Friday 3pm.
Audit file half open. Brain half cooked.
Then bam. Mother’s Day this Sunday. 😱

Almost forgot. Again.

I look around my office. 4 mums.
All deserve something nice.
But what?

Flower? Wilt by Monday.
Chocolate? Goes straight into the stomach.
Hamper? Too corporate.
Voucher? Cheapskate boss vibe.
Spa? 4 mothers, 4 schedules. Impossible. 🤯

Think thin think.
Brain more blank than my audit file.
Then suddenly. “Plant!” 🌱

Why plant?

Because I am the nature type. When stressed, I run into the woods, cycle, ride my motorbike into the jungle.

Plant = peace.
Plant = calm.
Plant = thoughtful.
Plant = me.

Confident already. Rushed to IKEA.
Grabbed terrarium with a capybara inside. Very cute😂

Brought it back to the office.
Passed to them, smiling like a fool.

One said: “Flowers would be better, boss.” (predictable 🙄)

Another mum, nervous face:
“Boss, where do I put this?” 😅
Then it hit me.

I didn’t pick a gift for THEM.
I picked a gift for ME. 🤦

But seriously
I hope they like my mother day gift.
I hope when they are down, look at the plant.

20+ years working with these mums and I still can’t fully figure out what they like.

Let me shout out my office mothers :

🌱 Ms Qhlim. COO. Failed her first interview with me. Reapplied the next year. 20+ years later, still here.

🌱 Ms CL Chong. Finance Manager. Ex-Tax Manager with us. Only SPM. Fought a tax investigation down to under RM8,000. Brain sharp, mouth sharper. Write sharpest.

🌱 Ms Angela & Ms Farina. 3 years young. HR + backend queens. Until today I still don’t know why they chose a small firm like mine. Maybe out of pity 😂

KTP is just a small SMP.
The boss is also the emo type.
But these mothers still stay.
That’s my blessing. 🙏

Happy Mother’s Day to my office mums, and to all the mothers, at home, at work, and everywhere in between. 💐