Mae Waen

Hello & Sawasdee ka! My name is Waen, which means ring in Thai. There really isn’t a proper way to phonetically pronounce my name, so it gets butchered a lot (and don’t get me started on my legal first name). People often confuse my name for Wayne, which to their surprise, Wayne turns out to be a woman. I also get called Win, Wynn, Wen, and of course When, which usually ends up as a joke of “When, when are we going?” So when I order coffee or take-outs, I just tell them to call me Gwen to speed up the process.

For this blog, I call myself Mae Waen. The term, Mae, means mother in Thai.  It’s what my son calls me (his version is MaeMae).  It’s also common for Thai people, who are close friends or relatives, to add Mae before your name once you have a child.  Thus, I’m often referred to as “Mae Waen” when I’m in Thailand.

I became a stay-at-home mom unexpectedly when my son was 5 months old. It was a decision I never regret but had many doubts. The past few years were filled with a mixed bag of emotions and reflections I never knew I had:  love, true happiness, heart-warming, elation, selflessness, rewarding, triumph, failure, exhaustion, mental breakdowns, self-doubt, under appreciated, etc. I’m sure many mothers can relate to these extreme emotional conflicts.

Although life with my son has been a roller coaster, it’s the ride I love, cherish and never want to get off.  To date, my husband and I only have one child.  We don’t have a definite answer on what our future holds.  But who knows, maybe we’ll want to jump on a new roller coaster again when the time is right…or just keep riding the one we love.