Wrap it in a piece of paper
The Teochews have a saying: 'Wrap it in a piece of paper.'
To wrap, means more than just to cover. Here, it is all the following actions that matter. You wrap it, keep it carefully, bring it home with you, look at it attentively, observe it over time.
And what is 'it'? It, here, refers to precious words. Words so precious that you wrap it in a piece of paper, keep carefully, bring home, look attentively, and observe over time.
Meals, can be just that, a meal. But sometimes, meals can also be a rite of passage, a time of celebration, a time to reflect, and a way to repay deep deep grace. Grace which is never deserved.
This meal, even though it was meant to be me treating the rest of them because I now earn a salary, was in actual fact every one of those things.
Grace, wrapped in a piece of paper.
______
This is the multi-disciplinary team which took care of weak, weak Liren when he was young.
You see, being premature by almost 2 months, I was honestly in a pretty precarious state. So weak, honestly I'm not sure if anyone thought I'd survive, or even do well in life. My grandma, so anxious for my health, decided to employ a multi-disciplinary team to take care of me.
Their roles were as follows:
Ah-hua: single lady, provision shop owner, provides sweets and candy.
Po-po: Ah-hua's mother, wise and well-versed in the ways of life, teaching wisdom through her reflections of her own life.
Aunty Janet: Principal Babysitter, who took care of me from 4 months through to 2 years.
Ah-pa: Personal assistant to Principal Babysitter.
My grandma: Chief Coordinator and Liaison Officer.
Po-po was the first to arrive in her wheelchair, pushed along by Ah-hua her daughter. She looked at me, gave me the biggest smile of her life and said 'I'm so happy' while gripping my hand tight as ever. Ah-hua, in typical aged person fashion, said: ' Very fast hor, very fast..'
Food was probably the last thing on our minds. As the food came, and everyone settled into a quiet eating mode. I asked mom to tell everyone to share stories of myself when I was younger. And the chatter around the table began again. Life upon life. At one point, Auntie Janet even started to tear.
'If no heart, cannot. Very difficult to take care of a child if you don't have a heart for him.'
('Bo sim, buay sai. Bo sim ju jin pai gor.')
Heart. Indeed.
The old times were shared. The difficulties, the joys, the funny stories, the lessons learnt.
And of course, inevitably there was a looking into the future. Some wondered aloud if they'd be around when I get married. But, on such a day, how do I even start to say it's not on my radar yet?
Ah-pa affectionately recalled I used to bounce on his tummy when I came home from school. And grandma said 'You must keep this tummy of yours. Until Liren's children can come and bounce on them.'
______
How fitting that when we ended the meal and Aunty Janet said 'Thank you' to me, mom said 'No, no. We should be the ones thanking you.'
Aunty Janet said 'huh. no la. thank for what.'
Mom said 'This thank you is not for today. It's for the past. Some things, you can't buy even with money. Like love.'
______
Grace.undeserved.
Grace.wrapped.up.in.a.piece.of.paper.
The guardians of my life.
To wrap, means more than just to cover. Here, it is all the following actions that matter. You wrap it, keep it carefully, bring it home with you, look at it attentively, observe it over time.
And what is 'it'? It, here, refers to precious words. Words so precious that you wrap it in a piece of paper, keep carefully, bring home, look attentively, and observe over time.
Meals, can be just that, a meal. But sometimes, meals can also be a rite of passage, a time of celebration, a time to reflect, and a way to repay deep deep grace. Grace which is never deserved.
This meal, even though it was meant to be me treating the rest of them because I now earn a salary, was in actual fact every one of those things.
Grace, wrapped in a piece of paper.
______
This is the multi-disciplinary team which took care of weak, weak Liren when he was young.
You see, being premature by almost 2 months, I was honestly in a pretty precarious state. So weak, honestly I'm not sure if anyone thought I'd survive, or even do well in life. My grandma, so anxious for my health, decided to employ a multi-disciplinary team to take care of me.
Their roles were as follows:
Ah-hua: single lady, provision shop owner, provides sweets and candy.
Po-po: Ah-hua's mother, wise and well-versed in the ways of life, teaching wisdom through her reflections of her own life.
Aunty Janet: Principal Babysitter, who took care of me from 4 months through to 2 years.
Ah-pa: Personal assistant to Principal Babysitter.
My grandma: Chief Coordinator and Liaison Officer.
Po-po was the first to arrive in her wheelchair, pushed along by Ah-hua her daughter. She looked at me, gave me the biggest smile of her life and said 'I'm so happy' while gripping my hand tight as ever. Ah-hua, in typical aged person fashion, said: ' Very fast hor, very fast..'
Food was probably the last thing on our minds. As the food came, and everyone settled into a quiet eating mode. I asked mom to tell everyone to share stories of myself when I was younger. And the chatter around the table began again. Life upon life. At one point, Auntie Janet even started to tear.
'If no heart, cannot. Very difficult to take care of a child if you don't have a heart for him.'
('Bo sim, buay sai. Bo sim ju jin pai gor.')
Heart. Indeed.
The old times were shared. The difficulties, the joys, the funny stories, the lessons learnt.
And of course, inevitably there was a looking into the future. Some wondered aloud if they'd be around when I get married. But, on such a day, how do I even start to say it's not on my radar yet?
Ah-pa affectionately recalled I used to bounce on his tummy when I came home from school. And grandma said 'You must keep this tummy of yours. Until Liren's children can come and bounce on them.'
______
How fitting that when we ended the meal and Aunty Janet said 'Thank you' to me, mom said 'No, no. We should be the ones thanking you.'
Aunty Janet said 'huh. no la. thank for what.'
Mom said 'This thank you is not for today. It's for the past. Some things, you can't buy even with money. Like love.'
______
Grace.undeserved.
Grace.wrapped.up.in.a.piece.of.paper.
The guardians of my life.
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