My mother was very creative with household matters. Her cooking was delicious, and her Lebaran cakes were famous throughout the neighborhood. She also enjoyed making handicrafts.

She was very diligent when she was my age. Even though we lived in different cities, I often asked her for help with cooking Rendang and Dendeng, which she would send to me in Jambi. While I can cook Rendang myself, her version is much more delicious.

I was a teenager when she asked me to make a hand-embroidered pillowcase, my first project with my mother. The pillowcase still existed far after she died. I am proud to have done that in between my duties and completing my education.

Although her education only reached the junior high school level, she diligently acquired skills by herself. My sister and I often joke that our mother was more clever than our father, who was a college graduate. It’s just that she didn’t have the same opportunity to attend college as he did.

It was my mother’s intelligence that was passed down to me. Thank you, Ma.