My mother's name is Yang Chiu-O, although many of her friends know her as Lily... or the nickname of "Tiger Lily".

First... a pictures of lillies. Obviously this doesn't seem like anything special. These flowers are... they were given to me by someone who knew of my mother's passing.

At this moment I would like to thank everyone of you who has thought of my mother in the past few months. Thank you all so much for the beautiful flowers, the encouraging words, the thoughtful cards in the past few weeks. Your support means a lot to me, and I am sure that if my mother was watching from above, she would be thankful as well. A sincere thank you from me and my family.

I do not yet know the significance of these cards and flowers... all I know is that they bring forth a lot of good memories of my mother to me, and how she touched the hearts of so many of you.

The last words my mother said to me, and I shall never forget this, was that I should be strong and courageous, as I was her only child who was far away in a different country, and that she did not want to see me sad.

These last words I will take with me for the rest of my life. They may be of little meaning to you, but they sum of all that my mom has done all her life:

MY MOTHER LIVED HER LIFE FOR THOSE SHE LOVED.

Even when she was in severe pain, she tried to show me how strong she was, and thought of words to make me go on.

It's been two weeks since my mother left this world. I am still deeply saddened. I don't know how I am dealing with this loss in my life right now - all I know is that I am not strong enough to face it head-on.

Every time the phone rings in the middle of the night, I instinctively think that it is my mother, calling me just to chat with me.

I know eventually I will feel better. I just don't think I want to feel better right now.

I hope mom is in heaven now, and not feeling any more pain.

My mother and I shared a special relationship. She was not just my mother; she was also my best friend, my confidant. Over the past few years my mother and I have shared secrets, worries, thrills, happiness, and sorrow.

My ultimate sadness is that we will not be able to share our feelings like we used to.

For those who are reading this. I have one thing I want you to learn. It is what my mother told me a few years ago, when I decided to spend the evening going out with my friends instead of with her:

You will have many friends all your life, but you will have only one mother.

Think about who is important in your life.