by Sandie on September 28, 2011
Received this email from a friend which I would like to share with all
A simple man tells how his booking an air ticket for his father, his first flight, brought emotions and made him realize how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.
My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on MAS.
The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.
As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him.
When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life.
As a child how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we asked for football, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they had satisfied all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes?
Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?
Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks,toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young, it is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.
Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments.
Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care need to be given to our parents and elders.
Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren too. They have wishes, too. Take care of our parents
by Sandie on August 15, 2011
When I walk back in time to my memorable days at Convent Bukit Nanas and subsequently Convent JB, our days seemed seamless. No tuition classes (at least for me), no great expectations from parents and we own the time of the day.
Then came my daughter’s era. Tuition was in fashion. School activities were aplenty. People no longer enquired if you passed your exams. Instead it was replaced with how many A’s you scored.
Now I see children of today living the dreams of parents. A’s are no longer the criterion. Scoring full A’s with the maximum number of subjects allowed becomes the chase.
I am not sure if I will be able to live to see yet another shift when my grandson goes to school.
Colleges are sprouting everywhere and many have even acquired University status. There is no shortage as to what one wishes to study. There are even preparatory courses that puts you in good stead . One such course is the Atlanta gmat classes. Another popular such is the Veritas Prep. And with this present age and time, studying is made easier without you even having to leave home.
I can’t say if all this will make a better you. If given the choice I would personally like to turn back the clock to where I go to school in the morning, back home for a nap in the afternoon and a round of badminton in the evening before settling down to grind through the day’s homework and to do the obligatory crunching of the books.
My hope is that I will like to have more “people” grandchildren rather than the “machine made” children. Children who will have time to stop and smell the flowers!
by Sandie on June 16, 2011
So many people try to hide their pains, pretending that if they dont talk about their worries and fears, then they dont really exist. There are people who smile on the outside, making light and carefree conversations to prevent their intimate emotions from being exposed. Their personal doubts and insecurities travel uninvited across their minds, haunting them in the day and tormenting them in the night. Let your self-doubts vanish into the shadows; show your true spirit to everyone you meet. All people must travel through life not as one alone, but as a caravan of people who will each experience their own set of circumstances. It is important not to judge yourself critically but to understand yourself. Not to restrict your emotions but to express them. Not to limit yourself but to search out every new horizon. There are too many people trying to be somebody else. Let’s just be who we are and feel good about what we are
by Sandie on June 7, 2011
Walls that are built with agate like stones
I entered an immense field of billowing grassland with lovely flowers. The landscape before me was unusually rich and seemed to vibrate with life. Time and space were illusions here. As I leisurely walked through the greenfields I was suddenly transported to a gentle hill top that overlooked a small town. At first I was a little uneasy about the changing scene but soon a serene calm began to fill me. I did not know where I was, what town, what country. This little town beckoned me to enter and as I drew nearer the town suddenly came alive with people walking the streets doing their normal chores of the day. This town center consisted of just a small narrow road with 2 rows of tiny shophouses that either slanted this way or that way. One particular shop caught my attention. This shop sold cigars and tobacco.
Entering the little town
Crooked shops lined the street
I woke!! It was a dream. It was in 1997. But this dream is so real that 14 years later it is still so vivid in my mind. About 2 years after this dream (1999) I went to UK for my daughter’s graduation. She brought us round to the neighbouring districts. Lunch at Deidham and then a drive to Lavenham. I was looking forward to going to Lavenham as the name of this town gave me spurts of energy. I was expecting lavender fields to line this town. We parked the car on a gentle hill top and as we walked down to the town center, I stopped in my footsteps. Yes, you guessed it. This was exactly, exactly the same place that “I came in 1997″. The narrow road, the slanted shophouses ….. everything looked the same except that it was more modern that the one in my dream. I hurried down the road to check on the cigar shop but it was replaced with a real estate shop but believe me, I could feel the energies of that real estate shop to be that of the cigar shop. My mate looked at me and he knew what it was all about as my description of my dream to him in 1997 was so real that he could feel and see the whole scene now. One thing to highlight – most of the houses off the narrow road are build with crystal like stones. They looked like agate to me, with the circle striations. No wonder this place is so filled with energies.
Another such dream took me back to Holland. I lived in Holland in 1977/78 and I have often walked the streets in Amsterdam every single weekend and am very certain no such curios shop existed behind C&A Departmental Store. In my dream there was this corner curios shop with a matronly old lady manning it. Later part of the dream brought me to Hoofddrop, a suburb off Amsterdam selling cigars too. This dream was also so real that I could feel myself participating in everything in the dream. This dream was some 18 years ago. I never went back to Holland to check on it.
by Sandie on June 6, 2011
Lhamo La's vegetable garden - Dekeyling
Many people are showing great interest in organic products. This is being clearly demonstrated by the vast array of products ranging from fruits, vegetables, bread, tea, sugar, noodles, eggs, etc, appearing on supermarket and retail shelves; all labelled “Organic” in some way or another.
One major reason for so much interest in organic foods and products is simply due to the fact that organically grown foods are nutritionally more potent.
But how organic is organic? How do we know if the word “Organic” is used for marketing purposes or that they are genuinely organic? So how do we know exactly what we are buying? I used to determine the vegetable whether they are organic by the ‘worm holes’ on the vegetables or how ‘ugly’ looking they are but these days it’s hard to tell because they look just as great as their non-organic counterpart.
I normally buy my organic produce from individual organic outlets rather than from supermarkets.
Anyone has any share or thoughts on this?
