My mom (amma) made my childhood filled with amazing memories. She made every single holiday magical, every birthday memorable, and any regular day filled with love. I have been meaning to write an article about her and with my twentieth birthday coming up, I’ve realized that she is a huge reason why I am here on this Earth, duh, she gave birth to me!
Amma, this one’s for you.
holiday traditions
My mom, or “Santa,” would hide the Elf on the Shelf in such creative places to the point where I believed the elf was real! She’d beautifully wrap presents for everyone while acting surprised as to what “Santa” brought us. My mom, or “the Easter Bunny,” would have us plant “magic jellybeans” on Easter morning, and by the afternoon she’d have the rainbow swirl lollipops sticking out of the soil. She would hide eggs in the most creative places in the house and fill our personally designed Easter baskets with so many goodies. Every Valentine’s Day, she would make specially crafted snack boxes for all the kids. On St. Patrick’s Day, she’d take my siblings and I to get “green bagels” and shamrock shakes from McDonalds. On Halloween, she’d walk us to every house in the freezing cold just for us. On Diwali and Navaratri, she’d decorate the house beautifully. My twin, Karish, and I would build a house for the tooth fairy out of Jenga blocks, and the tooth fairy would sprinkle glitter in the house like she had actually flown in it. My mom would put Lalaloopsy sets under our pillow instead of money and it was awesome. She was so creative and made sure every aspect of our childhood had magic in it.
she did it all
My mom was one of the PTA board members when I was in elementary school, and I thought that was so cool. Anytime she’d volunteer to read to the class or be a chaperone on a field trip, the absolute joy that I felt seeing her is something that heals my heart. She was the Girl Scout troop leader in my town and was so phenomenal at it. She coordinated so many events, made sure a room of 30 girls had a great time at every event, and was so nice to everyone. There was one meeting in particular: fairy house-making. My mom watched all the Tinker Bell movies with us growing up, and the fact that she arranged a fairy house-making activity was extraordinary. Karish and I would fight over my mom, and she’d run back and forth between each of our houses since we just loved her so much. I would always get so excited when she’d pick me up after school because she was like a celebrity and everyone knew who she was. Her involvement in the school system was much appreciated.
making time for all of her kids
With four kids, my mom always made each of us feel extra loved and appreciated. In college, she mailed each of my siblings and me a “Halloween boo basket” filled with goodies personalized for each of us, which I thought was so sweet. My eldest brother is 26 and he still got a boo basket too! As much as we did a lot of activities together, my mom would always spend time individually with us so we’d have one on one time with her. I remember I was crying after school one day, since my vertigo was bothering me so much that week, and she took me out for ice cream, to the mall, and then to dinner. It’s so crucial as a mom to make time for your kids and she always did just that.
Birthday parties
My mom is so creative. She planned every birthday party for Karish, my brothers and me perfectly. Some of the themes included: Paris, roller skating, Bollywood, Hip Hop, Zumba, Lalaloopsy, emoji, and 12 others. She was definitely the “cool mom” growing up, and seeing her creativity run wild with these parties was awesome. I seriously don’t know how she planned everything and made every event so special. It must be a mom superpower.
amazing occupational therapist
My diva mom has a very diva coded career. She graduated from New York University with her master’s degree in occupational therapy (OT), and I just find that to be so cool. She is a very talented OT and puts her full heart into the job. She inspired me to study to become a speech language pathologist (SLP), and Karish to study to become an OT. I always joke with Karish wishing she would study physical therapy (PT) because then we’d have an SLP, OT, and PT under one roof! I have a distinct memory from second grade when my mom surprised us for “Career Day” at school and showed all the kids the world of OT. She demonstrated all of the cool tools like the sock donner and reacher. I remember her walking in with her scrubs and she was having people guess her career. People shouted out “nurse,” “doctor,” and “surgeon,” and my arm was shot up in the air while I jumped out of my seat waiting for her to call on me. She looked at me and said, “Okay Hansi, you can tell everyone what I do,” and I shouted, “You’re an OT!” I felt so proud of my mom. My friend told me, “Wow your mom is really cool,” and I replied, “I know right?!” I will absolutely never forget that day, and one day in the future when my kids have “Career Day,” I want their grandma to show the class what an OT is. I shadowed an SLP, Sarah, at one of the hospitals she used to work at, and I had so many people come up and tell me, “You and your mom are so similar.” Anytime someone compares me to my mom, I take that as a huge compliment because she’s amazing.
sick days
I have core memories of me being sick and staying home with my mom: Ellen DeGeneres would be on, she’d make rasam (Indian soup), pat our backs, and of course, never leave our sides. She always took such great care of us and made sure we had everything we needed. I have a core memory of being sick when I was in second grade and having the flu for a week. She rented my favorite Disney movies from the library, did arts and crafts with me, and cuddled with me every day. I remember crying so much when I was feeling better because I just wanted to spend more time with my mom. If my mom was ever reincarnated into Disney animation, she’d be the mom from Dumbo. So affectionate and always taking care of her baby.
always making us feel loved: Webkinz moment
Karish and I struggled a lot with eczema growing up. We would wear full sleeves in the summer, wear special lotion, and so on. My mom started to sense that we were conscious about our skin, and we would get teased in school, at the age of seven, for a skin condition we couldn’t control. One day Karish and I just broke down crying, begging our mom to let us skip school. We were terrified that kids would make more fun of our arms, and we were so sick and tired of explaining to other second graders what eczema was. My brother, Navin, was at the dining table trying to comfort us and make us laugh, when my mom left and appeared two minutes later with two Webkinz. A Webkinz was a kind of stuffed animal Karish and I loved growing up: I consider them to be the original Jellycats. She handed me the pink monkey with hearts on it and Karish a green frog with designs. She said, “They have patterns and designs on them, but they’re still beautiful and you still love them.” I am getting teary eyed just thinking about it, but those words changed how I was feeling in an instant.
We gave our mom a tight hug and I remember seeing her heart break watching us cry. She did what any mom should do: be there for us. Even when it came to any other kind of body dysmorphia we experienced growing up, and even to this day, my mom is the one who always reminded us that we are beautiful, hyped us up in every dressing room, and encouraged us to love our bodies. I think it’s easy for moms to be critical of their kids’ bodies and want them to be a “certain way.” I have never, in my 19 years of life, ever experienced any body shaming from her or any negative comments. I am incredibly grateful for that.
mom? no, octopus
Mom octopuses are some of the most self-sacrificing parents in the animal kingdom: they put their bodies through so much so their babies can live a beautiful life. This queen not only pushed four kids out of her, but attended every recital, baseball game, and more while balancing a job and taking care of us. I don’t think she gives herself enough credit for doing all that she does, especially growing up. She’s been through a lot and still perseveres every single day. If she were an animal, she’d definitely be an octopus. Not only because they have three hearts, but because she does so much, I feel like she has eight arms!
every living being senses the good vibes
My mom is a very spiritual person. She believes in karma, reincarnation, and a rule every human should embrace: treat others how you want to be treated. When we went to an aquarium in Montreal, this penguin was swimming everywhere and the moment he saw my mom, he swam over and just stared at her for five minutes. Every dog in the street always wags its tail at her, every butterfly lands on her finger, every baby smiles at her. One time we were waiting in line at Shoprite and there was a baby crying his heart out in front of us. My mom started playing peek a boo with him, and within five seconds, the baby stopped crying and was reaching out for my mom to hold him. I don’t know if they all sensed her “mom” vibe, but I love how other creatures find comfort in her as much as I do.
Peter
Peter was my mom’s best friend, who was like a second dad to us growing up. He was such a gem in my mom, my, and Karish’s life, and writing this article about her would simply be incomplete without him.
We have many memories with him, like learning how to roller skate, sledding, getting slushies at Quick Check, garage sales with a hand-built lemonade stand, drives in his blue truck, ice cream runs, Target runs, visits with his parents: Linny and Pete, and more. The dogs in this picture are Lacy (in Peter’s arms), and Terri on the right, begging for my pasta. These dogs loved my mom and, of course, Karish and me. They sensed her good nature, and we knew that they understood we were her daughters by how gentle they were with us. Peter passed away in 2018, Lacy in 2019, and Terri in 2024. They changed my mom’s and our lives for the better, and I know they are always watching over us. Peter’s birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day. How coincidental is it that his birthday symbolizes “luck” and we are so lucky to have been in his life at some point. He brought out the best in my mom, and I needed to give him his “Her Campus Moment.”
to my amma
My goodness, moms deserve such praise for everything they do and override any superhero in this world. They are so brave, strong, and — excuse my French — bada**!
I will be forever grateful that I was blessed with such an extraordinary mom.
Baby Hansi is smiling because she knew that she would be in good hands.
I strive to be half as good of an amma as she is one day. :)
Amma, you may have reached the end of this article, but never the end of everything you’ve given me. I love you.