Congratulations on your kids!
All jokes, all jokes. But there’s some truth to this statement (I’m not pregnant, I swear). But somehow, someway, over the course of my three years at college, I’ve managed to adopt more than *a few* kids. Or maybe it’s just the fact that more and more people have gotten the strange urge to call me “mom.” Which can sound weird. I know how it sounds. I wasn’t the biggest fan of it at first either — but secretly, I’m pretty alright with it.
In the city, I work with kids to teach them how to swim and before the pandemic, I helped teach kids taekwondo. Some kids can be absolute nightmares, I really wonder how their parents are able to handle them. But some kids are also the sweetest things too. Really, it’s a range. With all this experience in handling kids bawling their eyes out for having hydrogen peroxide poured on a cut or avidly trying to climb out of a body of water, handling college kids is definitely better. So I guess I don’t mind too much taking on a bit of a maternal role around people.
That doesn’t mean I’m adopting people all willy-nilly. I know my littles, they hold a special place in my heart (and my wallet). But then, I also have friends who I just happen to look out for enough that they’ve started considering me a maternal figure. And I really don’t mind that, I like taking care of them.
If you know me, you know I always carry around what I consider my emergency bag. It has: pads, tampons, bandaids, hair ties, gum, mints, candy, nail clippers, lip balm, a reusable straw, masks, allergy medication, tylenol, floss, q-tips and some other things I can’t quite think of at the moment.
Part of the reason why I carry the bag around, even though it weighs like a small brick and fits like a small brick in my bag, is because I want to be useful and help those around me. I carry some candy in case someone is having a bad day, tissues and claritin for anyone with allergies and extra masks just in case the occasion calls for it. A lot of times, these extra things are for myself. I always use mints or gum to keep myself awake in class and claritin works really well when my allergies decide to bust down my front door and give me a runny nose for a few hours. But there are a fair amount of times when people around me need these items too (which reminds me that I have to refill the band-aids). And I really like that, I feel appreciated when I have something on hand for someone.
While it started maybe a little on the toxic side (preparation equaling usefulness), I’m growing from that and a lot of people around me have made me feel more important and more useful than just what I carry around. Through my mannerisms, gestures and just being me, some of my friends, whether older or younger, have become comfortable enough to call me “mom.”
Maybe it’s the secret English teacher in me that’s waiting to burst forth when I’m 53 and have moved to some remote location so I can teach English and psychoanalyze my students, but it feels really nice. Maybe it’s always been nice or maybe I’ve learned to warm up to it, but just know that even though I act a little annoyed at first if you call me “mom,” I’m quite happy to take care of you!
Carmen Tan
Media Producer
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