Trophies

October 2009, the night of our college fest. I remember walking into my house, along with a friend, after the fest had ended. We were going out to another friend’s place and had decided to stop at my house to drop off a couple of my trophies.

It was quite late by the time we reached. My mother was up, waiting for me. She saw us, smiled and asked us how our day went. I gave her my trophies and told her we were heading out in a while. She asked us to eat something before we left, and being the gluttons that we were, we happily agreed.

We sat there, eating, while my mum took my trophies and put them in the cupboard with all the others. From where we were sitting, everything inside the cupboard could be seen. My friend stared at them all - sports, music, art and many others (Yes, I’m showing off).
I caught him staring and a deep sense of pride filled my heart.

He looked back at me and I smiled in complete fake modesty.

When the cupboard was closed, my mum came and sat with us and we began to talk. Well, when I say ‘we’, I basically mean my friend and her. I was busy trying to rip the meat off the chicken strips on my plate. My friend, on the other hand, seemed pretty engrossed in the conversation.

They spoke for an hour and I  had stopped listening to their conversation around two minutes after it had started. Finally, when they were done, we decided to leave.

I kissed my mother goodnight and we left.

While we were in the elevator, my friend turned to me and said this - “You know, you’re the class representative in college, you’re in the college band and the acoustics team. You play for the college ball team. You’re almost topping the class in most exams.”

Oh, I wish I could tell you how my head began to swell as I heard those words. I actually had to force myself not to blush.

But he continued - “Till today, I wondered how you did it. Today, I realized it had very little to do with you. It had everything to do with your mother.”

And he couldn’t have been more right.

"All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother" - Abraham Lincoln