Before I go straight into the topic, let me just give you a brief disclaimer about my family first! Basically, I stay in a four-room HDB flat with my dad, mom, elder (older by 7 years) and younger sisters (younger by 2 years). I have never had a maid before so all the household chores are done by my mom and us (sometimes). My mom's working at NTUC and my dad a foreman.
I have a huge extended family and we're pretty close as well (if you know me well I'm super family oriented). My maternal grandparents passed away when I was only primary 2 so my memories about them are really very vague already. I've never seen my paternal grandpa before (I heard he passed away because of bone cancer) and my paternal grandma (whom I love dearly) left us when I was in Secondary 3.
Let's get straight to it now!
1. Breakfast at 888 Plaza on Saturday mornings
My mom used to work from 5pm-10pm at NTUC 6 days a week and her off day would usually be on Friday(which is why I seldom go out on Fridays). So on Saturdays, my sisters and I will wake up early to have breakfast at 888 Plaza with my mom, usually fried beehoon or ba chor mee haha. We'll then accompany her to shop for groceries at NTUC then head home to a restless Saturday.
Now that my mom has changed to morning shifts and I'm always busy with my part-time job on weekends, we've never been going for breakfasts together for a really long time. I really miss that bonding time we used to have every week and how we'll wake up earlier just to go for breakfasts with her and talk about a lot of things.
2. Visiting my grandma
On certain Friday nights we'll visit my ah ma so my dad can pass her some money and also to see how she's doing and all. Even though I was kind of scared to talk to her last time because of my very limited Hokkien ability, I know that she doted on us a lot and I love her a lot for that.
We were also always excited to see our 5th uncle who stays with our grandma. We will always run to his room straight (without fail) after greeting our ah ma and can talk to him about loads of things (which I sometimes don't comprehend why haha). Most of the times he'd be sleeping and we'll just wake him up and force him to entertain us (please don't mind our inconsideration haha). We can also just sit in his room and watch TV together and we'd have so much fun. I also remember us writing down our birthdays on his calendar so he'd remember hahaha. He was also the one who taught me how to play mah-jong (LOL).
3. When my cousin was staying with us
There was a period of time my cousin came to stay with us. When I was little I didn't really know what happened and why she had no place to stay. I was only super happy she's here because we have someone to play with and have late-night fun talks with. Even though we had to squeeze in one room every night and sleep on mattresses, I remember we never once complained to our parents and we were always so happy.
Sometimes she'd be out with her boyfriend and whenever we hear the sound of a motorbike entering the estate we'd be SO excited coz we know that's her boyfriend sending her home. We'd then rush to the main door to wait for her to come back. We were so close with her and her boyfriend then and our common interest was neopets, hahaha.
We'd always be reluctant to go to sleep at night and we always just stay up and talk. I also remember us playing Street Fighter together and watching horror movies when our parents have already gone to bed. It was so much fun. Soon after she moved out and we sort of drifted a bit...and now that we've all grown up, that special feeling just never seemed to come back anymore.
4. Lantern Festivals
Because I stay on the first storey, we had a lot of space on the corridors to play with lanterns and candles. We used to have family gatherings just in front of our doorstep. We'd barbecue food and play with candles and lanterns and eat mooncakes and just enjoy that quality time. I believe very few families actually gather together for such occasions and I really appreciate my family for all these. I always compare my family to other people's families and I tell myself I'd never want to trade them for anyone else.
5. Going to the airport
My dad used to always bring us to the airport when we were young. We'd be SO excited because we seldom get to go out (hahaha). We'd change into nice clothes and grab our jackets because the airport was always so cold. At the airport, we don't really do much, walk around, taking pictures and also the standard procedure was to go for ice-cream at Swensens! Every time without fail. We'd always order the tall cup of ice-cream with a cherry on top and the biscuit on the side (which I really loveee). I miss how such little stuff can brighten up our days so much and how easily contented we were in the past.
I am not from a wealthy family and I never had annual overseas trips which some of my friends have, I never had a room of my own and my parents never used to own a car and we had to travel to places by the public transport. However, none of these ever made me feel like I was less fortunate than some of my friends. I enjoyed the love my parents gave me and all the fun and unhappy times I have with my siblings and I am very contented with whatever I have, be it now, in the past or in the coming future.
Everyone's childhood is different and this is mine. I know it may sound boring to all of you but jotting down some of these things mean a lot to me. I wanna write it down because I know one day, someday, I'll just forget about most of the details. I don't want to forget things that once meant so much to me, days when I used to have so much fun and the smiles and laughter I always took for granted.
My last point: enjoy yourselves while you have the time to. Keep reminiscing about the happy times and remind yourself how it feels like to be happy. Stay happy :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment