I stand in awe of the woman who is my mother
I stand in wonder at this immigrant woman who left her family behind
Who followed her husband to new pastures, to start a fresh.
She had no choice but to adjust, to adapt, to get on with it.
She was the traditional wife where her home was her life.
She managed with less, she did without, she never complained.
She gave birth to her 7 children, by celebrating and carrying the news to her own mother
On the phone, via post, or a friend visiting back home.
This immigrant woman stood tall and proud
Today she is the bond that ties me to the country of her birth
To the place where it all began
Today she is my backbone and I am look up to her
In more ways that I can imagine

I am getting older
I continue to learn and evolve
My hair has become thin and grey
Wrinkles and age spots grace my body
My spinal discs have shrunk and lost their elasticity
As a result I have become smaller as I age
I have 2 health conditions to manage
Managed by medication, exercise and monitoring
Still I am grateful
I am mobile, fully functioning if not a bit squeaky
Still I am grateful
Still I am appreciative
I am alive and independent

Listen to Mother Earth
Hear her voice
Be still in her presence
Witness the floods
Experience the climate changes
Feel the earthquake
The relationship we have
The relationship I have
With Mother Earth is
Sacred
We are mere stewards, caretakers, temporary owners
We should respect what we have temporary inherited
The Earth does not belong to me
Man belongs to the Earth.

It is the art of decorating fabric
It is with love that she applies needle to thread
Using materials such as pearls, beads, quills and sequins
To decorate, to embellish, to protest, to personalize the fabric
It is the basic technique of chain stitch, button hole, blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch
The fundamentals remain the same
She spends hours, days, months and occasionally years to decorate an outfit
Her eyes are tired, her hand hurt.
The end product is a document to her skill
Her power to project that she is alive
Her contribution to society should not be overlooked, undervalued or engendered.