Around 3 or 4 years ago, shortly after my parents separated, we were broke. My brother and I were still kids, and my mom sent my dad away from the house. Both my parents lost their jobs (they used to own a company, then it went out of business --- one of the reasons why they split up.)

My mom wanted to pack her bags, leave us to our grandparents, and flee to the United States and start a fresh, new life there. But she chose not to. She wanted this to work for me and my brother, so she worked hard to support us.

Around this time of year (summer, in our country) I would usually see her all day in the computer, surfing every inch of JobStreet.com or bombard herself with newspapers looking for a job. The 3 of us would just usually stay in bed the whole afternoon, because we couldn't afford a vacation. And even though it was blazing hot, we couldn't turn on our aircondition because it would shoot our electric bills through the roof. I was also afraid of watching TV or using the computer because I was also afraid of the electric bills getting too high. So I would just sit there, reading or doing whatever I could to pass the time. Everyday. For 3 months. Until I got back to school.

My mom told me only a year ago that she would always cry herself to sleep, how she would continue sending her kids to private school and how she would pay for all the bills coming in every month (not to mention the large debt that my dad left for her to pay.) She sought help from my grandma, who helped pay my dad's debt and for my brother's tuition fees.

I can't imagine how hard it was for her. But she wanted to get back up on her feet. Even though she didn't know how she would do it, she really knew that it would all be okay someday.

She finally got a job, but after almost a year, she quit because of her monstrous boss. She got another one, but quit because of the same reason. She went through job after job after job and she didn't give up. Until early last year, when she finally got the one that she has now. She worked her way to the top, and now she's really successful. All the debts are clear, and she's now single-handedly supporting me and my brother.

Now, it's summer again --- I'm blogging with my mom's computer here in her room (aircondition in full blast), while watching the news with my mom on our new flat screen TV that we just bought the other day. We just finished a game of tennis in my new Nintendo Wii that she got for me for my graduation. Next week, we'll be leaving for a trip to Hong Kong. My mom already has a salary large enough for all us to get most of the things that we actually want, instead of only buying the things we need deperately. Everything is now back to normal --- better than normal, actually. Yeap, now that it hit me, I REALLY CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPENING.

3 years ago, I never imagined that I could EVER be this privileged. I never knew that things would actually be easier, and that perseverance and positive thinking actually works. I'm really, really lucky to have such an awesome and hardworking mom. I've seen her through a lot of tough times in her life, and now it's really comforting to see her so relaxed and in control now. She's definitely an ultimate role model. :)