It never ceases to amaze me how my mother in law goes above & beyond to please her children. At times I am left wondering how my husband can be so rude as to ask of her certain errands. But then I discovered that most mothers would do such tasks, even if it wasn't asked of them as that is their cultural upbringing. Though I simply cannot bring myself to ask of the same, as I was raised to do such things myself.
However in the Punjabi Culture it is acceptable for children to ask of their mothers excessive errands, as their mothers are only too willing to oblige. Apart from the fact that they are caring, like every mother is for their children, the concept being is that when they are aging and need to be cared for, their children will return the favour. Therefore both generations receive the same unconditional love and support.
Since living with my husband's family I have seen my mother in law do some pretty monotonous tasks at the request of my husband or brother in law. These are tasks that I wouldn't even dare ask my own parents, without being given a glare of utter disbelief. Yet my mother in law doesn't even bat an eyelid and always happily scurries off to attend to their request. In addition she also still takes care of all their other everyday needs such as cooking, cleaning and laundry without any fuss.
So just for a bit of lighthearted fun, you know you have a Punjabi mother when she will happily do any of these 5 things!
5 Things That Prove You Have A Punjabi Mother
Warms Drinking Water In Winter
This one I find quite entertaining just thinking about it as it brings back such fond memories of my brother in law. Winter is absolutely freezing in Punjab and usually the drinking water is left out at room temperature in the kitchen. As the tap water in Punjab simply isn't for consumption as it is contaminated. Since the water is cold during Winter, my mother in law will warm up the drinking water on the stove top before serving it to my husband or brother in law. You wouldn't want to catch a cold from drinking cool water now would you!?
Wakes Up To Serve Dinner To Anyone Coming Home Late
My brother in law is excessively social and is forever coming home late in the evening after attending a wedding or event. It doesn't matter how late he is my mother in law will always jump straight out of bed as soon as she hears the door squeak open, just to heat up his dinner and serve him.
Makes Roti At The Drop Of A Call
When I first heard my brother in law yell from his bedroom to his mother in the kitchen, "ROTI" I was taken aback. I thought how rude is that to be sitting in bed not doing anything to then yell out for food when she is already busy in the kitchen cleaning. But she dropped what she was doing and prepared fresh roti and curry for him then scurried off to serve him in his bed. This is the norm for Punjabi's, they will simply say roti, cha, dinner, whatever it is they are after and off mother goes to prepare it. She will always do it at the drop of a call and with haste as if there was nothing else that was more important.
Prepares A Cup Of Milk For Bed
My husband when he lived in Punjab would be home late from the gym every night and he always arrived home to a fresh cup of warm milk waiting to take to bed with him. She would do this half an hour before he was due to arrive home. Therefore most nights she would wake from her slumber just to heat up his dinner and prepare his milk for bed so that it is all ready for when he came home. Even on nights that he was home for dinner with the family, she would still make sure to serve his nightly cup of milk no matter how late it was that he went to bed. Now that is love.
Prepares Outfit In Advance
There is no doubt that my mother in law does all the washing and ironing for my husband and brother in law. However she also knows their social calendar so that she can have outfits washed and pressed in advance for such dates. Such as having my husband's suit freshly pressed for the wedding he is due to attend in the following week. Or washing my brother in laws blazer and tailored pants so they are clean for a friend's birthday in a few days. Their outfits always seem to magically appear pressed and cleaned and they never even give a second thought to how they got that way.
So as you can see a Punjabi Mother always goes above and beyond for her children. There is no way that a wife can compete with her husband's mother - she will always be his number one! But that doesn't mean you both shouldn't be treated as individuals.
What does your Punjabi Mother in Law do that goes above & beyond? Leave your comments below in the comments field.
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