The year I graduated from college, my mother was 51 years old.
It is interesting that I am far older now than she was then. Things often look different further down the road in life. Age and experience do change a person's perspectives. Had my mum and dad been able to come for my graduation, I would have been overjoyed and delighted at their presence. Had I been ethnic Indian, my mum would have come with her best sari. Were I Malay, it would have been ornate baju kurung. Since we are Chinese descent, the formal attire for her would be cheongsam, also called qipao.
Looking back, my mum-in-law went on repeated shopping sprees to buy western co-ordinated blouse and skirt sets in solid pastel colours for her daughter's graduation in Boston. Of course the choice of attire for an important occasion is a personal one. I, however, like to think of the reason I was given scholarship and financial aid to attend an exclusive liberal arts college is to add diversity to a homogenously white student body. I would imagine what my mum and dad would choose to put on for a landmark occasion like graduation would be somewhat educational to most American youth.
When my youngest child graduated, I actually wore a nice blouse and pants - which was what I normally wore for that period of my life. A few years after that I lost like 35 pounds due to an illness, for close to a year I wore skirts with rubberised tops. After gaining back 15 pounds or so, it was not so difficult to acquire fitting clothes. All the sizes 5, 6, and 7 were given away at the recycling centre. It is a wonderful blessing to be able to fit into a size M, quite easy to shop for clothes in most places.
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