My Childhood memories- Valerie Lim (12)

I was born on the 5th of March in 1992 in Mt Alvernia hospital. I was the first child in the family so I received much attention especially from my grandparents.

For the first 3 years of my life, I stayed with my grandparent. I stayed with them only on weekdays and on weekends, I would return to my 4-room I was flat in Ang Mo Kio. My happiest memories up till I was 3 years old consisted mostly of things that happened in my grandparents’ house. I was also very close to my grandparents as a result of staying with them for 3 years. I am still close to them up till now.

When I was 3, there was a new addition to my family, my sister, Emily. My parents were afraid that my grandparents would not be able to handle 2 children at once so my mother decided to quit her job.

I was generally quite happy in kindergarten. I made friends and played and cried just like everyone else. However, I hated homework, especially if it's Chinese. I would refuse to write Chinese characters and would throw tantrums if forced to do so. Sometimes, my mother would have to resort to using the cane to threaten me to make me do my homework.

When I was around 5 years old, I began to take up responsibility as an elder sister. My sister was 3 then. I liked pretending to be the mother. I would make sure my sister doesn’t fall or hurt herself. I also enjoyed playing the ‘teacher’ game. I liked pretending to be the teacher and would make Emily sit down and try to teach her to write. She, on the other hand, would not sit still. I being too into my acting would shout at her to sit still. She would sometimes get scared and start to cry. I would try to calm her down but when she wouldn’t stop, I get scared and would start crying.

I was rather clumsy and fell down a lot when I was young. I have a scar on my right knee from one of my falls. I could not remember where but my mum said it was because I fell into a drain. I think I'm rather thick-skinned. While other children would cry, I would just pick myself up.

My childhood was generally happy (except when I had to do homework). I believe my childhood are similar to many people and there were not many things that left a deep impact on me that happened in my childhood days.

oh we finally got a blog! 306;D!
when mrs ng is done with her marking of our childhood memories we shall change the URL!

any ideas?

1.306islove.blog
2.dorensclass.blog
3.the38plus2.blog
4.dunworrybehappy.blog

kk some pics first. anyone who deletes it will die a horrible death




doren and ym



uhh..pikachu=D




the camera is so good that the pimples are so prominent x.x





ahahaha kawaii neh~

My kindergarten times- gene

Living everyday to the fullest, it was on the 5th June 1992 that I came to this world in Thomson Medical Centre, where I started living on this planet Earth. My family consists of my father, mother and my two elder brothers. When I was a child, my family dotes on me the most as I am the youngest. I am always thinking about why I was born as my brothers are 10 years older than me. Whenever I ask my mother about it, she will tell me that I was not her real child, and that she picked me up from the rubbish dump. Obviously, that was a joke.

My mother has a beautiful smile and she always wears a friendly smile on her face. My father who was a contractor worker has muscular arms. My father is very strict about my brothers' and my manners but my father gave in to me the most as I was the youngest child and the other girl they have. And my brothers will play with me when they come home from school.

I was very shy; I will hide behind my mother whenever a stranger talks to me. When they attempt to hug me, I would either cry or run away till my mother come and hug me.

I was very mischievous when I was young. I remembered that there was once I put a television remote control into my mouth and I couldn’t get it out of my mouth. When my mother saw it, she was dumbfounded. We couldn’t get it out of my mouth until my father came to help us.

I was so naughty that when I was in kindergarten, I made enemy with my classmate. She is a really arrogant person, rude and unreasonable too. Even the teachers could not do anything to stop her. The teachers punished her but on the next day, her parents will just come and complain about the teachers. We really had no other ways to stop her. Thus, having her parents as her support, she became more and more absurd. She acts like a big bully in school and all the other classmates were afraid of her. I could not stand her attitude, therefore I decided to go against her.

Everyday, it will be like a gang fight or something (just that we don’t use knives or guns and we don’t kill people). We will always argue in class or snatch things from each other. As I was young, I didn’t know that I was just creating more troubles for the teacher. We can even snatch the crayons while attending drawing lessons or trying to get the teachers' attention. Sometimes we will even splash water at one another during our break time. Everyday was the same till one day I met an accident.

On that fateful day when I was attending my second year in kindergarten, I was playing around in my parents’ room alone as usual. My mother was cooking while my father and brother had not come home from work and school. I was very active when I was young and I like to jump about. I was jumping from the bed to the top of a small cabinet and then to the floor when my mother suddenly called me. I panicked and missed my footing when I was landing on the floor. I landed on my right, causing my right hand to receive the most impact.

My mother heard the ‘bump’ sound and rushed to the room to see what happened. My father was then immediately contacted and my parents brought me to see a Chinese doctor who specializes in healing bone fractures. It took me almost half a year to recover then.

My injured hand caused me a lot of troubles and thus, I did not have the energy to continue arguing with my childhood enemy. We were all tired of arguing and quarreling with each other, thus we decided to become friends as she is willing to change for the better. Thinking back, I felt that I was really childish back then. But well, it is always better to have friends than foes. ^^

Ending off with a photograph of me…


And happy ending at last! (:

Childhood Memories by Rachael(18)

I was born on 18th August 1992, in Gleneagles Hospital, to the disgust of my possessive elder sister. There were photos of her sulking in the hospital ward, and my aunt even said that she moved her pillows to my grandma’s room because she did not want to sleep in the same room as me. However, as time past, she became my favourite playmate, and now, a confidant whom I can trust.

As both my parents are busy with work, they leave me and my sister in the care of my grandparents, who both spoilt me badly. Being the youngest in the family, I was also used to having my way and became really bossy. I remember throwing tantrums very often, slamming doors and bawling in the room until I got tired and let my father in, who would then talk to me about whatever I was unhappy with. Thinking back, I am amazed by his patience and how he never used beating to educate me (except once), unlike other parents. On the other hand, my mother was never a part of disciplining me in our childhood days, but the one who would listen to my problems, comforting me with hugs whenever something bad happened, like when my sister bullied me. However, even though they are great parents, they never had sufficient time to spend with us. I used to be closer to my mum, but now my dad, who jokes and spends more time with me.

I have never moved and spent all my life staying in Hougang. I think would not move even if I had the choice to. I am very attached to this flat, but I have always suggested renovating the house if we had the opportunity. Also, this is the place where most of my beloved pets died. I had a lot of pets like fishes, terrapins, quails and hamsters in the past but I have none now. I have seriously considered getting a cat but my father dismissed the idea as he insists that cats are good-for-nothings (they do not listen to their owners) and spread diseases. However, I still like the independent and slothful felines most, unlike attention-craving or energetic dogs, which probably don’t suit my character as much.

One childhood game, apart from all the stupid games my sister and I created, is playing Chinese Chess with my father. He was the one who taught me how to play. I hated the game because I was always too lazy to think and would rush my moves just to end the game quickly while my father would take his time to strategize and eventually, win the game.

Unlike other children, I attended nursery school at St Francis Seminary Play Centre, which until today, I still do not know where it really is situated. A few years ago I even thought it was demolished as it was a really old building and I have not heard about it for a long time until I saw it on a map somewhere. Remembering the name of it was also one of my childhood accomplishments as it was quite a lengthy one to memorise for a six-year-old. If I could, I would visit the place again, if only I knew where it was…

Childhood. by Charlene Ng (14)

Being fifteen this year, I've long passed by childhood. But each chapter of your life will always leave a 'tiny weeny' bit of memory in your memory bank. And I'm glad mine did too.

I was born in Malaysia and lived in an atap house in a village and moved to the town area at the age of five.

I am the first child of my parents and the first grandchild of both my paternal and maternal grandparents. My younger sister was born three years after me but I did not have any memory of living with her. Being the first child meant having lots of toys and attention for me. I had almost everything I wanted as a little kid. However I did not get to live with my parents like normal kids do. My parents were both working in Singapore and they chose to give birth to me in Malaysia as my grandparents will be able to look after me then.

Both of my parents are very busy with their work and I remember them visiting me in our house in Malaysia only once a week. Hence each time they visited me, I was always thrilled and excited to see them. I often ran very quickly to receive them for the fear that I might not have enough time with them as they only spent one night with me. And the next morning I wake up, they are gone. I remember crying once when I found my parents missing the moment I woke up. My poor grandmother had tried really hard to calm me down. Eventually I was back to normal again and I played with the toys my parents bought for me. Ever since that day, I never cried when I wake up to find them missing again. I had this thinking in mind that parents are only meant to be seen once a week and I learnt to treasure the time I had with them each week.

Living in an atap house in a village was a lot of fun for me when I was a kid. My house was really huge. I had a really big kitchen which I will run around the whole day while my Ah Ma(grandmother in Hokkien) prepare dishes or washes our clothes. My parents' room was really big too. They had small steps near their bed and I loved to climb up and down the steps. Many people often thought that living in a atap house was dirty and messy. But it wasn’t like that in my house. It was big and fun and, big. Haha.

I enjoyed my time climbing short short trees that are super easy to climb, standing under the mango tree in front of my house and waiting for the ripe mangos to fall. I would always collect the mangos with my tiny hands and often there will be this Malay drug addict who will come and ask for some mangos. He was a harmless drug addict and I often gave him two mangos at a time. Whenever he sees me collecting mangos under the mango tree, he will come running and asking for mangos. That felt like a daily routine for me.

As a child I like to run over to my neighbour’s house without shoes and play with the children there. There was this once when I was chased out of the house for don’t know what reasons and I ran home crying to my Ah Ma. My Ah Ma then went to my neighbour’s house and quarreled with her. And from then on, I never went to my neighbour’s house again.

When my younger sister grew older, my grandfather often brought me and her to the basketball court at the school opposite our house. I would run around the court and see the older guys play basketball.

But who would expect that one evening, like every other day when we go to the basketball court, I had an accident. I was four then and I got knocked down by a taxi. Oh and my mother just gave birth to my younger brother then. Anyway, I was swept right underneath the taxi and was later dragged out by my Ah Ma. I don’t remember crying at all. I just felt scared as I was could not see my Ah Ma and when I heard her voice screaming my name, I was worried about why she might be screaming. I still did not know then that I had been knocked down and swept under a car. My Ah Ma and the neighbours rushed me to the nearest hospital. Of course the story doesn’t end here. I wasn’t that lucky. But for some personal reasons, I do not wish to disclose the rest of the details of my accident. Sorry. Haha.

Anyway, life after the accident wasn’t very similar to life before it. Everything and everyone was like rushing. But I don’t know for what. My parents were rushing to move us out of the village, my parents were always rushing in and out of Malaysia and my relatives were all trying to help. But with what I don’t know.

In the end, everything settled down. Me, my two younger siblings and my grandparents moved to a semi-detached house in the town area. I was healthy again and my family was in peace again. I attended a new kindergarten and made new friends and neighbours. I had lots of fun there too. But of course I enjoyed living in the atap house more. It was more cooling and I had lots of freedom there.

I attended a prestigious girl’s school in my area for my primary education. I studied there for three months and my parents decided to bring me to Singapore to live with them. Hence, I left my siblings and grandparents in Malaysia and came to Singapore to study. I was really sad at first and would often miss my Ah Ma and siblings. But soon enough, I was used to the environment in Singapore and I became to love it here. Haha. I made great friends and had fun too.

Its already been my ninth year in Singapore now and I enjoy staying here. I hardly go back to Malaysia anymore as I have no friends there and everything there was different from here. I just loved it here and I wouldn’t want to go back there again. Really. ;D

Me, Myself and I - By Marcus

Me, Myself and I

I'm the first-born in my family.
Born on the 18th of November.
It's kind of wierd how i can't really remember about my childhood. Nothing realli interesting happened to me while i was a kid. I'm one of those blurblur kind of person. Short-term memory block. Guess long-term too.HAHAs

I had a few illnesses once in a while, and a time when i had to be hospitalised.
It was seriously horrible..
I think i had to have a tube through my nose or something. Can't really recall the full details.
I couldn't remember how it felt though. Uncomfortable maybe?
Yea, so... that was a sort of major thing for me. Caused my parents and family to be real worried.

When i was a young boy, i used to trip and fall a lot. Basically in whatever outdoor activity i do, some problem would surface. I was a very careless boy, injuring myself every few weeks or so. And at times, i would fall on my previous injury, causing the now healing wound to reopen again. ZzzZ. Silly me...


My Family

I have two younger brothers. One in Sec1 and another in Primary3. During my childhod, i guess we had a alot of fun togehter.
Played at the park. I remember trying to kick a soccer ball, i just couldn't kick it straight..
We shouted, screamed and cried together. But i guess that we drifted as we grew up. But not really a lot. Now i think that their irritating.
- my youngest brother just doesn't seem to be growing up. Even at his age, he just keeps whining and throwing tamtrums.
There's just no peace at home.
Could be one of the reasons i dislike going home.
- my other brother is not that bad i guess. Still okay.. Just shouts a lot.

My mum's a single parent now. My dad passed away on the 13th of Febuary, 2004. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer somewhere during the second-half of 2003.
It was quite a big change for me.
My Dad was a funny guy. Always wanting to give us the best. Food, clothes and everything. He was a sort of manager in his company. In one of the departments i think.
One more thing, he looks exactly like Tay Ping Hui. The mediacorp artiste? Know him? Yea, definite look alikes.
Now that he's gone, i'm the MAN of the house!hahas. It's a big responsibility..but i don't think i'm doing much now - at this point of time.
I do think of him sometimes, that if he were here right now, how different things would be.ya, so that's about it..

Now in secondary school, life's kind of boring. It's like every day, u're just going through the same old thing again and again. I'm sure you guys know what i mean yea. Sianded.. But all of us have to go through it. So all the best guys and gals!

JiayouJiayou!!


ByEeE ~ ~ ~

Childhood Memories by HARAS :DD (26)

I dare say that I have had the best childhood anyone could have. It was those growing years which I must say, have made me who I am today. I enjoyed every minute of it with my family members. There were always times where we would play and have fun. But what I feel was the best thing any child could have was the fact that we could all sit down and spend time with each other. I don’t think I would exchange my childhood with anyone else. :D

I have an elder brother, who studies in the same school as me. And he's of great encouragement and brother to me. We both used to make birthday cards for each other (okay wait, we still do) and in each card, we would write 'I thank God that I have the best sister/brother in the world!' And each time when I look through those cards, I would cry. Knowing full well what it means. There has always been love, and well, there will always be love in my family. And that includes my brother and me. It is that sort of sibling affection where we care about each other and talk about practically anything.

I have always loved how my parents met. And my brother and I would pester our mom to retell us the whole story. Starting from when they first met till we were born. They met during a Christian seminar and it was love at first sight. They started dating and went to their favourite haunts and reach home late at night and I guessed that continued till my dad popped the question. It was not long later I came to this world on 1st Sept 1992. I thought I was born in a university since I was born in was the National University Hospital until my mother explained to me; but frankly I'm not even sure of the name because I have long forgotten. LOL.

We used to go to the beach as a family and play with sandcastles and the water. And my father would bring my brother and me to ride in the Big Wheel Beach ‘Tractor’. The wheels were yellow and were very huge and I was even afraid of them.

My brother was my best buddy and play mate and we would spend lazy afternoons playing with each other and would laugh at weird kid jokes we came up with. We went to the same kindergarten, Apple Tree and one memorable thing there was the food they had on Fridays! They would have bread with mouth-watering butter and Milo for our breakfast. I can still remember how the bread tasted like and how I would make sure that not a single drop of Milo would be left after each meal. Kindergarten days for me were the best too. There were always interesting things to do everyday where we would draw, play and make new friends. The best part was that there was hardly any work to complete and even if there was any, I found it fun. My brother and I even set up our very own ‘Samuel and Sarah’s Symphony Restaurant’ and we played using plastic food and food items. We had our very own cash register and classical music! We would take turns to play the cashier and customer. Such activities that my brother and I had when we were little kiddos really made us close and comfortable with each other presence. I once wondered how it would feel if I didn’t have my brother for company.

I went for many overseas vacation trips with my family to places like the Philippines, Thailand, Shanghai but the one place I enjoyed the most was Hong Kong. That was the most memorable family vacation I have ever had during my childhood. I remember going to Madame Tussauds, a famous wax museum and we went around viewing all the wax figures which all looked amazing so real! Some of which were Shakespeare, President George W. Bush, MM Lee Kuan Yew, Arnold Schwarzenegger and even Yao Min! There was even a production studio where the famous people would have their height, body shape, face features, etc all measured out so that those wax experts could make the wax figures. I remembered I actually threw tantrums when the museum was closed on one of the nights when we planned to go for it and we had to change our plans for the rest of the night because i really wanted to go!

Yes, we know we not as tall as Yao Min. I felt so tall until the photographer decided to reveal the secret to our sudden increase of height ://

check this out, Arnold Schwarzenegger! it looks so real and wow, shiny!

We also went to Ocean Park, a marine-themed amusement park in Hong Kong Island. The park has its own cable car system which takes visitors around the park which was separated by hills. I remembered being in the cable car and was so afraid because it was shaking so much and I also was grabbing the camera and busy snapping pictures. It was so high up and down below there was a really dense forest and the cable car faced the South China sea so it was a super amazing thing for kiddos like me. The theme park even has the world's second longest outdoor escalator and my brother and I were running up and down just like any kid would, I suppose.

I’m not sure how many girls grew up liking to play with guy toys but I was always fascinated with toy guns, toy soldier figurines and basically those rough and rugged things any boy would go crazy over. Even my brother didn’t show all that much interest in such things compared to me so it has always made me puzzled, even till today. That leads to one interesting thing about me in my childhood was that I actually dreamt of being a construction worker when I grew up. (I know, I can hear those giggles). As I look back, I really wonder why in the world did I even think that doing heavy work along dusty highways would be fun. And it’s embarrassing for that matter. Well when you’re kid, practically anything is possible. Even wanting to be a construction worker !@#$%^&* hahah.

If someone were to ask me about my childhood, I think I would have said. 'It was one of the best times in my life and boy, I wish I could turn back time and do it all over again' :DDDD

Childhood Memories By Tan Jia Yu(22)

i was born on 30th March 1992 at Thomson Medical Centre. My parents named me Tan Jia Yu. Though till now I had no idea what it means, I like my name and I think my surname rhymes well with the name.
There are seven members in my family. My parents, my brothers, my aunt and my ah ma and me, of course. I enjoy family outings very much, though now there are hardly any cause we are so caught up with our own stuffs. My parents are strict but i know they are doing things that are for my own good. I think my family lacks gathering to strenghten our family bonds. My brother is currently in year four in Cat high and he has to prepare for his O levels. The other one is busy rehearsing for the NDP.

My brothers and i were very playful when we were young and we love to chase each other around the house. I remembered once we were so noisy and naughty that we made our mother furious, and she start hunting for us with a cane in her hand. The three of us squeezed into the storeroom nd we made a 'promise' not to make our mother angry again, for fear that she might have heart attack. But five minutes after we came out from th storeroom, she's chasing us around with a cane again. Haa!

For four or five years of my childhood, I live with my grandparents. My granfather doted me the most and give me more than I ever need. I remembered that he used to push me in a purple pram and bring me to the market to eat 'bakut teh'. Maybe he pampered me too much till I was spoilt. There was one incident when me and my brother were fighting over a stick to dig some soil in a flower pot. I began whinning and my grandfather came, scolded my brother, took the stick away from him and passed it to me. I was smirking and digged the soil happily while my brother cries and complained to my mother. I was spoilt and till now i think i still am. Everytime my mother disagree with me, i would pull a long face and not talk to her. Shrugs.

I can say my childhood was a rather happy one. every sunday, we would head to my grandparents'(the one i lived with for five years) house and gather. Then we would play games like block catching and at times, we would race with each other along the corridor. However, we all had most fun when we played soccer at the void deck. The walls at the void deck still have marks of soccer balls(not sure whether it's made by us), which vividly reminds me of all the happy moments of my childhood. :)

Childhood Memories by Arnold Lee (32)

HELLO! My name is Arnold Lee and i became an EARTHLING on 23rd January.

Born in Gleneagles Hospital and...

I'm the first-born baby in the family.

I have...

1 younger brother

1 even younger brother

1 youngest sister



As i was the first baby in the family, i suppose i caused a lot of problems for first time inexperienced parents. During that time, Mother and Father had to work hard to have enough money to keep a cute little baby then. ;D Because it was tough to take care of a attention-seeking baby and working at the same time, my parents left me to stay with my grandparents.
My grandparents house was where i spent most of my childhood. That is also where my memories began.



Television and toys (small cars) were everything in my childhood life.
After i woke up, i'll turn to watch cartoons and play my toy cars at the same time. My 2 elderly grandparents would look after me and give me nice food to eat. Life back then was truly enjoyable. Being young and innocent back then, i was a easily sastisfied child.



When the time came for me to attend nursery, I remembered i made things very difficult for my grandparents. My grandfather would put me on his bicycle everyday and cycle me to kindergarden. Rain or shine, he will always be there to pick me up. I was very close with my grandfather. My grandfather doted me the most among all his grandchildren, because i was the one who lived with him. He would go the extra mile just to get that toy i want, when i fall sick he'll run to the get the best medical cure for me. This went on until about primary 1 when i had to go back to my parents. I was really reluctant. I kept crying, I was more comfortable in my grandparents home than in my own home which felt so stranger-like to me. Having spent almost 7 years with my grandparents, i guess this couldn't be helped.



I attended primary school soon after. I didn't cry like the other children do. They were crying away while i just gazed at them. I remember our primary 1 form teacher had a really difficult time then trying to coax the children to hush. I did fairly well in examinations, or at least i didn't fail like now. As years went by, Mother gave me more and more assessments to do. And I guess this is how my childhood memories end.

childhood crap by VLSY #27

It's weird how i can remember so much about my childhood when most people can't recall a thing at all from their first five years of life.

My family
It used to be my father,my mother,my grandmother and I.
Somehow it just sort of fell apart.No big deal though.It's like whenever anyone asks me about my family and when i reply that i'm from a single-parent family,they'll apologise.But seriously,there isn't a need to do so.
So when i was around two,my parents got divorced.
I remember when the family was still together i hated my grandmother (paternal side).
In my opinion she was a stingy and annoying old woman who hid the grapes from me each time my mother bought a new bunch.
She really got on my nerves like !@#$%^&*(!
And i could still vividly recall how my house used to look like.
It was an executive apartment somewhere near Geylang.It was rather well-furnished but i didn't feel anything for it.
I remember going down to the playground to play everyday.It was sort of like a daily routine for me.And also,the kids on the block always got together to play those typical games like catching etc.

After the divorce,i moved to Bishan with my mother.
It was a brand new environment but i adapted pretty well.
The children there were very friendly and everyone got along so well! It was the best of my childhood days there.My auntie also lived nearby and i often went to her house for meals.She was a very good cook indeed.
I also remember spending time at her house with my cousins.My elder cousin used to put me on her lap and teach me how to tell time.And also when my mother is busy,she would leave me at my auntie's house and collect me when she's done with her stuff.
These childhood days were the days when i got along best with my mother.We often spent time together and i didn't find her a nuisance then.
Things started to change after i get into secondary school.
I wanted freedom and i didn't want to be reliant on her anymore.
Things just..changed.
I thought that she used to be very different in the past as compared to now.
Perhaps all menopausing women are like this.
HAHAHA.


When and where i was born
I was born on 1st September 1992 in Mount Alvernia Hospital.

Books
I used to read loads of books when i was younger.I practically gorged books.I could still remember borrowing 4 books from the NLB in the morning and returning the 4 books again in the evening to borrow another 4 books again.
My favourite used to be the "Two of a kind" series,the "Nancy Drew series" and many many more.I read many different genres and reading used to be my favourite past-time.
When I was out with my mother she would leave me at a bookshop and only come back for me when she is done with her shopping.I still read now,but not as much.
My all-time favourite series of books is the Harry Potter series!;D

My Personality
As a child,I was very hot-tempered and playful.I threw tantrums very often and was very,very stubborn.I'm still as stubborn now but i like it this way and no one can interfere in how i want to be like HAHAHAHHA!But as i got older, i learnt how to control my temper.As a child i was also very straightforward,and i still am.I just don't see the point in beating around the bush.

My Relatives
I remember my uncles and aunties often taking me out with them.They paid for all my expenses willingly and treated me like their own child.They loved and cared for me too.Our family(mother's side) was very close,and never had any conflicts from what i remember.
I grew up with my cousins and they were like my siblings as I was the only child.

PEEKTURE! of me and my cousin! I'm the one on the right FYI.

Childhood ailments or injuries
I was sort of hyperactive and used to be all over the place.I loved to climb up high places.And as a result,i often get injured.
Once,i had to had 6 stitches on my forehead because i was running around recklessly and crashed into the wall.I also sprained my ankle many times because i simply loved to run around like a wild child.Asthma also affected me in a way or another.
I was deprived of cold drinks then,and it made me very unhappy of course.

ending here,continue next week if there's time.
BYEBYE.

Childhood Memories by Cheng Yi Qing (2)

Childhood memories.. One such memory can be linked with a thousand similar ones. Life back then was so much more simple, none of those problems we face as we are growing up right now. One lollipop can change that frown upside down. Everyone has only one chance at having a childhood.

Born as the middle child, life was not always that easy for me. Having an older brother and younger sister did not help a single bit. Brother was closer to dad and mum favoured the youngest. Naturally, I was left out. But that did not mean they did not love me. I as always urged to do better than what I was then. Brother was not exactly what one would call a studious student and thus, my parents pinned their hope on me, the second one. I guess my sister was the luckiest being a "mummy's little girl". Nevertheless, our relationship among us siblings have been a close one. Hopefully, it will remain the same for as long as we live.

Born on the 8th of May in 1992, I was an adorable baby according to my parents. Some photos in an album told me that I was fair and chubby. My mother used to send me to my grandparents house to stay as both my parents had to go to work. I remember little about what I have done there though.

One holiday trip that took place when I was young was when I went to China to visit my distant relatives. My whole family including my grandparents and relatives were supposed to go but my sister fell sick and therefore, mum decided to stay in Singapore with her. I remember reaching there and everything was so new. There was no water taps and if we wanted to wash our hands or take a bath, we had to go to a well to get water. Thankfully, the door was not one of those doors that only cover either the top half or bottom half of the body. It was a metal door that covered EVERYTHING. I can still remember I had to share the bed with dad and bro and we were kind of squashed up. For the first night, I slept right inside, beside me was dad and right outside was bro. But the second night bro decided to sleep inside and no amount of arguing and squabbling could get him to change his mind. Halfway through the night, bro turned and pushed my dad, who in turn pushed me and I fell off the bed. I fell with a loud thud and my head hurt. Dad woke up and scooped me off the floor on to the bed but up till now, I can still remember the feeling of falling off the bed.

The rest of my childhood was probably much the same as everyone else's. Friends, school, playgrounds, sweets, laughter, tears, yadda yadda. But still, I'll never exchange my childhood for anything in the world. So there.

I did not bring any photos so toooo baaaaad. I've none to upload. Well done.

BYEBYE :)

Parenthood by Jamie Ng

It was the night of 26th June, 2004 when my wife Doreen started experience contractions. She was already 38 weeks into her pregnancy and had never experienced contractions prior to this night. We suspected that our little girl whom we had already named Kaylan was going to be born tonight, just as we had “requested” her to.

My wife was hoping that Kaylan would share the same birth date as her, but it was about 11:30pm when we arrived at the KK Women’s hospital, so it was not possible for little Kaylan to arrive before midnight. Both of us were very calm as we had been waiting this moment for many months now. We both were very eager to be parents. I recalled that day about 8 months back when Doreen showed me the pregnancy test stick, it showed positive. We were both excited and relieved at the result, relieved because we knew that not every couple is fortunate enough to be able to have babies without some external help from doctors. We considered ourselves very lucky. Even better yet, Doreen had experienced a very smooth pregnancy, no vomiting and nausea, no feeling of being bloated and no stretch marks even on her tummy, just the usual inconvenience of walking around with the added weight. I was very proud of my wife, she maintained her swimming routine, 10 laps per week all the way to the 37th week of pregnancy.

The contractions were not a false alarm, the water bag broke shortly after we arrived at the hospital and my wife was quickly wheeled into the delivery ward. Time seemed to crawl in the ward as we waited for the time to come when my wife had to start pushing. About three hours later the nurse with us instructed my wife to start pushing. I held Doreen’s hand as she went through the routine. 45 minutes later, I heard the first cries of my baby girl as the doctor held her in his hands. He handed her to the nurses who swiftly cleaned her up and wrapped her in a pink cloth. They then placed her in the plastic cradle. All warm and clean, Kaylan was quiet, but her little eyes were open. I looked at her intently, trying to memorize all her features in that minute before the nurse wheeled her away. The whole experience seemed so unreal. I was a father! What a glorious promotion in life I had just undergone!

It was a tough when we brought back our little bundle of joy. Although we had been eagerly anticipating her arrival, the emotions that we experienced when we first brought her back were anything but joyful. In was stressful in fact. We did not know her and she did not know us. It was like bringing a stranger back home, a little stranger who did not know how to speak. We had to learn to understand her needs; when she was hungry, when her diaper was wet, when she was sleepy, when she was uncomfortable and more. A month passed and we got somewhat used to her by then, parenthood was starting to be enjoyable, finally! We threw a first month celebration for her and invited all of our relatives so that we could show her off to all our extended family. We were very proud parents, and our parents, very proud grandparents!

It’s funny when I recall how we felt as first time parents. If I were to make a comparison, there is no accomplishment that I have experienced thus far that can compare to this simple one, the joy of becoming a parent, the pride, the joy. I believe there is no other accomplishment in the future that will be able to compare to this either. I think life is very fair in this aspect. But parenthood soon became more stressful for us. 4 months later, my wife showed me the pregnancy test stick, positive again. This time we felt at a loss rather than overjoyed. This was not planned. We did not feel prepared to be second time parents so soon.

When we broke the news to our relatives, most of them advised us to keep the child. This is of course the right decision to make, and no doubt the advice most people will give anyhow, however having another baby so soon will be real taxing not only financially, but also emotionally. Many young couples today put off having children altogether, not wanting to limit their freedom. We are already tied down by Kaylan who requires constant attention from us when we come back from work, what more another attention hungry baby? Will we have the energy to take care of 2 babies who will constantly hound us for our attention and love? Having to make such a decision is not merely about doing the “right” thing, the ones bearing all the emotional burden will be us. We scheduled to meet with a doctor to carry out an abortion, this was the first decision that we came to. However on the day itself, my wife told the doctor that she was not going through with it. We had reversed the decision several days before.

Our 2nd child was a boy and I named him Lucian. That’s the good thing about being a parent, I get to choose the baby’s name! He was born 13 months after his elder sister, not very big, but more importantly healthy. The process of bringing a “stranger” home starts all over again. Lucian was not so much a “stranger” to us as Kaylan was as we were now quite experienced. The first few months seemed to pass faster also than when Kaylan was born. Kaylan did show some jealousy when we brought Lucian home, fighting for my wife’s attention when ever she saw her little brother being nursed or carried, fortunately that came to past after a few weeks. We were lucky enough also to get a very good domestic helper who is very experienced with babies. She simply adores our 2 children and has been a great help looking after them day and night.

I guess my aunt was right when she told me months ago that we have to have faith. Life can throw some challenges every now and then, but once we see it through, the challenges won’t seem so daunting after all, and further more help will come unexpectedly at times. We have been coping quite well thus far although we haven’t had a full night’s sleep for over a year now. Our freedom, needless to say is severely limited also by our 2 darlings. Still my wife and I have no regrets, if we could choose to re-live the past all over again, we would still choose to have these 2 beautiful babies with us right now.

Parenthood may be tough, but it makes life worth living. I find my life very meaningful right now because of my 2 children. There are many young couples nowadays who choose not to have children because they are too busy pursuing material possessions and enjoying their freedom. My personal thoughts to them would be this; you have no idea how much joy you are missing out on! Sure, there are plenty of sleepless nights, limited time for ourselves and financial commitments, but that is what makes life interesting! All the money and freedom in the world will not bring joy if there is no meaning, and nothing can be more meaningful than bringing up our own children.