This woman is a dragon.

She is smart. She is independent. She is strong.

She didn’t have much support growing up. No one taught her how to be a "proper lady." All she knew was that she had to take care of herself.

She didn’t have a 4-year degree or that many privileges. As a kid, she had to go to the market, pick up leftover vegetables, clean and repackage them, then sell them. She found several other jobs, even as a bus conductor, just to provide for her needs and to give what she could to her own mother. That was until she landed a job at a Chinese-owned company that took a chance on her talent and skills until she rose through the ranks—all because she was born in the Year of the Dragon.

She doesn’t have many friends and was even betrayed by the one she thought was her best friend. It took her a while to open up again—and though she kept denying having a new “best friend” in her older years, she cried when her closest ones passed before her.

She's someone who fights for those whom she considers her own, but also knows when to let go and never look back when it's time to move on.

She once said she wouldn’t get married but eventually did, at 30. She had children later than most did at that time. She raised them the best she could until she had to make the choice between her career and her three daughters. She had her children 6 and 7 years apart—a tough range, since she had to work longer to make sure each one was provided for until they graduated college and was able to build a life of their own.

She spent half of her married life living like a single mom, with her husband working abroad—during a time when that country faced recession and financial troubles. So she took the reins again, went back to work, and kept going until she retired, knowing she had fulfilled her responsibility as a mother.

Being the tough cookie that she is, she’s not one to say “I love you” first, nor the first one to hug. But she still wakes up early to cook for us—even now that we’re all grown up. She supports us when we need her, even if we don’t talk much about our problems. If there’s something we don’t want to join or attend, she still says, “Use me as your excuse,” with no remorse,

She never forced me to study something I didn’t want to study, or to work where I didn’t want to work. She never asked me to provide for her—and even now, she still shares what she has with me. Most of all, she lets me follow my own path. She never pressured me to get married—once even saying she’d be okay if I just wanted to have kids of my own (I was joking, but she said it in a heartbeat, without any judgment).

Even after I moved out, she’s still there—when I call her, when I crave my favorite food that only she can cook, when I need her to pull out my itchy white hairs, or when I just want her beside me during a doctor’s visit.

Today, I just want to write it all down—how much I admire this woman. Even though we don’t always agree with each other's opinions, I will always admire her spirit. I pray every day for more time with her—I still have so much I want to give, and so many experiences I want to share with her.

I can only hope to become as great a dragon as she is.

I love you so, so much, Mamshie!