The Red Tent

Yes, I’m already back from Penang. It was such a long journey going up…the bus left the bus station at 9.45am…there were heavy traffic jams from Rawang all the way to Tanjung Malim…then there were minor jams along the way…in the end, we reach Penang at 5.30pm…the whole day was spent in the bus. Again, coming back home on Tuesday, because we left the island late in the morning, we also reached KL late in the evening. Because it was CNY, many Chinese hawkers only open their stalls on Tuesday or Wednesday, thus I missed out on my favorite food; Assam Laksa. It was not the kind of holiday that I imagined that it will be - spending the weekend visiting relatives, eating lots of Chinese cookies, collecting red packets, eating Chinese hawker food, going to the beach etc. It was kind of flat :) Nonetheless, what’s important is having my close family members around me during this time of the year. There are still many cookies around the house…I think I ate a lot and I’m about to burst anytime soon :)

On another hand, this year Chinese New Year for my family has been on a more solemn mood. My Grandma had suffered a stroke late last year which limits her mobility and currently she is being placed in a nursing home in Penang. My Pa is currently shouldering the burden or the heavy weight in looking after her, since all of my uncle & aunts have been shying away from their responsibilities. I guess in a way he is also afraid or conscious on how the outside people will judge him by the decisions that he have made for his mom. I think my Pa have done a good job…we didn’t abandon our Grandma on the roadside like what some families will do when we read in the newspaper. We did our part. We take up our responsibilities. We do what we can do, with what we have. We placed our Grandma in a nice, clean & safe nursing home. Some relatives or family friends are busybody people, they only know how to talk, I am sure if I ask them if they would like to take care of an old lay, I am sure all of them will run away too. Come on, my parents are already in their 60s…they themselves are not capable of looking after a stroke patient. In the nursing home, there are people who know how to handle stroke patients expertly, meals & medication are given on time, there are therapies & massages, everything is provided under 1 roof. Let’s debunk the old myth that old people that are being placed in nursing homes are unwanted, no they are not. The younger people have to go out to work, to earn money, who will be at home to look after them, to feed them to wash them…taking care of a senior citizen is like taking care of a baby. It’s a 24-hour job. I hope and I pray that everyone will be a pillar of support to my Pa…continue to encourage & motivate him...giving him the necessary resources (monetary or non-monetary)...to those who continue to harass him, please give my Pa the courage to ignore them...I am actually very surprise that I can talk to him and explain to him in such a manner because we never have this kind of conversation before, I actually reached out to him and encourage him to go to church as well :)

Everything happens for a reason – when things happen; Good or Bad - they're AMAZINGLY God sent! :)