you should fight back!" i followed her advice and resorted to forces: scratching, smashing and kicking... the result was: i was freed from the pratical jokes all through primary school and junior middle school.

3. before the entrance examination, besides highly-nutrient food everyday, mum did her best to encourage me in her special ways:"if you don't pass the exam, you will learn how to become a tailor in the future."  she even imposed an "decree" on me, that is, NO TV before the entrance exam. i went to school to study every evening in order to get good results. i didn't want to become a poor tailor, anyway! and then i went to the college.

4. the moment when the scores of the entrance examination were announced, mum just went back home from work. it was a hot summer afternoon. her shirt were coated with mud and soaked with sweat. she held the notice in her shivering hand, said in a shivering voice:"is it real? is it real? you are good!" i pictured the moments again and again in my mind in the following years.

5. during my first and second year in college, i seldom went back home due to carsickness. mum would went to my University to see me in every "Golden Week" holidays despite her carsickness. one morning before May 1st, 1997, mum arrived at the outside of my dormitory and took a small pot out of her bag. "come on and eat this. it is still warm and delicious. i cooked it last night and put it in my bag, took the night bus and it is still warm." she was excited that the soup in the pot can become my breakfast. i didn't cry at that time like everybody would imagine, but tears do come to my eyes now when i am typing this.

6. during my college life, i called back home every week just to talk to mum about everything in my life, my roommates, my teachers, my life, food in the dining room... but i was disappointed for two weeks in 1998 because i found my mother suddenly disappeared. my father said depressively she was busy and had to work. i was so frustrated and disappointed and somewhat angry. i was such a spoiled girl that i didn't call back home in the third and fourth week.

i would like to kill myself whenever i thought of what i had done at that time.

7. i went back home in a summer night in 1998 only to find a skinny and weak mother. as it turned out, mum was seriously ill and kept her illness as a top secret to me just because i was about to pass the TEM-4 at that time. that was why she couldn't talk to me in the phone. after she knew that i was frustrated for not being able to talk to her in the phone, she struggled from bed in the hospital and went back home, just waiting by the phone for my phone call. that is when i felt greatly wronged and decided not to call home for two weeks. i am so sorry, mum, for what i did to you.

i grew up overnight. i studied hard and got the first price in both TEM-4 and TEM-8 to make my mother happy. i took 3-4 part-time jobs to support myself and relieved burden of the family. i took care of mum in the hospital during the summer and winter vacations. finally i decided to quit the postgraduate examination and went back home.

8. mum was a very optimistic woman. even when she was ill, she could make herself and the people around her happy. she played pokers with the patients in the same ward and make friends with them. the ward was always filled with laughters, of which mum's laughter was the loudest. she will not hesitate to give her helping hands to those "patient-friends", as they call each other, whenever they come around to the city and have regular medical check-ups.

9. mum looked serious and depressed on the day i got married. i could understand that. i was her favorite daughter and then i was leaving home and her arms to be independent. but she didn't cry. neither did i. i didn't know why. i was supposed to cry, but i didn't. maybe i was taught to be strong in mind when i was a child. but i was sure at that time, mum wasn't losing her daughter. i would take good care of her as long as i live.

10. after i gave birth to Coco, mum got up very early every morning, cooked, went to my house and brought me a small pot: the soup! as delicious and warm  as it always could be. i ate up every pot of soup greedily and recovered soon.

that is my mother. maybe she is not a perfect person in the eyes of others. but she is always the perfect mum in my heart.

thank you, mum, for what you have done for me.

sorry, mum, for what i have done for you.

i love you, mum.