Grandchildren.

Today Baby Yeong says "Hello" to the world.He is an early arrival coming out one month before he is due and maybe there is a reason for this,only time will tell.The last couple of days were anxious days ,from the moment Andrew told us Sze was in hospital mum and I went through anxious moments>Mum especially was restless and though she did not say so I know her well enough to know she was worried.Its funny but in times of anxiety people do not say much but each knows what is in the other's thoughts.When we have our regular breakfast mum said very little unlike her chatterbox style and it told me what was going on in her mind ...no need to ask. Last night Baby Yeong came to the world and it was a great relief to us to know that mother and son are doing well.Parents will always care for their children be they grown up or mothers themselves.Mum was up early to prepare breakfast for the daughter and when I playfully said " Hey they have food for her in the hospital she said "Yes but not the food which I can cook" and off she went to deliver the food to the precious daughter.It is in times like this that the family bond shows .We worry too for our son in law for being a first time father we can imagine what he must be going through .All we could do was to assure him that we are around so he can at least be assured that we are behind him.Thank God everything went on well and we are the happy grandparents and parents of our little dragon.

Valentine Day

Its interesting to trace the love path of a couple..When they first meet she is the dream girl,the sugar honey,the precious one etc etc.At the beginning of the relationship ,flowers ,jewels,dinners ,movies are all part and parcel of the relationship.They say that it is at this period of time that the best of either side is seen.Very true..this is the period of time when you would do your best to convince the other that you are the best choice . Birthdays and special days like Valentine Day,Xmas Eve were never forgotten and the lady could always be assured of a special dinner and gifts sometimes expensive and unique.The other half was always treated as special and the guy would go all out to please her.If she wanted to go somewhere he would happily volunteer rain or shine.This was the period when the flame of love was at its brightest and I'm sure many a lady would think back to this period with great nostalgia and good memories. With marriage and the emergence of the family sadly enough such things are forgotten.I had a wake up call this year on Valentine Day when mum said "Valentine Day is not just for the new couples.As we grow older we would like to be treated as we were when we were young.TO a woman as we grow older it means a lot to know that we are still loved and treasured" How true ! Sometimes we forget and neglect to take the trouble to make that little effort to show the other half that we still care and love them despite having grown older.Age should cement further the relationship and it must always be considered as something precious.Many guys tend to take their spouses for granted and once married everything that was done before seems to be forgotten.We have to realize that as a lady grows older she needs more assurances and for the sake of her pride and self esteem it would be nice for us to tell them in so many ways that they are still loved and appreciated as much if not more than before. Little gestures are never difficult to carry out >Its a matter of whether you care enough or not or have we forgotten? Did we forget before?Do we forget that we met our other halves they were sweet young things and that they looked real beautiful?Are they no longer attractive to us?Today we see them older but I guess no less prettier,some say that as women age there is a different kind of beauty which you have to learn to see and appreciate.That being the case should they not be treated as we treated them before.As a person ages the psychological needs are even greater and we the spouses must see to that. Thank you Valentine Day for the reminder !!

Change

During our time family ties were strong because the way we lived made it possible.There was usually a lot of chatter over the eating table and after dinner with no TV or Astro family members sat by the hall and exchanged stories and it was also a good time for parents to educate their children. Today its obvious that changes have taken place socially and no necessarily for the better .its common to see families gathered in the living room but not to socialize.They are either watching astro or each one playing with their gadgets.Parents no longer play the role of advisers and confidantes and people may be physically there but mentally each one is in a world of his own.When you start playing with your gadgets in the presence of others do you realize that you are being rude ? You seem to indicate that the people around you do not exist and that is certainly being impolite.Its quite irritating to see people sending message after message on their mobile with total disregard for the people around them or two people having dinner together and each one playing with his or her own gadget. Have we come to the stage when we no longer want to communicate with those around us in preference of our gadgets ?

The Year of the Dragon

I am born a Dragon and proud of it.My first realization of the importance of the dragon was when elder brother got married and I was asked to roll on the bed to bring them a baby.And guess what? They did get a baby boy and a baby girl later... To the Chinese the dragon symbolises power,strength,courage and it is one of the most sought after animals in the Chinese zodiac. What 2012 holds for everyone is anybody's guess.Some will climb up the job ladder,some will be blessed with new additions to the family,some may fall sick .One thing is sure everyone will be one year older and we should be thankful that we can see another year.Too often we take things for granted and do not appreciate what we have>Instead we tend to yearn for what we do not have like more money, a bigger house , a bigger car and etc so much so we forget to see and appreciate what we have in hand.To me a happy and healthy family is the greatest gift.Nothing would please us more than to see our children lead useful lives with their own families and more importantly have the strength of character which we have been trying to implant onto them since the day they were born.Seeing the grandchildren grow up and develop is one of life's blessigs which sometimes we fail to appreciate. Greeting the new year with greater self awareness and greater appreciation of what we have would certainly make the new year more meaningful>It does not matter what the dragon or any other animal in the zodiac signifies,,what is important in life is how we choose to live it.That choice is ours to make and in making that choice we need to take a good look at the things which matter most to us. It requires the right attitude to face anything new and 2012 is a new year.If we are able to evaluate and analyse the year gone by and decide what are our priorities for the new year we have something exciting to look forward to.The new year gives you more time to perhaps do what you have been unable to do and a chance to do things which you want to do.Grab this chance ,do it with the right attitude and you will have a challenging and exciting year ahead !