Memories Of Childhood

I am grateful for the memories of my childhood days...if photos are anything to go by, I was a really happy child (on the tricycle which is almost faded). At the back, is my sister Lind, right behind her my late sister kak Mek.The other two were relatives, kak Ton and kak Non who helped take care of us. My Mum at around this time probably had her hands full, with four kids between the ages of 6 to a few months old.

This was taken when I was 2+ at our house at Police Depot now known as Pulapol, Jalan Gurney. While we haven't seen kak Ton for ages, kak Non has constantly kept in touch, always can count on her when we needed an extra hand. Kak Ton was the one who took care of me until she got married when I was four. Kak Non took care of my brother Ad and Lind. Both were like family, my parents infact played matchmaker arranged marriage between kak Non to another family friend of my late father.

I remembered as a child, always pretending to have stomach aches so that I could get everything my sister owned. It was kak Ton who would always pacify me with gifts and took me jalan-jalan to the shop nearby. It always worked.

I am grateful that these photos are still around, they certainly bring back memories of yesteryear. Looking at the old photos reminds me of so many things...the house we lived in, my late father, the gardens we had, the old Volvo, relatives who came and lived with us (kind of like what my children have, living with cousins and uncles and aunts in one house when we go back to Mecca), grandpa's old Jaguar (the car), playing in the river when we go back to the kampung, helping my grandma cut down branches of rambutan trees which were  within the perimeters of her house, picking mangosteens on the ground or getting chased by geese .  Like we always say, "those were the good old days."

I hope one day, when my children come across any of these old photographs they will get a sense of who their mum was, the simple pleasures/things we grew up with and  how things have changed along the years. And  I hope they will appreciate life with their loved ones even more and that family ties can never be broken.

Postscript/On Saturday April 7, we had a family get together and we were talking, my sister Lind said I knew you wanted everything I had! You were so sneaky...I told Mummy you were just pretending and she fell for it. And I had to give in everytime...Mum always had that" Dia kecil lagi, awak kakak" line on me. I read your blog yesterday. I knew it! We had a good laugh reminiscing those days growing up and even as teenagers, although we fought a lot, we love and took care of each other, we sort of only had each other then. I am thankful that our bond has stood the test of time and distance.