Stop it!
by
Etsuko Mitsunaga
Stop it! Study hard! Go to your piano lesson! Don't talk too long on the phone! Turn off the TV! Talk more calmly! Don't stand and eat! Don't, don't, don't. . . That was my mother when I was a third grade. She was very severe. She made me take piano , swimming, basketball club, calligraphy, ice-skating and English school lessons against my will. "Why am I so busy everyday from Monday to Sunday even when my father has a day off from work?" I thought. She looked like a very nice mother, always smiling to people, but not to me. My friends in elementary school always wondered if my mother got mad at me or not. I couldn't understand why they said that. But now, I know the reason why she was like that.
There was a certain incident at dinner. I still remember this clearly. One day, I spilt my miso-soup at dinner time. OOPS! Of course I was very nervous because I knew my mother would yell at me in anger. But that time, it was different. She said to me, " It's okay. You clean up the table, while I bring you another one." My sister and I looked at each other. It was unbelievable. She didn't yell at me. Instead, that was her answer. Yes, she educated us her way. She educated me a lot from Math to table manners (for example, how to use a knife and fork.) Strictly, she told me what is right and what is wrong. It is just like the proverb, "The child is father of the man." or "What is learned in the cradle is carried to the tomb." After I graduated from elementary school, she became quiet. She didn't say anything to me and doesn't either now. I can do anything I want to do. She trusts me a lot. I feel freedom anywhere anytime. She gave me "freedom" and "responsibility." "Freedom" means I have to think deeply before I do something. Freedom and responsibility are always together. I would like to educate my child like my mother did in the future. I really respect and appreciate her now. What makes me happy is that I was born from MY mother. I can say loudly, "My mother is the best MOM in the world."
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