When we were young, the tiny Po Chai pills were the magic cure for almost everything. Especially tummy aches, indigestion and nausea which about makes up almost 90 percent of all childhood ailments. Just tell Mom you have tummy discomfort and she’ll instantly whip out the Po Chai pills which you down in one go with a glass of water. On the other hand, catch a cold and my Mom wouldn’t even do anything about it. Because a cold is what any child would catch in those days. You’re pretty much on your own nursing your runny nose. All Mom would do is remind us to blow out the snot into the washbasin and not into our shirtsleeves. It just wasn’t one of those things she would fret over.
po chai pills image credit – ax3battery
These days, the kids would get sick of sniffles, and at its first signs, you’d want to stamp it out before it starts trickling down the windpipe and start taking life as a nasty cough and into full blown bronchitis. The ubiquitous anti-histermines have taken over. There is no parent who doesn’t have a personal stash of anti-histermines. Each time at any sign of a sniffle, T2 would announce that he needs his Zyrtec. If he tells me he’s got a tummy ache, I’d just tell him to go poop. It wouldn’t be one of those things I’d fret over. But if he’s got a runny nose, out comes the anti-histermines, dettol, tissue, wet wipes, and all sorts of preventive measures to stop the sinister spread of snot.
I learnt many things from my Mom, who will turn sixty nine in a few days. I remember her unwavering faith in the power of the the Po Chai pills. I remember the times we were sick and she would be awake in the night and in the wee hours of the morning to give us our dose of medicine or to rub of Vicks on our tummies. And though I don’t share her faith on the miracle of Po Chai, and I worry more about sniffles than tummy aches but each time I pour a dose of paracetamol or anti-histermine I remember learning that the power to heal comes first from love. I learn a lot about love from my Mom.
Here is to the lady who didn’t have to be a dragon or a tiger mom or an imperious dame to bring up kids she could be proud of. Her children’s successes rise from her humility, sacrifices, encouragement and love, and never at the price of her children’s pain or happiness.
Now, that is food for thought for me and for all the tiger moms out there.
momsterthoughts 