Hi mom!

Okay everyone. Pop quiz. What's today?

Don't whine. I never said there wouldn't be a test on Sunday!

Here's a hint. There's moms in this photo.

Yes! Mother's day! You guys and gals rock. Ok, so today was Mother's day in Cambodia. I'm not 100% certain this is a recognized holiday here on a national, or even local level, but we celebrated none the less.

Aidan trying to help out. No, that's not his hand. It's too girly. :)

We started out with church. The whole service was dedicated to mothers. We had drama, and gifts, and... ok, I'm getting ahead of myself.

The drama - ok, the drama bit I am referring to was a very lengthy skit involving many of the youth. It was a skit about people taking their mothers for granted (like they only do that here or something. Right.).

What's different about Cambodia? Well, it's all in the timing.

This mother in the skit had a lot of visitors... or 7 kids. Hard to tell. It's in Khmai.

You see, in American culture, we take our moms for granted (sorry mom!) until we get old enough to realize how wise she really is. For men, this is usually about the time we get married. This is due to the exponential amount of common sense women have as opposed to men.

Example? In Taipei, there's warnings on the door knobs in the mens room that say 'watch out for handle'. This is due to the proximity of the handle to one's head when sitting down (read: ouch, my head!). Do the womens rooms have this label? I don't think so. I rest my case.

Anyway, back on topic, the Khmer tend to go much further. They don't honor their mothers until they (the moms) die. Then they do this whole sacrificing/incense thing (non-Christians, for the most part) as part of ancestor worship. Yeah, that sure beats a nice box of chocolates or a freshly cleaned house, eh moms?

Right. So, in the skit, the mom died, and the son (and possibly 6 daughters...?) learned a valuable lesson.

My wife is hiding behind the speaker on the left

Next, we brought all the mothers up before the congregation and cheered for them. We gave them gifts, and made them feel valued and wanted. People who raised children like their own mothers were recognized as well (super-aunts, mega-grandmas, you rock too! Yes, big sisters also rock, so long as you don't ask the opinion of your young brothers.).

Remember? Sa'aad (Sa-odd) means beautiful.

 Of special note, were two grandmothers ('Yay' in Cambodian.) joining us. The one on the left is 82-ish. The right one is blind. These two made the day even more special. They were touched by the outpouring of thanks.

So after we finished, we had our own family celebration.

Good Mother's Day gift? Home made card.

We took my wife and mother in law to a fancy restaurant. My M.I.L.'s favorite, in fact. (remember, she puts up with me. She deserves a good meal.) This was at the Intercontinental Hotel, which is a nice all-you-can-eat buffet inside a five star hotel.

Bad Mother's Day gift - durian.

We arrived with reservations, and were greeted by friendly security people who were there to help us park. The lower level was a tad dicey - 6 foot 7 clearance in some areas - but I made it through ok without clonking my head.

Table with a view.

We settled in, and had a great lunch. The waffles in particular were spectacular.

You know where I was headed...

All in all, a good day. We came back to the house and rested.

To all the moms (and other important female figures in people's lives), this geeky dude salutes you. To my Mother in Law, I say sorry for being difficult, and thank you for what you do around here. To my own mom, I love you, and you did a great job parenting (dad died at 13, for those who didn't know).

Still a bad gift idea. No, really...

See you next time. I got to head out on an expedition to a different part of Phnom Penh. You might be surprised by what I found...