Auntie, that's me !

With nothing better to do, since it was pretty quiet in the office, I logged into my niece’s blog - one which I am not supposed to know exist. There are pictures of her in her graduation gown, for rehearsal purpose, I reckon, as her exam results will only be out today. (ie. Thursday, 29th Nov.) If she does well, she’ll soon be wearing her cap & gown for real. 21 already? She looks so cute, doesn’t she? (I curi curi cut and paste her photo… shhhh…) Does she look old enough to be a graduate?
(P.S. At time of writing results were NOT out yet… but it has taken me days to write this and at time of publish, yeap, she got through and will be graduating next month, I think. Congrats !)



Mei Leng ‘s kids came back for their holidays and the family came over for dinner last Monday. As always, each time they come back for holiday, the boys bring me crossword books from Australia. Do they do it out of a sense of duty or are they really fond of their Auntie, me? Hmm… I wonder?

After the visit from them and whilst browsing through Sue Li’s blog, a feeling of melancholy struck me and I kind of, felt old. How big they’ve grown, my nephews and nieces! Thank God they have matured to become such fine & decent young people. Not like some kids, boys with long messy hair etc … shudder .. shudder !! I would never say it out loud, but I really am so proud of them and yes, I am fond of them too, more than they will ever know or guess!

What impression do they have of me? When they were young, I guess I wasn’t much of a doting aunt. Kids scared me (and still do) and the best thing I could do was ignore them. Whenever I speak to kids, it always comes out sounding harsh, and they end up terrified. Yes, best thing is to ignore them! Besides, come to think of it, Mei Leng’s kids were brats when they were younger! Mei Mei’s were so quiet that you hardly noticed them. What more, when we sisters get together, its difficult for anyone to get any words in edgewise as we will all be babbling at the same time. Blah blah blah… If everybody’s talking at the same time, who is listening? I remember clearly the 2 girls following Mei Leng’s eldest around - as if he was a much adored idol. That was so cute. Must have been uncomfortable for Cheng Rui though. I doubt he appreciated the attention he got from the 2 girls at his age then.

Kids, you have lived such charmed and sheltered lives. Everything has been taken care of and paid for by your parents so far. Soon though, you will have to venture out into the world to make a living. I fret and worry about each of you, how will you cope being exposed to the harshness & realities of life? What do you know about survival in the outside world? I pray that whatever challenges and trials you go through will serve to strengthen you into becoming responsible and caring individuals.

What words of wisdom can I bestow upon you? Have I set any fine examples for you to emulate? (snicker, snicker .. what ? a die hard cigarette smoking gambler???) Maybe, by way of example I may have failed you guys totally. But I want each and everyone of you to know, I will always be here for you. That is my promise to you. Just so you know.... I am afterall, your aunt.

F