下周的演讲稿，中午刚得知下周轮到我演讲，下午忙完学校的工作就迫不及待开写。在学校OT,大概要被校领导怪罪偷光偷电偷暖气哈哈哈哈。Anyway,写完觉得自己很牛X! 以下是正文。

The Three lessons I learn from Mom

There are three hardest things for me to do when it comes to my mom. 

1. To talk about her in public.

2. To give my sincere praise to her. 

3. To admit that she is really great. 

Tonight, I am going to accomplish those three impossible missions in one speech!  

I must have lost my mind, or I must have had balls like a man!

My mom is not a monster. But if you think there is nothing fearful about her, you might as well think that Donald Trump may win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. My mom is “The Monster”. She is the one who wears the pants in the family; she is the Bloody Mary who wields the power and sentences us to mind jail whenever she likes; she is the Iron lady who strikes me on the hot forge, shaping me into someone that she loves, not what I love. She is the tyrant and she is the queen B, while my father and I were like two powerless and pathetic ants, often sitting on the hot pan. 

To shed some light on you, my Monster Mom is not born in a day. She used to be a respectable doctor in a famous hospital before she retired. If there are jobs that girls should think twice before taking, let me say my mom’s job must count as one. A doctor’s profession may easily turn a lovely girl into an arrogant woman. You may wonder what the other job is? Teacher. Having a mom who is a doctor and now working as a teacher myself, I am HOPELESS. 

I remember that in my younger and more rebellious years, there were endless quarrels with my Frankenstein Mom. She liked to impose her own wills on me, while I escaped bitterly from her wills. “Never be like Mom” is a motto that I secretly kept for myself. I paid deliberate attention not to be like my Mom. 

But recently, when I reflect on my mom’s stories, I suddenly find that mom has possessed some of the best qualities that can be found in a woman. I am amazed by my new discovery, and I would like to share three lessons my mum has taught me, more through her actions than her words.

The first lesson mom has taught me is about independence. As an independent woman, mom highly values a woman’s economic status. She never believes the biggest achievement for a woman is to marry a man in possession of a good fortune. She encourages me to be self-sufficient instead of relying on anyone. “The bed of roses made by yourself is the most comfortable to lie on.” From Mom, I learn that women are like trees, and they should stand firmly on the ground, extending their roots in seek of water and nutrition on their own. I love my husband Jeremy, but I love my independence more. My independence, materially and spiritually, has injected in me a magical power, a power to say Yes to what I like, No to what fails me, a power to piece myself together in times of darkness.

The second lesson mom has taught me is about toughness. At the age of 55, my mom was diagnosed with lung cancer. Luckily the surgery saved her and she didn’t need a chemo therapy. Yet it took her a long time to restore her health. Three years later, my dad suffered from a fatal disease. I remembered the moment when the doctor told mum that dad’s days were numbered. Mom howled desperately outside the ward. Yet when she walked into the ward where my dad stayed, she dried all her tears and comforted my dad with a calm smile. 

Mum’s toughness has no limits. It even challenges the social conventions. After my dad passed away, mom arranged lots of travelling, which is unexpected and even criticized by many relatives. Instead of burying herself in the sand of sorrow, Mom indulged herself in the beautiful scenery home and abroad. Mom has taught me that what real toughness is. It’s not about mourning for the loss of the beloved one. Real toughness is to follow your heart and stick to what you think is right. Real toughness is to turn a deaf ear to rumors, doubts or skepticism, and rekindle your love for the game of living. That is what my dad wants. My mom knows Dad better than anyone else.

The third lesson from mom… the lesson itself is hard to describe. Let me start with the story of my own. I grew up not in the shelter of my mom, but with the company of my aunt. Mum was too occupied with her hospital work and with her patients, and she missed the opportunity to witness my growth. As a child, I used to hate mom for not performing her maternal duty. Gradually hate turned into indifference. We clashed a lot because we had different mentalities. Mom said she regretted not bringing me up herself, and I refuted sarcastically that she put her career ahead of me. 

Who would think that one day, I will be in the same shoe, as my mom once did. A dilemma I face today, when my baby girl and my work are on two ends of a scale. 

I weighed a lot. Finally, I gave weight to my work. I didn’t quit my job to become a full-time mom. I hire a nanny to take care of my baby girl during my absence.

Like mother, like daughter. The difference lies in that I spend quality time with my baby girl every night and every weekend, and I try my best not to miss her best moments in her life. 

Do I regret my choice? Who lives without regrets in life! Whatever path you take, there will be regrets in the path not taken. A mature person knows about regrets,  deals with regrets and tries his best to focus on the bright side. 

Embracing regrets in life is the third lesson I have learnt from Mom, and it is the most important one. The third lesson is not taught to me by my own mom, but it finds me voluntarily, through a moment of epiphany. My Mom still regrets about her absence in my childhood, but I know I won’t. 

I know as a mom, I have made the best arrangement for my own daughter.

I know as a daughter, it’s time for me to make peace with my own mom, and begin to appreciate whatever she has done for me. 

    I know as a woman, life is never easy. Be independent, be tough and deal with regrets. Mom is marvelous, and she forges me into someone I love, with her three marvelous lessons I learn! Thank you!