Mama, I Love You! 妈妈, 我爱你!

Since this coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, today I had young girls in my class do drawings to express their love for their mothers in Chinese.  One girl drew a flower bouquet with a smiling face in the center under the bright sun with a caption:  妈妈, 我爱你!  Another drew an airship flying across the sky under the rainbow with a sign:  妈妈, 我爱你!    As one girl was drawing her picture she said, “My mother will cry when she sees this.”  At the end of the class I asked a girl to say to her mom:  妈妈, 我爱你!  And the mother replied with a big smile: “我爱你!  Those are the first words I said to you when I first saw you.”  I was deeply moved---the mother had learned some Chinese before she went to China to receive her daughter.

Since I have started teaching Chinese, I have come to know several American mothers with daughters from China.  I have been amazed by the bond and love between them.  The mothers want their daughters to learn Chinese and cultivate their Chinese heritage, while the girls are eager to learn Chinese.  These girls know that their mothers love them very much and are very happy.

I feel so lucky that I have the privilege to help these mothers teach their daughters Chinese language and culture. To these mothers:  I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day!