My elder brother and I have never been close since young. The relationship I have with my sister only become closer when she started working and became more mature in her thinking and behaviour. It was then that we started to share responsibilities for our parents.
Being a boy and the only son in the family, my brother was spoiled rotten by my mum since young as my mum was the type of traditional woman who favours boys to girls. We grew up in the kind of home environment that as girls, we have to help out in all the housework but get no credit for it for being well-behaved and obedient. Even when we do well in school, we never get praised of. On the contrary, my brother did not have to lift a single finger to do things around the house. But when it comes to anything, my brother would get the priority. He would be at the top of my mum's mind in everything she does, even right till the time he got married and has his own family. When he has kids of his own, the love and concern my mum has for him was extended to his children in the way she loves and takes care of my nephews all these years.
Deep inside, of course we know our mum cares for us (my sis and I) a lot. It's probably just the way she shows her love and concern for us. It may not be the same explicit way as how she showed it towards my brother. Over the years, we just grew up getting used to it and living with it but still loving our good old parents the way they are.
You would probably think that my brother would grow up to be the most filial child among the 3 of us given the kind of special care and attention that was showered on him. On the contrary, he is not. In my view, he grew up to be a MCP and is one man that has no (or little) sense of responsibility towards to his family, work and life and no sense of gratitude and filial piety towards his parents who have given life to him, gone through so much to bring him up and provide for him to be what he is today.
My sister on the other hand was the more sensible one even though she was much younger than both of us. To be honest, she was the one who had influenced me to be more forgiving towards my parents for their past actions, to look at the good side of them and accept the shortcomings of their characters. This was especially so after I became a parent myself; a mother to my own children that I truly understand the love and pain of being a parent.
I know our family will never be the same again. If it has to get to this stage for my brother and sil to shoulder up the due responsibilities as parents and children, so be it. It's really sad....but life's not perfect.
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts. Show all posts
This is it!
I have a date with P this evening to watch Michael Jackson's movie "This Is It". It was a pair of free tickets we got from the purchase of the newly launched Sony Ericsson Satio handphone. I was never a Michael Jackson's fan; had never sat through to watch one complete music video of his, and had never understood why so many people are heads-over-heels crazy about him. I finally could understand it after the movie and was amazed at how good his dances were. The one part about him that truly touched me was his passion for all creation of life, conservation of the environment for future generations and his love for children.
It was really a pity that he had passed on. As we walked out of the threatre, P was commenting he had chosen the wrong title for his concert and should not have called it "This is it".
It was really a pity that he had passed on. As we walked out of the threatre, P was commenting he had chosen the wrong title for his concert and should not have called it "This is it".
Primary 1 Registration
Today is the 1st day of Phase 2C Primary One school registration in Singapore. I made an important decision today, i.e. to decide a Primary school for Rachel. To me, it is an important decision because deciding for one child, also means it affects the other child in 4 years' time.
I have been deliberating over the choice of 2 schools, both near to our home vicinity (within 1 km). The reason for shortlisting these 2 schools is because, one has a string ensemble CCA (which I hope Rachel will be able to join when she progresses to Pri 3), and for the other school, hearsay among mothers and teachers in the neighbourhood that it is a better school in terms of its academic results as it gives out a lot of school work for the children.
Up till last night, I could not decide which school to pick. So I drove Rachel to both schools for her to take a look and gave the choices to her. I asked her which school does she prefer to study in for her Primary school years. To help her further, I told her, if 1 school has to play violin, the other school has a lot of homework to do, which one would she choose.
She replied me without hesitation, the latter school. The choice is clear to her. When I asked her why is it that she does not like to play violin. She said because she can't sit down when she's playing violin. What a reason!
Hearing my little girl, I finally sorted out my thoughts, as much as I would like her to continue playing violin, I do not want to assert too much pressure on her that she must take up a CCA in that in school. I will just let her continue with her weekend violin class.
The primary one placement results will be out on August 11. Past records of this school showed that balloting is required even for those staying within 1km. I hope I do not have to go through the balloting phase this year given that the birth rate was considerably low in Year 2003.
I have been deliberating over the choice of 2 schools, both near to our home vicinity (within 1 km). The reason for shortlisting these 2 schools is because, one has a string ensemble CCA (which I hope Rachel will be able to join when she progresses to Pri 3), and for the other school, hearsay among mothers and teachers in the neighbourhood that it is a better school in terms of its academic results as it gives out a lot of school work for the children.
Up till last night, I could not decide which school to pick. So I drove Rachel to both schools for her to take a look and gave the choices to her. I asked her which school does she prefer to study in for her Primary school years. To help her further, I told her, if 1 school has to play violin, the other school has a lot of homework to do, which one would she choose.
She replied me without hesitation, the latter school. The choice is clear to her. When I asked her why is it that she does not like to play violin. She said because she can't sit down when she's playing violin. What a reason!
Hearing my little girl, I finally sorted out my thoughts, as much as I would like her to continue playing violin, I do not want to assert too much pressure on her that she must take up a CCA in that in school. I will just let her continue with her weekend violin class.
The primary one placement results will be out on August 11. Past records of this school showed that balloting is required even for those staying within 1km. I hope I do not have to go through the balloting phase this year given that the birth rate was considerably low in Year 2003.
Finally The Day!
Today is the last day of treatment that P has to go through. I am glad that it's finally going to be over for him. It really hurts to see him suffering from all those side effects each time he came home from hospital.
It hasn't been easy for everyone but I am glad we pulled through it together as a family. The greatest credit goes to P himself. I admired him for his strong will and positive attitude.
There are also many people out there whom I'd like to say thanks to - to all our family members, friends and colleagues who have helped, supported and comforted us in one way or another, and kept us in their prayers along the way.
Thank you so much. We could never say enough how much we appreciated it.
It hasn't been easy for everyone but I am glad we pulled through it together as a family. The greatest credit goes to P himself. I admired him for his strong will and positive attitude.
There are also many people out there whom I'd like to say thanks to - to all our family members, friends and colleagues who have helped, supported and comforted us in one way or another, and kept us in their prayers along the way.
Thank you so much. We could never say enough how much we appreciated it.
Keeping Fit!
It's been some time since we talked about taking up yoga class together before P falls sick. The heart is willing but the flesh is weak. We never really got down to doing that until now. And now I have to attend it alone, until P is well enough to join me.
I registered for Hatha Yoga (Elementary) class for a 3-month period at a CC near my home. It is conducted once a week, 1.5 hours each lesson. I started my 1st lesson today. Not sure if it is the style of the instructor or because this is an elementary course, I find the pace of the lesson really slow. Now then I understand why the instructor needs 1.5 hours for each lesson.
However, there was something interesting that I learned from the instructor today. He was teaching us the technique of slow breathing and what good it does to our body, health and overall wellbeing.
He shared examples of various breathing patterns of creatures in nature to show us interesting parallels between breath, behavioural characteristics and life span. For instance, those creatures that are easily excitable (quick to jump, or edgy) breathe with higher rapidity. A mouse takes 50 breaths per min and lives 3-4 years; a chicken takes 30 breaths per min and lives 12-17 years; a horse takes 16 breaths and lives 40-42 years; an elephant takes 15 breaths a min and lives 70-80 years. And the most immovable of all creatures, the tortoise a mere 3 breaths per min and can live up to 190 years! As for humans, we take in an average of 12 breaths per min and can live up to 100 years.
What is the morale of the story? If you want to live a long and healthy life, you must try to keep your calm and cool at all times and not get agitated or angry easily. Because when we get angry, our breathing speeds up and we breath faster than usual and it affects our health. That's why when people get angry, their blood pressure goes up.
I registered for Hatha Yoga (Elementary) class for a 3-month period at a CC near my home. It is conducted once a week, 1.5 hours each lesson. I started my 1st lesson today. Not sure if it is the style of the instructor or because this is an elementary course, I find the pace of the lesson really slow. Now then I understand why the instructor needs 1.5 hours for each lesson.
However, there was something interesting that I learned from the instructor today. He was teaching us the technique of slow breathing and what good it does to our body, health and overall wellbeing.
"Oh men and women...! You have defaulted from good health by being shallow breathers!"
- Rishi Gorakhnath
He shared examples of various breathing patterns of creatures in nature to show us interesting parallels between breath, behavioural characteristics and life span. For instance, those creatures that are easily excitable (quick to jump, or edgy) breathe with higher rapidity. A mouse takes 50 breaths per min and lives 3-4 years; a chicken takes 30 breaths per min and lives 12-17 years; a horse takes 16 breaths and lives 40-42 years; an elephant takes 15 breaths a min and lives 70-80 years. And the most immovable of all creatures, the tortoise a mere 3 breaths per min and can live up to 190 years! As for humans, we take in an average of 12 breaths per min and can live up to 100 years.
What is the morale of the story? If you want to live a long and healthy life, you must try to keep your calm and cool at all times and not get agitated or angry easily. Because when we get angry, our breathing speeds up and we breath faster than usual and it affects our health. That's why when people get angry, their blood pressure goes up.
The Breath of Life
“By slowing the rhythm of your breath, the vital energy will reach high levels; by increasing the frequency of the breath, this energy of life will diminish.”
- Gheranda Samhita
“By slowing the rhythm of your breath, the vital energy will reach high levels; by increasing the frequency of the breath, this energy of life will diminish.”
- Gheranda Samhita
Violin Concert 2009
This is the day that I've made Rachel worked hard for. It is the day of her violin concert held at YMS Auditorium. It is an annual event organized by her teacher, Ms Kon, for her classes of students.
Rachel is going up the stage to play a piece of music all by herself. Seeing her walked up the stage, I held my breath and could hear my own heartbeat. I was even more anxious than the performer.
Watching Rachel on stage and seeing how well composed she was to finish her performance, it almost brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud of my little girl. She had not only played solo, she had played it well too (much better than all the practice sessions I had with her).
I learnt a lesson today. Have faith in your children and they will do well.
At the end of the concert, every student received a reward from Ms Kon for the excellent performance they put up : a fresh water lobster to bring home as pet.
Life Event....
Have you ever had the thought of what will happen if something bad were to befall on your loved ones?
Honestly, I have never thought about that before. Maybe because all these while, I have been taking it for granted that I will have my loved ones with me for as long as it is...
Life is unpredictable and we should never take things/people for granted. Learn to live life to the fullest each day as it comes. An inspirational quote that I like a lot personally:
Honestly, I have never thought about that before. Maybe because all these while, I have been taking it for granted that I will have my loved ones with me for as long as it is...
Life is unpredictable and we should never take things/people for granted. Learn to live life to the fullest each day as it comes. An inspirational quote that I like a lot personally:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."