My Promise To Always Be There For You Mama!

When I was a child, I grew up with my late grandparents (Al-Fatihah) and aunt in Perak while my parents and other siblings lived in Penang.
My mom was a working mom and it was tough for her to be juggling with work while caring for me when I was younger but she never failed to play her role as my mother. Even though my mom was not always by my side or there with me to nurture me throughout my primary school but I will never forget the kind of support that my mom gave me.

Throughout my days in primary school, I remember how my mother’s love and care was what made me push myself to do well. She would purposely take leave from work at the Penang International Airport and come back to Perak whenever I had to undertake an important exam. *To apply for leave is not easy, trust me I know!. The effort of being there for me during my final exams and UPSR was what encouraged me to make her proud.

Every morning she would make a delicious breakfast (in the 80s, to have cereal for breakfast was only for special occasions) to help prepare me for any important events or exams in school. It’s nothing special to many people but to me it was a gesture of her love for me.
I don’t think I knew it back then but I must have felt it in my heart that I had to excel in my studies in which I did until I obtained a Bsc from University Malaya in 2004. The journey was not easy but I knew deep down my mom was my sole motivator and avid supporter.

Now that I’m a mother myself I finally understand that feeling I felt that time. The sacrifices my mom did for me by getting up early in morning after a long travel from Penang just to make me my favourite Coco Crunch cereal. Whilst advising me to always double check my answers before handing it up. Oh that feeling! Her love and assurance was my strength. As young as I was I could feel my mom’s care and support towards me to do well. Such feelings can’t be conveyed by words but felt by the heart.
Yes, now I know that being there for your children is more powerful than words. Thank you Mama, without your support I would not be who I am today.

So when was the last time you saw your parents peeps? What was your favourite memory with them? When was the last time you did something with them? I asked myself the same questions and try to answer them without having the feeling of guilt slapped on my face.
Making a pledge or promise is just a small way to give back to our parents for their sacrifices that they have done for us, even though we can afford to give them diamonds and pearls, spending time with them is more precious!

I was recommended by a friend to check out www.pledgefortomorrow.com and reading through the website I found out that they were encouraging us to make a pledge to our parents.

Even though I recently balik kampong during Hari Raya Aidiladha to visit my my mom and I started to think about how often I actually visited her. We all know that it is not easy finding time off to see our parents.

So I decided to make my own pledge to my parent, a simple pledge to go home to Penang and visit them as often as possible to eat a home cook meal with them.

Also not forgetting there’s a contest going on so just make a pledge, take a picture of you fulfilling your pledge and post on it Instagram with the hastag #pledgefortomorrow.  The best part of this contest is that 5x Winners get to spend a lovely day with 9 other family members at one of the 3x family outings:

• High tea session at a 5-star hotel
• A family trip to Bukit Gandah Elephant Sanctuary
• A family cooking session with Le Cordon Bleu trained chef

Quickly grab this chance to win a full expense paid one day family trip or a makan2 session time with them. So what are you waiting for? Pledge, Fulfil and Win.

Check out AIG Pledge for Tomorrow YouTube video at https://youtu.be/2LUoWzFX-5Y and let me know what you think. For me, I think it holds an amazing message and a powerful call to action for all of us.
Love, Diyana