The Little Worm

Our youngest daughter whom we nicknamed "worm" because she was so active and fast in everything she used to do became a mother in her own right .Her baby came one month earlier than scheduled and with that all the careful planning went haywire as mom had to go to London and would not be around after the first few days and it was quite fortunate we could get a replacement nanny on time. Lucas was born premature and needed special care and it was painful for us to see our "little " girl go through the initial anxiety of mother hood together with her husband.It struck me then as it always has that a parent's love for the child is really special.Right from the day Baby Yeong was born this was very evident.What is there stronger than a parents' love for the child.From the moment it is born you can feel that here you have parents who would do anything for their child.the moment the child is born you can feel that he has become the focus of everything they do and their whole world now revolves round the child. It makes us happy to see our own little girl grow onto motherhood and at the same time it makes us feel pain seeing her having to go through a difficult part of her life.We feel her joy and share her pain .That is all we can do as parents.We have always assured Andrew and her that they should not worry about anything as we are there all the time for them as their child is our grandchild and the family bond is stronger than anything else. Be healthy and grow up well Lucas Yeong !!

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 !

Chinese New Year

In a few days Chinese all over the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year and its special meaning and culture .As I look back the way the new year is celebrated then and now has quite drastically transformed. Before weeks before the new year day dawns, families are busy making the traditional cookies ,each with its special meaning.The flour has to be ground,the fires prepared (Only charcoal was used then)and all members of the family would gather together and help in preparing the cookies.This enhanced the family spirit and made the cookies taste better as everybody's effort went into making them.Today you buy them off the shelf and understandably not much of these are eaten with the same relish as before. The cakes and cookies had special meaning too. For example the " Nien Ko" was offered specially to the kitchen God so that the sticky stuff would make his mouth difficult to open so that he cannot make bad reports about the family.The "koay kapek" was originally used to pass messages and that is the reason why its folded that way.Of course everybody knows that Mandarin oranges are given to wish prosperity to the recipient ,just as ang pows are given to wish wealth.The orange and red colour used for these two items all relate to wealth and prosperity. Houses are cleaned and tidied so that by the eve of the new year all bad luck is swept away and the house cannot be swept on the first day of the new year as this would mean that good luck is swept away.Cutting your hair before new year is a must as the old hair which is cut means all the previous year's misfortunes are cut off and new clothes are worn on the first day with this same reason.on the first day children are not scolded or caned however naughty they are. Traditionally ang pows are given by the elders to the children and in return the children will serve them tea as a mark of respect.Everyone wakes up early,have their shower and put on their new clothes.Most people would spend the first day at home and the second day visiting relatives and family elders. On the eve of the new year there will be the reunion dinner which sad to say has lost much of its meaning today.In China in the early days family members are scattered throughout the country making a living and they all made their way home to gather with the rest of the family members.The lady of the house would prepare the special meal and all members of the family would sit down ,eat together and catch up on each other.the meal and what it is made up of is not important but the gathering is.Compare this with today's reunion.Restaurants are fully booked and if you are given a slot the time frame is laid down for you like say from 6 to 8 pm and you normally have to make your way to the particular restaurant.Question;Is the restaurant your home that you should return to for the reunion?And what sort of reunion is it when you have to eat in a crowded restaurant amidst all the and mayhem made by the other customers? Whatever good that will come in the new year is a blessing from the Gods and Chinese will not forget to pay due respects to whatever God they pray to.This reminds us that whatever we are ,whatever happens in the future is to a certain extent dependent on Heaven's blessings. The New year celebration lasts for 15 days and a lot of this time is spent on eating,catching up with friends and relatives and of course gambling (The Chinese are great gamblers. There is a lot of tradition and meaning in the Chinese New Year and we have to ensure that this is handed down to posterity so that our descendants can appreciate and understand the true maning and significance of Chinese New Year.

Ho Chi Minh City

We had a short holiday in Ho Chi Minh and it was an interesting experience.First , the traffic is simply amazing>I have never seen so many motor bikes anywhere like this.They come in hordes from every corner and you have to close your eyes to cross the road.No such thing as waiting for the traffic to clear because it never does.Strangely enough few accidents ( we never saw one ).This must be due to the fact that the people are considerate ,alert and not as uncivilized as our " Mat Rempits".Not many privately owned cars are seen on the roads. The taxis are clean and new and one cannot help but feel quite safe travelling in them.They are all metered and you need not have to worry about being cheated or taken for a ride. The market which has a wet and dry section is a happening place and you can buy almost everything at rock bottom prices.So for Malaysians its some sort of shopping paradise.Branded apparel,watches ,shoes are all sold here.Most of them carry brand names but are made in Vietnam. Vietnamese food is healthy and we noticed that its not oily and usually eaten with a lot of raw vegetables.Perhaps this is why so many of them are slim and willowy.You get to taste the local fare and also the French food which is the legacy of the French.The French influence is seen in the buildings and food and the culture which they left behind.Strangely enough you dont see much of what the Americans left behind.It somehow struck me that if you know the history of a country the visit is much more meaningful. The little hotel where we stayed was clean and secure and centrally located which made all the shopping places very accessible .Price was reasonable about US 50.00 a night which is actually cheaper than many hotels in KL. The city is a vibrant and pulsating centre of Vietnamese culture and there is never a dull moment.One thing that strikes me is the work culture of the people there ,they work hard and seem quite satisfied with life.Food is plentiful and affordable and you hardly see any vagrants in the city.Surprisingly the city itself is quite clean and you will not see litter along the streets. Eating, shopping, noticing the Vietnamese people and their way of life makes HCM a place which one would consider visiting again.