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I AM AN ORPHAN, LIKE MY FIVE SIBLINGS. DAD AND MUM HAVE GONE TO BE WITH THE LORD.

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I SAW THE FOLLOWING JUST NOW. It’s true.

Some years back, I bought my mum a hand phone so that we could keep in touch.

After three days, she returned it. She explained that she could not see anything as the words and numbers were tiny. She couldn’t be expected to use a magnifying glass!

Another insurmountable problem was that there were too many buttons, and she couldn’t find the button for the incoming calls.

She couldn’t figure out how to access a message.

So  much for my good intentions!

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*MOTHER’S DAY 2014 IS ON 11 MAY.

11 MAY 2014

THIS MORNING WHILE HOLDING A LESSON WITH MY CLASS, I SUDDENLY REMEMBERED MY MOTHER.

I was 9 and Jeff was 10.

She was sitting on the other side of the table with my elder brother, Jeff, teaching him to read. She led him through the words, “The sun sets over the horizon…”

Mother read fluently, and patiently took Jeff through the passage.

“Why don’t you teach me to read?

She replied, “You don’t need being taught to read, you read well enough.”

Years later, when we were in lower secondary school. I remember going to the Anderson School field, where a Perak Athletics meet was being held. Someone said, “Your mother’s here. Your brother, too.”

Yes, Mother was there, instructing my elder brother Jeff to be patient, to get ready before he tried the jump.

“Breathe, relax, don’t try until you are ready.”

Everyone marvelled at this lovely Chinese lady, maybe 45, encouraging her son at the High Jump.

Well, those are good memories of Mother.

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MOTHER’S DAY 2013 is on 12 MAY but I shall still not celebrate it.

What I posted a year ago remains relevant.

I won’t be celebrating Mother’s Day. Not this Mother’s Day. Not ever.

I am an orphan. Dad left us about 25 years go. Mum did the same about 2 years ago, having been widowed some 23 years, which didn’t depress her. She had 6 children, nephews and nieces, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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AT CHINESE NEW YEAR, ARE YOUR PARENTS STILL AROUND TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU?

ARE YOU STILL ABLE TO RETURN HOME FOR THE RE-UNION DINNER AT THEIR HOME?

YOU ARE SO BLESSED!

WHAT IS CHINESE NEW YEAR WITHOUT PARENTS TO GO HOME TO? We tend to take for granted that it will go on and on, even though we know deep inside that, as the years take their toll, there will come a Chinese New Year when Dad, or Mum, won’t be there.

I am an orphan. I can no longer celebrate with Mum or Dad. I have memories, mainly good ones, of Chinese New Year with them.

I miss them most at several times of the year: Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Chinese New Year, and whenever I meet up with siblings.

Now, I have my own children and grandchildren to celebrate the New Year with!

That is wonderful but it is not the same…..

Watch these videos of Chinese New Year, especially the first one, KA FAN.

BERNAS CHINESE NEW YEAR VIDEOS….

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MY ELDER BROTHER RETURNED ON A SHORT VISIT TO MALAYSIA JUST DAYS AGO.

The time we have together is always precious, even though we may not do much more than catch up with what’s going on. There are not many years left. We are both in our early 60s.

He gave me an ang pao, a red packet, as we parted.

That reminded me of Mother.

How we miss her….

P&G – Thank You Mama – Best Job 2012 HD 2M

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Additional photos

Dinner with Mother and her younger sister (nown to us fondly as Falim Aunt, as she lived in Falim near Menglembu for many decades).

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I won’t be celebrating Mother’s Day. Not this Mother’s Day. Not ever.

I am an orphan. Dad left us about 25 years go. Mum did the same about 2 years ago, having been widowed some 23 years, which didn’t depress her. She had 6 children, nephews and nieces, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

This is a photo of our parents whom we called Father and Mother.

Father was really handsome! My brother Jeffrey looks just like him. Father was a tailor, and his Christian name was Robert, so he was called Robert Tailor, a play on the name of the handsome American actor, Robert Taylor. His tailoring business was named ‘Robert, Tailor of Distinction’, thanks to our eldest brother.

Mother, who was lovely, was called Elizabeth Tailor, after Elizabeth Taylor, to me the most beautiful woman in the world.

She taught us English when we were children! She spoke English to my three sons, her grandchildren, simply because they knew no Chinese when they were kids.

Mother travelled a great deal after Father’s demise. She spoke English to all the air stewardesses. The only word she admitted to not being able to say correctly was SOUP. She was embarrassed to end up saying SOAP. “Could I have more soap?” she said to the air hostess.

I tried to help her, and drilled her. “Soup, soup, soup…” It did not work, so finally, I wrote on a little card and gave it to her so that she could carry it around when she travelled. It said, “Could I have more soup, please?”

You never really miss anyone until they are gone. Now that Mother is gone, I miss her. In an indescribable way. There are the regrets, the If only I had….
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MY MOTHER’S EYES

Here is her youngest son, Andrew Thong, singing a song that expresses what all her children feel…

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A PRECIOUS PHOTO

Sim Phee Chiew (great grandmother)  and Josiah Thong Li Meng (great grandson) share a moment of laughter.

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GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDDAUGHTERS

Sim Phee Chiew with granddaughters, Fiona Shu Wei and Shu Lin.

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A PRECIOUS MOMENT

Grandmother being served tea by her eldest granddaughter, Kat Wong (Lau)

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MOTHER IN SHANGHAI, IN THE SNOW

POSTSCRIPT

We outlived Mother. That is normal and natural.

Mary outlived her son, Jesus of Nazareth.

How did Mary go through life with such courage and determination, knowing from prophecy personally told to her that her son would suffer a fate like no other? Who mended her broken heart?

34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  (Luke 2.34-35)

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