Appreciations

My girl has been bringing lunch boxes to school on the days she needs to stay back in school, since last year. SRJKC schools have extra classes for students in Std 5 and 6 three days a week and students in Std 4, 5 and 6 have activities day once a week.

So, I will normally have to make preparations on the night before, wake up at 5 am and cook rice or noodles with dishes for lunch to be in time for the kids to bring to school, as the school bus comes at 6.15am. Starting this year, my boy has to stay back in school every Wednesday for activities. So, he was very excited and kept asking me what was I going to prepare for his first lunch in school (this was in Feb, I think)

I have written previously about how different are my 2 kids. My girl begin the non-expressive person, have not much comments on the food I prepare except if she thinks it is too much and she cannot finish them. Even if it is yummy, she will only comment if I ask her how she likes the food.

But with my boy, he anticipated the first ‘lunch’ day and in the morning, he peered into the wok and after finding out what I prepared, he exclaimed in a very happy voice, “ hmmm…. Smells so nice, what if I cannot stand it, and eat all of it even before lunch!” This was for their favorite chicken curry dish I cooked with fried egg, veg and rice. And later, after school, he mentioned, “I even let my friend try, so that he will envy me….”

So, it is all these simple things that makes me feel all the warmth and makes it worth the while. I bask in glory, by simple gestures like this, and I feel so fulfilled , looking at their beaming faces, while appraising my cooking. (of course, there are some downsides, when some cooking are not to their liking - I encourage them to give constructive comments too , if they do not like certain cookings). Even my girl now, is more expressive, since the other day, she told me she enjoyed her lunch , even though she was just at the gate, after returning from school!

So, here’s to many more cooking mornings!

Life

"We are visitors on this planet. We are on here for ninety or one hundred years at the most. During that period, we must do something good, something useful  with our lives. If you contribute to other people's happiness, you will find the true goal, true meaning of life. "

                                                                            His Holiness The XIV Dalai Lama

How true that few sentences are! I have this phrase hung in my house, but everyday, we just walk pass it without much thoughts. In the past weekend,  I dwelt on it from differently  and thought how wise the Dalai Lama is.

Last weekend, was a sad and solemn weekend for all of us in the family, because my dear aunty (who had been battling with cancer for the past five years has lost the battle). She passed away after much pain and suffering on Friday morning. I wished it was much easier for her. But anyway, I pray and hope she has a better after-life now. And the living will always have her in memory.

I really reflected a lot on life in the last weekend. Life, people relations, goals, happiness, karma etc. It may be difficult to put them in writing, but I hope to capture some of my thoughts here.

Our lives might not be even ninety or hundred. It is highly likely to be shorter than that, taking into account the mortality rate in the current years. In the conduct of our everyday life, we might encounter some negative thoughts. What should have been done/should not, like/dislike someone or what someone else does, dwelling on your neighbour's rights/wrongs, gossips on friends or relatives etc. If we can use mathematics to put some numbers to all these, you imagine how much of time or effort they take up from our relatively short time on this earth!

We have also come across many different types of people in the course of our life. Their life story can be lessons to us. Every human being choose to live their life differently. It is not our perogative to criticise or to say, what is right or wrong and we should never dwell on them. Rather, we would reflect on our own life and improve ourselves further. How certain things happened ot turned out for these people around us, are due to their own karma, and how they handle things is also due to their own encounter or experience.

What matters, is our ultimate goal in life, and how we can make this life more meaningful  and how we can say, at the end of our life, that we have no regrets for the path we took, for we ourselves are responsible for our own lives.

Happy New Year!

Sunday 26/12

My dear ex-schoolmates, Gladys and Li Fung organized a gathering in Singapore last Sunday. We had the gathering a NUS Guild House Cafe, which was really a suitable venue, since they also had a children playroom, which could occupy the children while we chatted. There was a choice of BBQ Buffet or ala-carte. We didn’t have much time to eat though since we were busy catching up.

Some of us have not met each other for close to 20 years, since our secondary school graduation day. Some of us are now mothers, some are career women, some have immigrated half a globe away etc etc.

I would say, it is really a wonderful time, meeting up with old friends, seeing their family and kids, sharing what is latest in our lives, and overall, having a gala time!

What a way to end the year! Happy New Year to all! And may 2011 bring us all happiness and good health! And Peace to the World!

(delayed posting again)

Christmas wish

Saturday (25/12)

 

(Note the dates, due to delayed postings)

Merry Christmas! We don’t actually celebrate Christmas, but we only started off the day, with a hearty breakfast of eggs/otak and bread (the kids’ fave!)

In the afternoon, we visited my aunty who is suffering from cancer. This is her fourth relapse, and we are praying hard, that she can make it this time. The CT scan last week showed a large mestatic growth on her liver, though she was in remission after the operation of the intestine more than half a year ago. So, now, after her 1st chemotheraphy, she is very weak, and have bouts of pain which she can hardly bear. I wish she has more courage to fight the disease and the pain. But I guess, it really takes a lot of will power to do that. There is not much we can do, just be there wherever we can, to spend more time with her. Many of my relatives are cheering her on including my parents, who are there almost everyday. My mum would labouriously cook her favourite food, and I know, my aunty is grateful for that, although she can hardly eat a few mouths due to poor appetite.

So, anyway, Om Mani Padme Om… I really wish it is less painful for her and please take this suffering away from her. Yes, this is my Christmas wish!

And, I think we must all appreciate our lives and be grateful for the healthy and happy life that we have.