Sunday, December 24, 2006

We Bring Ye Gifts

Aunty Mac's Christmas Message

Could I take a minute to tell you about the most amazing Christmas gift I ever received? It wasn't gift-wrapped. It wasn't bought in a store. Yet I carry it with me wherever I go.
It was a gift I would like to pass on from a remarkable woman who taught me and my brothers that the most important Christmas attribute is to give, not to receive.
She had so little as a child. She was raised in a Bangalore orphanage, then was looked after by English nuns. The school was her only home; the nuns her surrogate parents. She had nowhere else to go. She never had a home to go to until she married. Yet she never had a chip on her shoulder.
Instead of seeking therapy, she sought only to spread great love to all children. Generations of kids at St Thomas' School in Kidderpore, Calcutta, loved her like their own mother. They hugged her and kissed her - and four decades later they still tell me how much she meant to them. They called her, simply, and with such love, ``Aunty Mac''.
I know just how much she meant to them. Her name was Phyllis McMahon. She was my mother.
If you'd like to share her gift, go to AngloIndianPortal.com and read `The Great Christmas Surprise'. If it touches you, please send the link to friends and family and ask them to do the same. It is the least we can do at Christmas.
My mother would have liked that, too.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey David,
Aunty Mac
sure passed on her gift
to her youngest son :)
You are the perfect example
of what ur mom must've been.

Merry Christmas David :)

Anonymous said...

Aiyo,
forgot my name...
Madi

david mcmahon said...

Thanks Madi, for your generous comment.
She was an amazing person. My brothers and I are all privileged to carry on her message.
Cheers
David

Anonymous said...

Hi David,

I remember your mother well - she was an example to all in her selfless mothering of her own and other children, and raising a family in the best traditions.

She was wonderful with you - I remember a time when you had an argument with a neighbor friend and your Mum persuaded you to go over and apologize and 'make up' - you have surely taken to heart her many instructions and I know she is is missed by a very wide circle beyond her immediate family.

Her family was her joy and pride, and every child a miracle.

Carol

david mcmahon said...

Dear Carol,
Thank you for your wonderful comment. You're right - Mum is missed by a wide circle of people beyond her own family.
Hope you had a great Christmas.
David

Anonymous said...

Thanks, we did. Four busy days with our three kids from Boston, So. CA and Dallas, plus a friend and our one grandchild, 4-1/2 year-old Eva (son-in-law Andres had to work). Everyone left by early flights today - the house is quite empty but life goes on in these United States!

It's lovely to see your work on this website!

david mcmahon said...

Dear Carol,
Great that your family (apart from one person) was able to get together to celebrate Christmas. There's nothing better than being surrounded by family.
Just wondering - did you try following the link from ``We Bring Ye Gifts'' to the Anglo-Indian Portal? You would have seen a picture of my parents there, at the bottom of the article on the Portal.
Cheers
David

Anonymous said...

Hi again David,

I did see the photo, and it's uncanny, to see all your faces after all these years. You look exactly like I remember you!

I am assuming your mother has passed away - I am sorry. Was it recent? And your father?

Where are your brothers now - Brian in Australia, from your photos of the wedding; what about Michael and ?Christine, and Keith.

Carol

david mcmahon said...

Dear Carol,
Just drop your email address in here when you have a moment - and I'll remove it immediately (so no one else can use it) and use email to communicate with you directly.
Cheers
David

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
david mcmahon said...

Thanks, Carol,
Got it - and removed your address.
David

Shrink Wrapped Scream said...

Ah, David,

This reveals a lot as to how you've turned out as you have. She had a mountain of love, and the heart to share it, how very blessed you must feel to have been her son. Thank you for allowing me to glimpse part of her generous spirit!

david mcmahon said...

Hi Shrink Wrapped Scream,

Thanks for checking out the link. I thought you might enjoy the tale.

David

Cath said...

Yup. My intuition is right. I think you are a chip of the maternal block.

Off to AIP see if it is still up.

What a fantastic, special woman. I know one like that here - my friend's mum. Not such a traumatic childhood herself, but oh so much love to give. And she does. Unconditionally.