Author: Hung Shiting 洪詩婷
I have always felt that my mother is the strongest person in this world. She was not born strong; rather, life forced her to hold on. In her own way, she endured many days that I now find almost unbearable whenever I look back on them.
My mother was born in the 49th year of the Republic of China, and grew up in a farming family in Toufen Township, Miaoli. There were seven children in the family; four sons and three daughters and she was the third youngest daughter. Because the family was large, her older brothers and sisters left home to work after graduating from junior high school to help support the household, while the youngest sister was sent to live with an aunt as a companion. My mother grew up together with her younger brother, who was one year younger than her. They ran through the fields and played under the eaves of the house, quarrelling and laughing. those were the happiest times of her childhood.
During her primary school years, my maternal grandfather was introduced to a hospital job as a security guard. Every morning before dawn, he would tidy himself neatly and ride his bicycle to work. During the day, my maternal grandmother devoted herself to housework and home-based piecework, trimming loose threads from denim jeans. After school or on holidays, my mother and her younger brother would help with the work as well. She often said, “Although life was hard back then, being able to sit together at the dining table, eating and chatting as a family, was the simplest kind of happiness.”
My mother was a lively and cheerful girl, always smiling and well-liked by others. After graduating from junior high school, she followed her sister to work at a textile factory in Taoyuan. During one holiday outing, she met a professional soldier from Keelung. He was tall and handsome, came from a good family, wrote beautiful calligraphy, and treated her with deep affection. However, my grandmother felt that their family backgrounds were mismatched and advised her not to aspire beyond her station. The relationship quietly came to an end, becoming a faint regret in my mother’s heart.
Amid the endless hum of factory machines, my mother met her first husband. They fell in love, got married, and soon welcomed the birth of my sister and me. Married life, however, was far from what she had imagined. Beyond the daily burdens of household necessities, my father developed a gambling addiction, and the couple quarrelled constantly. Eventually, he left home in anger and disappeared completely for three years. During that time, my mother worked overtime to earn money while also seeking help from temples and fortune-tellers in hopes of finding my father’s whereabouts. She had to pay rent on her own and raise the two of us without support.
She once traced my father’s location through tax records and discovered that he was living not far away, going to work as usual, indulging in nightlife and pleasures, never once thinking of the mother and two daughters waiting for him in their rented home. Determined to gain custody of her children and to reclaim her own dignity, my mother finally ended this disappointing marriage in 1994.
Later, she met her current husband, my stepfather, through work, a man willing to accept both her and her two daughters. His understanding and acceptance allowed my mother to believe in the possibility of family again. Together, they invested in a screw lathe business. Although life remained difficult, they supported one another. In 1995, my youngest sister was born, increasing the pressures of life, yet the couple worked even more closely together to build their business. In 2001, my mother finally welcomed her eldest son, my younger brother. She said that this was the first time she truly felt the joy of “having a son,” as some traditional beliefs still lingered in her heart.
Time passed swiftly, and one by one, we grew up. I got married in 2009, my sister entered marriage in 2016, and my youngest sister started her own family in 2023. Today, my mother and stepfather’s business have become relatively stable. My sister has returned to help with the work, while my mother assists with various factory tasks. My brother plans to return home next year to help as well. Although my mother still worries about his friendships, she trusts that he will gradually mature.
On holidays, my mother enjoys going out with friends, chatting about life and sharing her feelings. Her happiest moments are spent with my youngest sister’s son, a baby not yet one year old, who always makes her smile like a child herself.
My mother taught me what responsibility is, what perseverance means, and how to remain gentle even in the midst of storms. Now that I have become a mother myself, I realize that without even noticing, I have grown into her likeness. I care for my children in the way she taught me, and I face life with the same strength she showed me.
She is not a superhero, but she is the strongest person in my heart.
我一直覺得，我的媽媽是這個世界上最堅強的人。她不是天生堅強，而是因為
生活逼著她撐住。她用自己的方式，走過了許多我現在回想起來都覺得難以承
受的日子。
媽媽出生於民國49年，在苗栗頭份鎮的一個原本務農的家庭裡長大。家中有七
個孩子，四男三女，她是排行倒數第三的女兒。因為家裡人口多，大哥大姐國
中畢業後就出外工作補貼家用，而最小的妹妹則從小送給一位阿姨養作伴。媽
媽和小她一歲的弟弟一起長大，在田間奔跑、在屋簷下打打鬧鬧，那是她童年
最快樂的時光。
國小時期，外公經人介紹到醫院當保全。每天清晨，他都會把自己打理得整整
齊齊，騎著腳踏車出門上班。白天，外婆則埋首家務與家庭代工，剪牛仔褲的
縫線頭。媽媽放學回家或是假日時，也會和弟弟一起幫忙加工。她常說：「那時
候雖然辛苦，但一家人能在餐桌上吃飯談笑，就是最簡單的幸福。」
媽媽是個活潑開朗的女孩，笑容常掛臉上，人緣也不錯。國中畢業後，她跟著
姐姐到桃園紡織廠工作。某次放假出遊時，她認識了一位住在基隆的職業軍
人，外型高大英俊，家世良好，毛筆字寫得一手漂亮，情意深重。但外婆認為
門不當戶不對，勸她不要高攀人家。這段情感便悄然止步，成為她心中一段淡
淡的遺憾。
在日復一日的機器聲中，媽媽認識了第一任丈夫，兩人相戀、結婚，迎來了我
和妹妹的誕生。婚後生活卻不如想像中美好，除了柴米油鹽醬醋茶的瑣事，爸
爸還染上賭博惡習，夫妻爭吵不斷。最終，他賭氣離家出走，整整消失了三
年。媽媽一邊努力工作加班賺錢，一邊求神問卜尋找爸爸的下落，還得自己付
房租、獨力撫養我們兩個女兒。
她曾靠著所得稅單找到爸爸的蹤跡，發現他就住在不遠的地方，照常上下班，
燈紅酒綠、花天酒地，絲毫未曾想起仍在原租屋處等待他的母女三人。媽媽為
了爭取監護權，也為了爭自己的一口氣，終於在民國83年結束了這段令人失望
的婚姻。
後來，她在工作中認識了現在的丈夫，也就是我的繼父，一位願意接納她與我
們兩個女兒的男人。這份理解與包容，讓媽媽重新相信家庭的可能。她與繼父
共同投入螺絲車床事業，生活雖然辛苦，但彼此扶持。民國84年，我的小妹出
生，生活壓力更重，夫妻卻更加齊心協力打拼事業。民國90年，媽媽終於迎來
了她的長男，也就是我弟弟。她說，那是她第一次真正感受到「生兒子」的喜
悅，畢竟她心中仍有些傳統觀念的影響。
歲月如梭，我們一一長大。我在民國98年結婚，妹妹在105年步入婚姻，小
妹則在112年成家。如今，媽媽與繼父的事業算穩定，妹妹回來幫忙工作，媽
媽則協助廠務雜項。弟弟預計明年返家幫忙工作，媽媽雖然會擔心他的交友狀
況，但也相信他會慢慢成長。
假日裡，媽媽喜歡與朋友聚會走走，聊聊生活、分享心情。她最開心的時刻，
是與小妹的兒子相處——那個未滿一歲的小寶貝，總能讓她笑得像個孩子。
媽媽教會我什麼是責任、什麼是堅持，也教會我如何在風雨中不失溫柔。如今
我也成了母親，我發現自己在不知不覺中，成了她的樣子。我用她教我的方式
照顧孩子，也用她的堅強面對生活。
她不是超人，但她是我心中最堅強的人。