A little boy grows up

Last week we celebrated the wedding of our nephew to a wonderful girl and for mum and me looking at him so grown up and happy it brought a lump to our throats.Time flies, it seems not so long ago that he came to live with us at the age of 9. His parents cried " help" ..they found him a handful and he did not get on well in school.Mum in her goodness never hesitated to take him in with us .He was fortunate because at that time I was the District Education Officer and could put him in any school .We chose to place him in the school where mum taught as it was convenient in terms of logistics and more so because she could keep an eye on him. Two of her close friends taught him and I might say they in no small way were responsible to ensure that he studied like a good student. On his part we did wonder what could have gone through his head when he had to leave home at such an early age . He would have thought " Why do my parents send me away ? Dont they want me anymore ?" It was fortunate that he had the company of our four girls who in no small way exerted some good vibes into his life.Looking at him sometimes, I could no help but feel sorry for him especially those times when he went home for the school holidays and had to come back again leaving his dear brother and cousins. Many a time he cried and my heart just went out to him but looking at the bigger picture ...that it was for his own good we steeled ourselves.So his turn around mission went on.The family treated him like one of us and the girls would do their best to teach him the " right path" and growing up in that kind of environment to a certain extent helped.Mum loved him like her own son, feeding him well and taking him out for his favorite KFC almost every weekend. Soon the little monster began to show signs of change , more time spent on his studies leading to better marks in school and the guided activities began to show results too. Meal time , study time , play and sleep time were all well arranged and he soon got into the habit of doing his stuff on a regular basis . He stayed with us for a number of years and by the time he finished his primary education we felt it was time to send him home .It was then difficult for us , for mum especially for he had indeed become a part of our lives and all of us loved him like one of the family.But it was time for him to return home ... a much better individual. Today looking at him getting married is one of the memorable moments in our lives.He has come this far and we know he will go even further in life. e wish you Alvin and Shiao Ling a happy journey through life !