Remember......

Parenting skills are so different from the days whilst i was growing up. I remember the phrase that children could be seen but not heard. If we expressed an opinion, most likely we would have got a knock on the head for speaking out. I remembered the times that i have spoken out loud, my parents, my aunt or my uncles would have given me that stern look, so i had better keep my mouth shut. We learned total obedience and we just do what we are told to do.
Nowadays, it is so different. If you tell a child to clean up her room, the reply would be i have a lot of homework to. Yet she would be sitting on the sofa watching the TV or playing games on her handphone. If you remind her a second or third time, the reply would be 'yes, i know....i'll do it later'. What a contrast! Yet today, child psychologists say that children are very stressed. Well, i just wonder what are they stressed about. The parents of today give their almost everything they can afford. They are chauffered to school daily, good food on the table and wear the most beautiful clothes that their parents can afford. This really set me to recall the way i was brought up. I had to wake up at 5 a.m. every morning to wash the clothes and make sure they are all proerly hung up on the clothes lines. Carry buckets of water from the roadside tap and fill up all the big receptacles in the house. After that only could i change and walk 4 0r 5 kilometeres. Of course, i was most happy at school. After school, i must head straight for home. After a quick lunch, i had to set about doing all the household chores, collect firewood, cook dinner and so forth. It was only late at night we had a little time to do our homework and complete them. We did not experience any stress, we only know if we did not complete all our chores, we would certainly receive a good spanking.
Now as i reflect on my own childhood, i realized that my parents did not do such a bad job bringing me up their way........

Remembering...

It's been such a long while since i visited my blog. Time truly flies....i didn't realised that it is more than a year ago that i wrote. Well, my little grandchild is now a toddler ....crawling and walking everywhere as long as she can hold on to something. Guess this is what kept me busy all the time. Little HM is a bubbly child, always smiling and gurgling....but she also has a temper of her own. She likes to play with the TV remote control, handphones and computer keyboards. If i take away any of these items while she is playing with it, she can literally scream the house down. Modern mums and dads nowadays are very different from my days. My time, i would have smacked her bottom for being so naughty....not too hard but enough to discipline the child. Nowadays, the parents always give in to their children....thus we have loads of spoilt children who do not understand the word 'NO'. I truly hope and pray that HM will not be one of these spoilt children.
Another observation......modern parents buy lots of toys for their children. These toys are certainly very expensive. However, after a while , the child gets bored with it and they are put away for storage or given away. What a waste of good money. Mothers today hardly make any soft toys for their children...the easiest way is to go to a shop and get one...fast and save time. I would think making a soft toy for one's own child would show how the mum loves the child..in the literal sense.
Yes, i am showing that grandparent love by knitting a neck scarf for HM......learning how to knit now when i'm in my sixties. In my young days, i did a lot of tatting and crochet, but never knitted. Well, i guess it is never too late to learn. To all grandparents, it can also be fun to learn at this age........

Remembering.....

I would like to share my thoughts on Maundy Thursday service which was held yesterday at the Wesley Church. The pastor shared with us about the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus and the last supper. I think all of us do not have any problem regarding the last supper, after all we have been reading this passage of scripture every year. The washing of the disciples' feet was Jesus teaching us about humility and servanthood. I think all of us accepted this too. However, when the pastor went on to teach us about Jesus washing the feet of someone whom He knew would betray him that this really hit home. i have been wrestling with this doctrine the whole day. How to wash your enemy's feet? How to be a servant to someone whom you know have betrayed you?
Tonight was Good Friday service. Jesus had to carry his own cross all the way to Golgotha. i remembered the way very well...i had the privilege of walking the same route some years ago. Again pastor shared about us carying our own crosses every day. Crosses are not burdens. Burdens we can surrender to the Lord but crosses we have to carry every day. This is indeed food for thought. We need to differentiate what are our burdens and what are our crosses. Cast all your burdens upon the Lord for He cares for you. Carry your crosses daily and God will show you His plans for you and bless you richly........amen to that.

Remember....

It is almost a month since i came home. The moment the plane landed in KLIA that i realized i truly missed being home. Home is where the heart is and how true. It was certainly good to be in familiar place again after so long. To be away from home for almost six months is just too long. After a good rest and sleep, i went out to look for good old Malaysian food. I never knew that i missed the curry noodles so much. Of course, they do sell curry noodles Down Under, but the taste is so different. In fact, there are lots of so called Malaysian food sold in Australia, but somehow the food cooked there taste different. Apart from the food, i missed all my friends too. It was good to know that my friends missed me too. There was so much of catching up and chit chatting and we still have not finished yet. The saddest part was a good friend had gone home to be with the Lord. This is one person whom i visited regularly and spent time together sharing our thoughts and experiences. Well, i shall always cherish our time together and remember him with fondness in my heart. When we reached sixty years of age, it is as if the time we have left has suddenly become less. I don't know but this is exactly how i feel now. So i must learn to value the time i have left on the earth.....to learn to love instead of sowing discord and hatred. Maybe then when i leave this earth, people would remember me with fondness too.

Remember.....

How time flies! Tomorrow will be the middle of February and it's Valentine's Day. As usual, the restuarants will be fully booked by young and old to celebrate Valentines's Day. As for me, my valentine is my brand new grandchild. She is such a lovable baby and cute. She was born on 1 Jan 2011. we love to write her date of birth as 1.1.11.
After more than thirty years of not taking care of a baby, i find this quite a novelty. The type of care that we were used to is of course quite different now. Nowadays, any thing that one need to know is quite easy...just go and look for information in the internet. Even taking care of baby is so high tech. As i remember, it is so simple then to take care of a baby. We did not have a wide range of milk formula to choose from, and we used only one milk bottle not six. Baby clothes were simple ones...all sewn by my mother. Now i look at Hannah-Maree's clothes and they are just beautiful. Baby's toys are also so plentiful and colourful. I remembered Christina had a baby doll and it was made of plastic. That was the only toy she had until Barbie dolls were in the market.
How time have changed.....children of today are so much more fortunate. Anyway, i'm just wondering what sort of toys will the children of future generation be like????

Remembering......

Hannah-Maree was born nearly a month ago. This is truly a time of remembering how i took care of Christina when she was brought home to me by my mother. As i take a good hard look at Hannah-Maree, i realized she is just like her mother....the way she sleeps and stretches herself....the very same posture indeed. Hannah-Maree is a good baby in many ways except when she cries for her feed. She must be fed immediately or she will scream the whole building down. After more than thirty years, a baby in the house certainly draw all your attention. In the midst of doing housework or cooking, the moment she cries, everything is put aside to attend to her. The modern baby is so precious.....nothing less than the best the parent can afford is given to her. This baby is truly blessed indeed.
This month is also a time of trying to remember the dishes i need to cook for the nursing mother. This is the most important month for a lady who has just given birth. She needs to eat the proper type of food so as to boost up the health of the mother. So, one imagine the amount of sesame oil, ginger, chicken and meat and fish one has to consume to return to good health. I must say this one month, Christina has indeed much more healthier than before.
On the other hand, i have put on much weight because i share the same food with Christina. I remembered my mum used to have seperate food from us. We would not have a chance of tasting her specially cooked food. Nowadays, because of economic reasons, one can get to eat all type of food if one can afford it and know how to cook it. How time has changed. I just hope it will be for the better............