HAPPY MOTHER'S MOM (I LOVE YOU!) 
AND TO ALL THE MOTHERS IN THE WORLDEIGHT LIES OF A MOTHER
This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we 
hadn't enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave 
me her portion of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my 
bowl, she would say "Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry." 
This was Mother's First Lie. 
As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our 
house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a 
little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught 
just two fish, she would make fish soup. While I was sipping the 
soup, mother would sit beside me and eat the what was still left on 
the bone of the fish I had eaten. My heart was touched when I saw 
it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick, but she 
immediately refused it and said, "Eat this fish, son! I don't really 
like fish." 
This was Mother's Second Lie. 
Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory 
to bring home some used matchboxes which she filled with fresh 
matchsticks. This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One 
cold night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by 
candlelight. So I said, "Mother, go to sleep; it's late: you can 
continue working tomorrow morning." Mother smiled and said "Go to 
sleep, son! I'm not tired." 
This was Mother's Third Lie 
When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After 
dawn, Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When 
the bell rang, I ran to meet her. Mother embraced me and poured me a 
glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos bottle. The tea was 
not as strong as my Mother's love. Seeing Mother covered with 
perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink 
too. Mother said "Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!". 
This was Mother's Fourth Lie. 
After Father's death, Mother had to play the role of a single 
parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs 
alone. Our family's life was more complicated. We suffered from 
starvation. Seeing our family's condition worsening, my kind Uncle 
who lived near my house came to help us solve our problems big and 
small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they 
often advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to 
remarry saying "I don't need love." 
This was Mother's Fifth Lie. 
After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for 
my old Mother to retire. But she carried on going to the market 
every morning just to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her 
money, but she was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. 
She said, "I have enough money." 
That was Mother's Sixth Lie. 
I continued my part-time studies for my Master's Degree. Funded by 
the American Corporation for which I worked. I succeeded in my 
studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to 
enjoy life in America. But Mother didn't want to bother her son; she 
said to me "I'm not used to high living." 
That was Mother's Seventh Lie. 
In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be 
hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit 
Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile, 
but I was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble. But Mother 
said, "Don't cry, son! I'm not in pain." 
That was Mother's Eighth Lie. 
Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died. 
YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL! 
M - O - T - H - E - R 
"M" is for the Million things she gave me, "O" means Only that 
she's growing old, "T" is for the Tears she shed to save me, "H" is 
for her Heart of gold, "E" is for her Eyes with love-light shining 
in them, "R" means Right, and right she'll always be, Put them all 
together, they spell "MOTHER" a word that means the world to me. 
For those of you who are lucky to be still blessed with your Mom's 
presence on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who aren't so 
blessed, this is even more beautiful.