Mother's Day

My wonderful mom and her grandson Gamon

Can you see me with Bear and Aang?

This past Friday was Mother’s Day. We celebrated on Thursday because of course Mother’s Day is a national holiday since it is the Queen’s Birthday. Go figure, kids don’t even know their own mother’s birthdays and have never wished them a happy birthday but they know when the Queen’s is.  I wanted to cry the entire morning looking out at all the kids and seeing them so proud to have their moms come to school. I was sad because the thought of me leaving the cute stinkers in just a few weeks was heart wrenching. Yes, the moms were invited to school where we all gathered in the lunchroom/auditorium. It began with the kids singing a song as a school to their moms. I was also proud to look out into the sea of moms and kids and have Mah there with Plair. Having them there made me excited to have “my” mah and sister at school with me too. Then some talking, then the mothers came up on stage with their kids and the kids “waied” just as I described them did for Teacher day. They gave them flowers too. The kids that didn’t have a mom there or that don’t have a mom had the option to wai me. So Bear P.4 and his sister Aang P.3 waied me. Bear is the student who was blamed for stealing my school supplies. I know they have a mother but also know they live way out in the boonies of the woods and there are many kids in the family so the mother most likely couldn’t come. It made me forgive him, if he really was the one to take my stuff, since he and his sister were so excited to ask me to go up with them. They must really need someone to care for them. Bear kissed me on the cheek when it was time to give your mom a hug.

Cutie Pie Sek!

Then my little P1 kiddo Sek came up and asked me. He doesn’t have a mom I know but lives with his dad and his dad’s sister. She is awesome Phe Own (not sure how to spell her name) I sometimes stop by her house as I ride to dinner at Paw Kit’s and make canomes with her. She was at Mother’s Day and unlike many kids who maybe didn’t have a mom there but had their aunt or grandmother to wai to, he chose to have me get up on stage and give flowers, wai, and hug me. Such a sweetie! He can be a little naughty and a pain to manage in class but there has always been something about him that I love and although the teachers say he is dumb deep down inside I see he is quite brilliant in his own little way!

After all that each grade had a song they performed up on stage, dancing to a C.D. SO DARN CUTE!!! I have videos I can’t wait to show you. Hilarious. And of course the moms were even asked to dance so that meant me too, 6 of us got up on stage and danced, I have a video of it too!  

The one in yellow is in Kindergarten
and the star dancer of all students!

Once the show was over we all ate a huge lunch with loads of food! Families from around the village brought “church sized” pots of soups and foods. We could have fed the entire US army. All delicious. Many mothers and children went home, the beer was brought out, of course, and so was the karaoke machine. I was asked to get up and sing Karaoke. I always refuse but today said ok. Dragged my sober self up on stage and sang “Sweet Caroline” it was so terrible! I bet you $100 they never ask me to sing again. I butchered the song that can’t be butchered and just wished I was either in Fenway, at a family reunion or had a beer in me and was singing it with friends in some bar. I survived though. And quickly after excused myself and snuck home to escape the deafening music and drunk teachers only to be greeted by cleaning my moldy house and having my makeshift closet from a laundry line strung across my living room break. I will survive and in no time I am sure I will be wishing I was back here struggling to keep the mold out when I am freezing my a** off in Colorado.

My day ended with watching the full moon rise with Mah (just one of my many Thai mom’s). I told her that when I look at the moon my mom and I always say no matter how far apart we are we will think of each other as we look at the same moon. She told me she does the same with her eldest daughter who lives in Chiang Mai. Made for an even more special day!

The true Mother’s Day which I had off from school, August 12^th, I went touring Sakhon Nakhon with my cook family and one of my teachers and her family. My teacher’s husband is the little brother of my cook mom. We first hiked 500 steps to Wat Phu Pek. There is a new Wat but parts of the old one still remain from the 11^th and 12^th century.

Mah Nee (My wonderful mother!)

Paw Kit, Me, Mah Nee, Bee (Mah Nee's other brother's daughter but she raised her)

Me, Phe Malee, her husband (Mah Nee's younger brother), and their son.

Next we went to Wat Tam Kam. It is a temple built into the side of the mountain and is kind of cave like. There are two carvings of Buddha in the rock walls. Quite impressive. One as you see in the picture below is painted in gold. There were spectacular views from up here too. This Wat has many monkeys roaming and we saw one with the most peculiar butt! Red and funny shaped.

Our final Wat was Wat Kham Pratmong. It had a pond where we observed huge fish. Paw Kit wasn’t impressed by the Temple though but I thought the mural was pretty impressive. We also saw an interesting tree with this unusual flower growing on it.

Then Phe Malee, the teacher from my school, took all of us out for linner (3:30). We ate ourselves till we could explode with grilled shrimp, fried rice with shrimp, and tom yam goong (spicy shrimp soup). It was all delicious and left me quite stuffed. It was so wonderful to be able to spend the day with my family. I was pooped at the end of the day!

To all the mother's out there reading this. . . HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Especially to the people I consider to be a mom to me. I love you all!!!