MOMMIES!!

Here we were both giving a token gift to our mums to commemorate the joyous occasion.

"For mothers are the first educators, the first mentors; and truly it is the mothers who determine the happiness, the future greatness, the courteous ways and learning and judgement, the understanding and the faith of their little ones. " - Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l Baha

Daniel and I have known each other for a very long time. We are both very close to our families, and so, respectfully, we introduced each other to our families very early into our relationship. It was important to us that our family knew our special people. 

Much of our time together was also spent in our homes or our natural habitat (gym, school & various gardens, the last one being unwelcome territory to the big guy, who did not enjoy being sweaty outside the gym or having to walk more than functionally necessary after leg day). This resulted in our parents knowing us well, and seeing us grow both in unison and as individuals in the decade or so that we have known each other. 

Strangely enough, although we knew each other's families, and they knew us, our families had not really met much before our engagement. 

It was interesting to see though, how similar our mother's were even from a distance. We are one of the lucky ones - our mother's are pure of heart, innocent of malice, and doing everything they can with everything they know to make sure we are good, supported, loved and encouraged. Of course, nothing and no-one is perfect, but our mother's, without a doubt, put in 1001% of their effort it doing their best for us. They are our fervant supporters, never giving up on us even when we have given up on ourselves, and displaying genuine acts of sacrifice and selflessness in our upbringing; and they are the ones who tell us what we need to hear, the hard words no one else dares say, putting us in our place when it is needed, and teaching us the philosophies that have helped them greatly and brought peace & understanding in their own lives.  

Happy Mom's!! Women of Strength from L-R: D's Mom, M's Mom & Aunty Erzaan (M's mom's best friend)

I remember once, Daniel's mom took us both to the temple to speak to a very nice nun. She was giving us advice on our relationship and marriage, and also sharing some principles of Buddhism. At that point, Daniel mentioned how his mom made him recite the 'Heart Sutra' every day when he was a child; and I recall in my heart thanking her for making him do that. (I also smiled at the thought of little Daniel being made to recite a really long sutra in Chinese - he was a majorly cute kid :)

Interestingly enough, it was our mothers who saw right from the start our love for each other. I remember during lunch at his house many years ago, his mother telling him that she could see that I truly loved him. Similarly, when I was hospitalized, and Daniel came to visit me daily, my mom witnessed and affirmed the love that he had for me, and how happy he made me. She gave us her blessings in marriage long before marriage was even on the cards.

When they finally met, I was really nervous, but they actually got along pretty well. There was no drama and no airs, only kindness and compassion. They would care about each others dietary restrictions (one is Muslim, and the other Buddhist), and give positive encouragement in the fitting rooms - although we spent way too much time at Shanghai Tang. The pink cheongsam mom wears here is actually one that they bought together.

We wanted to do something very special for our mother's, to make the wedding day extra-special for them. It was really hard actually. We are usually creative with our solutions, but this time we felt nothing could truly measure up to represent the love, respect and gratitude we have for our mothers. In the end, we settled on jewelry, as token and a remembrance of this day - an elegant pair of garnet earrings for my mom and a beautiful jade and diamond pendant for his. In the same way that our wedding rings are anchors of this day for us, we hope that when they wear the gifts we got them, it brings them back to that beautiful day in Zurich, filled with so much love and laughter and unity, and they will remember the children who love them so much, that they could find nothing in this world to represent that love.

Thank you moms. We love you super much ♥