The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former chronos refers to sequential time, the latter signifies a time in between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens. What the special something is depends on who is using the word. Chronos relates to quantity while kairos has a qualitative nature.
Thirty years ago was my first mother's day. I was living in Hong Kong at the time, and they don't celebrate mother's day. My husband worked on Sundays so I limited my Sunday celebration to American food at the Sheraton Hotel. My lunch consisted of a ham sandwich on white bread and a bowl of vegetable soup (Campbell's Soup) with American coffee and potato chips. I enjoyed the Asian food but after an entire week of steamed rice and fish Campbell's soup tasted good. The hotel was located in a tourist district called Tsim Tsa Tsui and it was a treat to take the thirty minute train ride there to explore or find a hotel restaurant that had a more American feel. On my first Mother's Day, I invited my mother in law to join me for lunch. I don't think she was very impressed with the food but we enjoyed the quality time together as my daughter slept in her stroller.
A few weeks later my mother in law came over to tell me she was going out would be back soon. My Chinese isn't the best so I just picked up the fact that she was going out and something about food. About an hour later she came over to our flat with a smile, a hug, and a tray with food. As she set the tray down I saw a big bowl of Campbell's vegetable soup, and a slices of ham between pieces of white bread. I didn't understand her words but I did realize that she had to go out of her way to get that Campbell's Soup. She was trying to do something special for me and I was so deeply touched. Even now I cannot look at Campbell's soup without thinking of my first mothers day and that thoughtful gesture.
I have always asked my children do something instead of buying me a gift. The result is that my children have created wonderful memories of brunches, elaborate picnic lunches, day hikes, or short day trips. Chronos is inevitable and time marches on but I discovered on that first Mother's Day outing that Mother's Day is about creating Kairos. Things wear out, break,get used up, or get lost but the memories are with me forever. The two Mother's day gifts that have sentimental value which I keep close to me are a coffee mug from 1991 that I always use and a gold ring from 1998 that I always wear. However, the best gifts from past Mother's Days are the memories of family gatherings .......or thoughtful gestures like a bowl of Campbell's Soup and a sandwich on white bread.
I have always asked my children do something instead of buying me a gift. The result is that my children have created wonderful memories of brunches, elaborate picnic lunches, day hikes, or short day trips. Chronos is inevitable and time marches on but I discovered on that first Mother's Day outing that Mother's Day is about creating Kairos. Things wear out, break,get used up, or get lost but the memories are with me forever. The two Mother's day gifts that have sentimental value which I keep close to me are a coffee mug from 1991 that I always use and a gold ring from 1998 that I always wear. However, the best gifts from past Mother's Days are the memories of family gatherings .......or thoughtful gestures like a bowl of Campbell's Soup and a sandwich on white bread.
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