I love my parents. There is no way I can describe how much and to what extend I love them. My husband will willingly testify to this as he observes the daily chats I have with them on the phone...(he says I'm too caring to the point of being annoying).
My earlier years were spent in Seremban with my Grandmother, Godmother and a few of my Aunts. I was spoilt rotten by all these ladies - especially the first two, and I enjoyed every single second of it. On weekends, my parents would come down to visit us from KL where they lived and worked, and I remember on those particular days, I would have a change of personality and be at my best behavior. Why? Because Pops (my dad) was very strict especially when it came to showing respect for the elders. So, on those 2 days every week, my aunts probably had their time-off.
Mummy like most mums was not strict, instead she was quite cool really. Actually Pops, with all his strictness and discipline, was pretty cool too. During our school days whenever we didn't feel like going to school, all we had to do was to ask Pops (although shiveringly) and his answer was always the same.."If you don't have anything important in school tomorrow, then no need to go". Where most students had to 'ponteng' without their parents knowledge to skip school, we didn't have to do that. Also, Mums and Pops were very understanding and liberal when it came to signing report cards - if we didn't do well in the exams. But 'handwriting' was a different matter altogether!! Pops was a perfectionist...and still is. All alphabets had to be straight and written meticulously otherwise, the wooden ruler would land right on our knuckles!! As you can imagine, our handwriting turned out perfect and I was always teachers' choice for writing on blackboards in school.
Another area where Mums and Pops were extremely strict was MANNERS. I think the 3 of us, (me and my sibblings) were the most polite kids on the block. We called everyone 'Aunty' and 'Uncle'. Greeting people was another 'must'. It was wrong if the sentence went like "Thank you or Good Morning". It had to be "Thank You Aunty/Uncle" or "Good Morning Aunty/Uncle"....."Pardon me, Aunty?" "You're welcomed, Uncle"....that was the way Pops liked it and that was the way we did it. Even now, 30-something years later, we still have the unintentional habit of calling everyone who's older to us 'Aunty' or 'Uncle'. This can be incredibly embarrassing for both parties because every so often, we forget that we're well into our forties and the person that we just called 'aunty or uncle' could be 43 or so. We have laughed over this very often. Talk about prolonged habits !
Our teenage years were more fun. On Saturday nights while we sat and watched TV, Pops would often come and tell us"Why are all of you sitting at home on a Saturday night?...Kids your age should be out enjoying yourselves". For a teenager to hear those words coming from your parents mouth, it was a real boost to our self-esteem that made us feel very grown-up. But I don't think that this went down too well with Mums, who naturally preferred us to stay home. And that was what we did, because we too, preferred staying at home watching TV or just doing stuff.
Mums was a working mother. I admire and felt so sorry for her when she used to come back home in the evenings, energy all drained out from spending an entire day at the office and went straight into the kitchen to prepare a hot meal for us. I must have been about 12 or 13 at that time but remember promising myself NEVER to forget this wonderful thing that she did for us day in and day out. And Popsie was very particular that my sister and I helped Mums in the kitchen. All hell would break loose if Mums was in the kitchen alone and we were not helping out. This, I must say, came in so handy to me as that's where I learned my cooking skills from. Mums is a fantastic cook and I don't even come close. But as long as my children like what I cook, that's great. And whenever I get praises from Mum about my cooking, I'm over the moon.
Decades have passed by and I must say that I'm happy with the way I've turned out to be (Although I could do away with my temper and moodiness at times). The discipline that we were afraid of those days has made me a better person who continues to respect the old and the elderly. And I've inherited the 'perfectionist' attitude from Pops, although earlier on in life I could never understand why he was being so fussy over petty matters. Today I know. Because being a designer, an album has to look absolutely perfect to my eyes before I hand it over to my clients.
And my relationship with my parents today? It's the best any daughter can ever ask for. I'm able to talk to them about anything and everything. I love hanging out with them, taking them out for drinks and chatting. To put it short, I adore their company. They give me unconditional love and support, which I hope I'll be able to do for my children in the future. As I've mentioned in the first line of this essay, the love I have for them is so pure and sincere and I will do anything in the world for them. So much so, my husband got me a private line (in addition to my other line) that is on 24/7 just for my parents to call me, if and when they need anything.
I'm so glad that my kids feel the same way. It's a big treat when their Mama and Pops come over to our place for a visit. It's something to look forward to when they get back from school, I know. They adore their grandparents and vice versa. They love their grandmother's cooking and nicknamed Pops a 'walking dictionary' because he always has an answer to all their quiestions about everything under the sun. I'm so proud of them.
Looking back, I hope and pray that my two kids will follow in my footsteps and love their parents as much as I treasure mine. And that is all a parent could wish for.
Cheers, Mums and Pops !
"You've raised me up so I can stand on mountains...."
