Phew! Luckily, my mom thought the reliving of my childhood memory through My Tiger Mom’s Brilliant Play was hilarious and she thoroughly enjoyed it!
While re-living those childhood memories together, I asked her whether she used the same play on my younger sister, Rosie.
The answer was a resounding “YES! Of course”
Why did I even have to ask?!
So, when it came time for Rosie to consider her career choices, the first idea she had was to be a news journalist.
Mom recalled saying that: “Journalism is an exciting profession, but as a news journalist, you have to “chase” the news and be the first one to report it. This means chasing after ambulances and reporting in the midst of potentially dangerous situations.”
A bit dramatic, but there you go! So consequently, the idea of being in the field and rushing to report potentially dangerous events did not bode well with Rosie, and the this career idea was permanently parked.
A little while later, my sister flirted with the idea of being an orthopedist – a “bone” doctor specializing in the treatment of bones as well as joints, nerves, ligaments and tendons. This idea may have been influenced by our family friend who was a very known and successful orthopedic surgeon in South East Queensland, and Rosie saw it as a great career path to follow.
Most stereotypical Asian parents dream of their children being inducted into the medical profession, and I think my mom was not too far from that stereotype. She had mentioned on several occasions that being a specialist is better than being a general practitioner.
So, you would think that she would have jumped at the opportunity to strongly encourage Rosie to be an orthopedic surgeon right? Well, given that it rightfully ticked the boxes of “doctor” and “specialist”, her response to Rosie was somewhat unexpected:
Mom said: “There are so many bones in the whole body, and they are linked to so many ligaments and tendons around them. That means you have to remember all those names!! There are hundreds of them! Maybe you want to pick a specialty that is much more focused on a particular part of the body? Less to remember!?”
So, in a nut shell, Rosie was on the right track, she just needed to find a medical specialty with a particular concentration on an organ so there are less body parts to remember!!
At around that time, Rosie started reading the biography of Dr Fred Hollows. Dr Hollows was a renown ophthalmologist who became known for his work in restoring eyesight for thousands of people in Australia and overseas. It was from reading about Dr Hollows’ inspirational works that Rosie then played with the idea of specializing as an eye surgeon.
It was definitely a much smaller region of the body, and I hazard to guess that there may be fewer parts to remember around the eyes?? Mom seemed very pleased with this development and as a result, she very much encouraged the idea of Rosie being an eye surgeon.
As mom finished reminiscing this story, I then asked a very critical question:
“So, mom – how did Rosie ended up being a lawyer then?”
Well, regardless of the real answer, Rosie may have made the safer career choice at the end. The number of legal cases to remember may have eclipsed the number of bones in our body (or parts around our eyes), but at least, no life, limb or eye will be lost if she fails to remember the details a case!
You Silly Mommy! 