Think of the hardest working people you know…now work harder.

For me, it’s my two biggest heroes – my Mom and my Dad.

They are hands down the hardest working people that I know. They are unbelievable. They are simply super human. Their work ethic fascinates me to this day.

You see, my mother grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal and worked as a house maid for her own family since the age of 7. Think Cinderella, her life as a house maid for her own family and the treatment she received from her Stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and two step sisters, Anastasia and Drizella.

That was my mother’s life almost identical from the time her biological mother, my Grandmother, past away until she was around 19 years of age. Thankfully, she chose my Dad among several other suitors in their sort of arranged/love marriage and we three traveled together for a better life in America.

As the hard working woman she is, my mother immediately went into work after just a few months in America, working at a jewelry store in the Flatiron building on 23rd street.

Guess what?

She even worked while pregnant with my brother, Pema, in her belly. And to make matters even worse she was held at gunpoint while pregnant at the jewelry store where she worked. As my mother feared for her life she cried, “Please don’t shoot me, I am pregnant!” Miraculously the gun man had some bit of heart and decency inside him as he took the money and ran.

After this incident and a fallout with her boss, who did not appreciate all the hard work she put in to her business, my mother decided to start her own business. It was our infamous Monroe Corner Grocery Store on 2nd and Monroe Street in my hometown, Hoboken, NJ.

My Mom and Dad ran our successful grocery store business for 16 years. During this time, they would work 14 hours a day everyday for 16 years. They never took off and they would work even when they were so tired and sleepy. While pregnant with my both my brothers, she would go shopping to Jetro and to our various wholesale vendors in New York City to restock our shelves and inventory.

During the winter, my Dad would suffer from cracks in his hand due to the cold and washing his hands constantly with soap due to the fact he was constantly receiving and giving money to customers. My Dad even was held at gun point while working and was jumped by 2 guys outside of our store and was sent to the hospital. My parents worked so hard to provide a better life for my brothers and I.

As a former village boy in Junbesi, Solukhumbu and British Soldier, my father had cultivated these habits and unique set of skills while cooking, cleaning for his family from the age of 9 and fighting for England. He fought in the Faulkland war, in Popou New Guinea, and Argentina.

In fact, there was a story he would tell my brothers and I when we were little. He was in a swamp, pitch black at night infested with huge crocodiles. And all he had with him was his sword, gun and his rucksack. He said he was so scared since all he could see were there bright yellow eyes starting back at him. He was shivering and felt like was going to pee himself because of how scared he was. He and his fellow soldiers felt that they would attack them at any moment. But luckily none did and they made it safely through the swamp.

Currently, my Dad works for a moving company called Oz Moving. Throughout the years, there have been times when he would wake up at 2 am to go to work, work all day until 12 at night. Eat, sleep then wake up at 5 to go do it all over again. This would sometimes be his shift for several months. The guy was a work horse, but he was committed to providing for his family and doing whatever it took to put food on the table for us and allow us to live a pretty comfortable life. But there have also been times when his whole body is hurting from all the heavy lifting he’s had to do while at work and I felt so helpless watching him wince in pain trying to eat his dinner. This sight would break my heart and I would give him a heat pack for his back which would work but only for a hour or so.

At home, he would clean things over and over again until they are shining. He would work on building things for the house.

As for my Mom, to this day she cannot sit still and must always be doing something. After closing our business, she could have easily stayed home living off the money we earned from our store and the money my father earned, but she cannot sit idle twiddling her thumbs at home. And so she became a baby sitter and earned a comfortable living doing that for several years. Unfortunately, due to her job as a nanny and having to stand and walk a lot her left knee has become weak and has made it very painful to walk.

Nevertheless, when at home, if she’s not taking long walks around our town in Secaucus to keep in shape she’s cooking or baking something delicious for our family and friends. In fact, she even holds a position in our Sherpa Kyidug Community Organization which she attends meetings for every week, has donated money to put a young monk through university, donated thousands of dollars worth of clothes to underprivileged kids in Solukhumbu and donated money to our monks living in our Thupten Choling Monastery in Junbesi, Solukhumbu.

Why am I telling you all this? Well, because my Mother and Father taught me the value of hardwork, dedication, kindness, giving, being committed to providing for your family, to not make excuses, to never give up even when hope is gone, always keep pushing even when you’re exhausted as hell.

They’ve been working since they were young kids in Nepal having to deal with rough childhoods and stopping at nothing to provide for their family in a foreign land here in America. They have achieved “The American Dream” of the white picket fence house, sending their kids to the best schools, owning nice cars and giving back to those less privileged.

So, when I think of my Mom and Dad and all the hardwork they’ve put in, which I saw with my own eyes it makes me push harder. And when I’m exhausted and feel I have nothing left in my tank I think of my mother carrying my brothers in her belly, pushing that 300 lb Jetro cart and I think of my Dad working at his moving job carrying huge boxes and find that extra strength and that extra gear within me to push even harder.

My Mother and father are an inspiration to me and my greatest heroes.

I love you so much Mom and Dad.

Thank you.

P.S. Think of the hardest working people you know…now work harder.