Little Notes of Memory

My little notes of memory - they're pathetic!

About a year after SW was born, I started taking little notes to remind myself of his special moments. They are quick notes that I can make any day and any time on any piece of paper, and just pop it into any containers.

5 years later, the glass that I had used to contain the notes are less than half-filled. It had been a mistake on my part to collect them in a fragile container (as I had to keep it away) and in a closed bookshelf. It was a sheer out-of-sight, out-of mind!

I've decided to discard the notes and jot them in my blog since now that I have transfered my little notes of memory here.

Here are the notes in non-chronological order:

6-Sep-2005:

SW pretended the remote control was the phone.

23-Jun-2005:

SW spoke his first sentence in English today,"Ma ma, I see a truck!"

26-Jun-2005:

Last week, SW pointed to the crab in his colouring book and said "Crab". He paused for a moment and continued, "mum-mum" (as in yum yum!) Then, he pointed to an umbrella in the same book and started singing, "雨伞， 雨伞， 亮晶晶”！

02-Dec-2005

SW said a complete sentence in Chinese today, pointing to his tricycle, "妈妈， 你陪我踏”！

22-Aug-2005

SW loves to cuddle his Charity Bear to sleep and carries it with him around the house too. It's his favourite friend!

(And to know he's still so fond of it now at age 6!)

28-Sep-2005:

SW said, “妹妹” for the first time today upon seeing the new born Lee Ang (cousin).

06-Sep-2005:

SW laughs every time I say the word "Avocado". I'd exaggerate it sometimes and he loves it. Didn't want me to stop. He tried to utter the word, but came nothing close!

09-09-2005:

Dad said SW showed signs of jealousy when he carried Lee Jiah (cousin). SW scrambled into Dad's arms to be carried too!

On hindsight, if I had kept up with the habit of popping in bits of notes more regularly, it might have turned into a priceless gift to my child one day. It's those little things you'd miss in videos and pictures, yet similarly meaningful to both mother and child...

Dedication to All Expecting Mothers

I am fond of congratulating expecting mothers. In fact, I tend to get too fond of it that I end up embarrassing everyone.

Dedicated to all expecting mothers

(Art: side view of a an expecting mother at 38th week of gestation)

To an ex-colleague, "So, are you expecting another one?"

"No, not yet, my daughter's only 8 months old!"

If that did not sound so awkward, try this:

(In the lift)

"Expecting soon?"

"No, diabetes!"

"Oh dear! I am so sorry!"

How was I to know, goodness me, the lady's belly swelled like she was going to deliver anytime, and she moved so slowly while her husband held her arm with such concerned and loving gaze...but truly, my ignorance what diabetes could do to you.

I suppose seeing pregnant women make me feel good and happy because of my two blessed pregnancies. Usually, I tend to over-work and move around a lot. Carrying a new life with me forced me to slow down, rest more and eat more. With no morning sickness or swelling feet, coupled with backaches and breathlessness that were overcome by forgetfulness, pregnancy to me equals blissfulness. So, please forgive me if I had embarrassed you...I was hoping to rub on some of my prior feeling of blissfulness.

"Are you expecting?" I couldn't help asking again.

"No, it just hasn't gone down.."

Oh no. Not again! I will hold my tongue from now on... or just smile if could not help it!

The Last Lecture

My sister passed me this book, but the cover wasn't visually captivating enough for me to pick it up until recently, when my life seems to be rather aimless. I am glad I read it.

It is written by a Professor who teaches Virtual Reality in one of the most prestigious schools in the US, Carnegie Mellon. But it isn't about Virtual Reality. It is about reality - about life. From someone who is diagnosed of Pancreatic Cancer with only a few months to live, Randy Pausch tells in his last lecture about his childhood dreams, about achieving them, and how to help others achieve them. However, to prepare for that last lecture means taking time away from his family and kids, who were then 5, 2 and 1 years old . But it was an opportunity for him to sort out the things that were most important to him, and to leave his kids memories of their father and letting them know what he was like when he was alive.

As a parent, it is one the best books to get hold of. There are many lessons and wisdom to be learnt. I have jotted down some of his words in my journal. But there are just too many of them. It is worth reading the book another time. Better still, I have found videos on THE last lecture. If you do not have time to read the whole book, try to spend about 30 minutes watching this video from abc. Click on the title of this post or links to this post.

On being a Mother

Fully immersed in motherhood, I am filled with overwhelming emotions everyday - not to mention juggling with accounts and admin work at the same time. There is so little time left to myself, yet it is so very necessary - to breathe.

Chinese language is extraordinary. The character for 'busy' is written as "忙". The left represents 'heart' and the right represents 'death'. Literally translated, it means "your heart is dead". So motherhood isn't such a bad thing for me after all, since my heart isn't dead - I'm on the other extreme in fact.