"Honestly this week was tough for me as my husband has lost his job after he dedicated himself so much for his stupid company. I knew I needed to keep my strong and brave face for my family but it’s hard to find strength sometimes, especially now. As I gave my last lecture yesterday, I tried so hard to come up with an inspirational message but I couldn’t. Instead I shared the story of my mother and what she did on the day when Magnitude 7 earthquake hit Kansai region including my hometown Osaka in Japan in 1995 when I was a college student. During the mega quake, my petite mom walked (more like crawled) to each bedroom of her children and our grandma and made sure we were alive and not hurt while our house was shaking massively. When shaking stopped, she started fire (as no gas and electricity) and cooking breakfast outside. She told her family to eat because we all needed strength to cope with what to come next. Then she told everyone to take a nap together in a living room. She said if we were to die, we should do together in sleep. As I told my students this story, I apologized that my final message to them was to eat and sleep well during this pandemic. But that is all I know how to do as we endure this precarious time.
This message of love from my student’s mother couldn’t come at better time as I need to find my strength to support my family. I found my much needed strength in the kindness of others whom I have never met.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are mothers while teaching and your moms who supported you to become a teacher."
via {higher learning collective}
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