Apples of Grandparents' Eyes

You've guessed it!  Yup, grandchildren are the apples of grandparents' eyes.

Watching them grow from babies to toddlers, from young children to adolescents is a journey filled with experiences of many colors, the colors of joy, the darker shades of worries when they are off-color or ill, the shining colors of their achievements.

 My grandchildren have done me proud and I speak for their grandfather too.  Transplanted into a new environment to which they had to adapt and to study without the loving presence of their mother, they have turned out to be more mature and independent.

 They are now back for a week's school break.  My how they have grown!  My grandson is taller than me now and my granddaughter is almost as tall as I am.

I've been cooking their favorite dishes and it gives me great pleasure to see them eating with gusto.

 My grandson topped the form in his school and his prizes are in the form of book vouchers which he is looking forward to redeeming. Well done, Stephen. My granddaughter has done equally well and has been selected to be a school councillor and has undergone the requisite training.

 The week is already coming to an end and soon they will be flying away, back to school until the next school holidays.

Our youngest grandchild is a bouncing baby boy who gives us great pleasure when we see the videos his father posts to us. Thank goodness for smart phones on which we can see our little baby smiling and moving his limbs animatedly. This doting grandma watches the videos over and over again everyday. But then what can a grandma do when the little one is so far away? Watch videos and look at his pictures, noting how much he is growing. Sigh....   

Chinese New Year Eve

The eve of the Chinese New Year is very important as the reunion dinner is held on this day. Family members no matter where they work, will head for the family home to have dinner with their parents and grandparents if they are still around. Hence the mass exodus which sees the main highways clogged with traffic heading north, south, east or west, all making a beeline for home.

Many families have moved from the tradition of having dinner in the home to restaurants and hotels which usually see brisk business with two or three seatings during the course of the evening. Yet others will holiday in neighboring countries as a break from the madding crowd.

As for my family, we still stick to the tradition of having the reunion dinner at my brother’s home where the family ancestral altar is. In the late afternoon,offerings are made to our ancestors as a mark of respect and to honor them so that they will continue to bless the family.

Joss paper folded in the form of ingots and fans together with paper clothing and shoes are burnt at the end of the offerings and prayers.

In the evening everyone gathers for the reunion dinner. In my family, each sibling brings a dish or more to share so the table is laden with lots of delicious food. We tossed the prosperity salad to usher in good luck for the new year.

This year, my brother’s birthday coincided with the eve of the new year so it was a double celebration.

It was a very merry occasion as my sibling from Australia flew back together with her children and grandchildren. All the young children playing together made the evening complete.

This dinner will be remembered for a long time to come.

Our Newborn Grandson Isaac

The long awaited meeting took place three days ago. After leaving the airport, a taxi whisked us to where our newborn grandson is staying. His mum is in confinement and staying with her parents so Isaac is well-looked after by his maternal grandmother.

He is a dragon baby, like his father who was born in the year of the Dragon. In fact my grandnephew, Brandon, who was born a week after Isaac, is also a dragon baby whose father is a dragon too. The other dragon baby born to my nephew and his wife, a week ago, is a girl, Caitlyn. So this year, in the last month of the Year of the Dragon, we have three dragon babies in the family.

We had only seen Isaac from the photographs and videos his dad sent us via the smartphone.

Seeing him in person was much better and carrying him was even better.

As with babies at this age, he tends to be asleep most of the time. However when he’s hungry, he lets you know it very loudly and clearly!!

Isaac with his parents and grandparents.

Here is his second aunt ("jee kor")carrying him.

His Tua Kor ( big aunt ) will see him during the Chinese New Year.

He looks much better in person than in his photographs. His two teenaged cousins came by to visit him this morning, bringing soft toys.

Isaac’s new moon ( “moonyit” ) will be in a few days’ time but we will not be present as we would have left for home by then. A coming out party has already been planned for him by his maternal grandparents.

First Dragon Grandson

2013 began with a very important milestone in my son’s life and in our lives.

He welcomed his first- born Isaac on the second day of 2013. For us he is the first grandson carrying on the family name. To the Chinese, the carrying on of the family name from generation to generation is of utmost importance. In the past, it was common for a man to divorce his wife or to take secondary wives if she could not give him a male heir.

Fortunately technology is so advanced these days that one can have designer babies, i.e. you can choose to have a baby boy or a baby girl, depending upon your preferences. This is a boon for the Chinese woman as she need not fear being cast aside for not being able to give her spouse a male child. In the past too, mothers-in-law favor the daughters-in-law who produce male children.

My mum, may her soul rest in peace, had two daughters before she had the coveted baby boy, my brother who was very much cossetted during his infancy. Then there was a string of five girls before she had another two boys. So we are a very large family of ten siblings, seven girls and three boys.

I have one son and now my son has his own son. We are looking forward to visiting them later this month. When the baby is one month old he will be formally introduced to friends and relatives by way of a lunch or dinner. My son told me that they will be hosting a lunch to introduce Isaac.

On my part I will be presenting to my relatives cakes and red eggs, a simplified version of the traditional practice where yellow glutinous rice, roast pork, red eggs and traditional cakes were given. This was done at the full moon of my eldest daughter. Full moon means when the baby is one month old and the new mother has ended her confinement period during which she just stays home to recuperate and to bond with her baby.

This is an auspicious beginning to the new year. In fact I have two nephews who are also expecting their first-borns this month. So there will be a total of three Dragon babies in our extended family this year. Three cycles ago we had five dragon babies, 3 girls and 2 boys. By the end of this month all these dragon children will have become parents. Now our family photograph which will be taken, come the Chinese New Year, will show a much larger number of family members, an event which is much looked forward to.