Taking a break for now from activegoldengirls

My new blog www.activegoldengirls2.blogspot.com


My dear family, extended family, relatives, friends as well as readers from all parts of the world,

Today's entry will be my 574th entry in activegoldengirls.blogspot.com. since I started in 2008. I do not have that many readers like other popular blogs.  I included a CQ Counter in my blog several months back and according to the statistics the visitors who had come to this blog are as shown in the graph below.



When I started this blog 5 years ago I had wanted to focus on issues affecting the elderly as I belong to that age group.  Somehow the theme expanded and changed.  Lately my postings had focused a lot on the family, especially on my dear Father. 



As you can see from a few posts before this, my Father went back to his Maker on 25 January 2013, at the ripe old age of 101, 6 months short of his 102 birthday.   Since then, somehow, I had felt like taking a break from this blog. 



So with this entry I thank all of you who had visited activegoldengirls.  I am humbled by your interest.  I would also like to apologize to all my family members, extended family members and relatives for having published your pictures or made entries in this blog about you without your permission.  I may have taken you for granted.  If you wish to have your pictures removed, please let me know.  This blog would still be available, but I would not be making any new entry for the time being.  Maybe sometime in the future I would come back here. 



For those of you who would like to follow my new babbles, please visit www.activegoldengirls2.blogspot.com which currently has only one entry. 



Thank you very much again.

Asia	300	111	411	48.15%
North America	224	373	597	35.96%
Europe	54	17	71	8.67%
Oceania & Australia	20	21	41	3.21%
South America	15	1	16	2.41%
Africa	10	6	16	1.61%

Making a facebook change

I just sent out this notice a few moments ago on facebook. 

"Dear friends on facebook....I will be deactivating this facebook account in a few days time.  Reason being there is apparently another "suwoon" in Malaysia and that is causing some inconvenience to me.  For those of you who want to remain my friend on facebook, please search for suraya woon or woonsp@yahoo.com.  This is also an opportunity for me to give a chance to those who do not wish to continue appearing on my facebook not to do so.   Hope i will get many invitations.  He...he..."

My new facebook account picture

I realize there was so much love

When my mother passed away 15 years ago, we didn't think father would survive one year without her, for although they used to bicker a lot, he was very dependent on her. Surprisingly, he outlived her by 15 years and lived to 101.

I know that getting old is such a big and normal part of life and yet it was so hard watching father getting old, particularly in the last 2 years of his life.  I sometimes silently questioned myself, how could this happen? How could a once strong, independent, sporty and intelligent man become weak and frail?  Where is the man who used to play badminton, play tennis and walk to the lake every morning to fish?

When he stayed with me for 5 weeks last year while his caretaker was on home leave I tried my best to improve his health but I think I did nothing  for him. He was making the motions, but his life was over. I realize then that caring for an aging parent is the most difficult thing one could ever endure. I felt helpless,  frustrated, angry and sometimes even overcome with a lot of guilt that  he was getting so weak. 

 When I came across my father's 1992 diary while clearing up his belongings recently I realized how much I did not remember about my father when he was younger. It’s also pathetic how random are the things that I do remember about my father. When I read some pages of the diary I swallowed back my tears and longed for my old home when both father and mother were healthy. I realize there was so much love and there is so much I am grateful for. 

Looking so happy with his grandchildren at his 100 bd do. 

Shared Memories

This post has been specially composed to share with my Sister and 3 Brothers, my Children, my Nephews and Nieces in Malaysia, Australia, the  Netherlands, USA and the UK. I do not know how many of them read my blog but I hope some of them would.
 

Our Father Woon Sang Chew (departed 25 Jan 2013 and
our Mother Lim Swee Heng (departed 9 August 1998),
through the years

The 5 of us THEN, taken in Parit Buntar
 

and NOW, taken on 26 January 2013 in Petaling Jaya

 

 

 

 

 

 



Images of our house where we spent our childhood and young adult years with Father and Mother

 

1989, probably during CNY

2011 at Father's 100 birthday celebration

A French author said “We cannot destroy kindred: our chains stretch a little sometimes, but they never break.” Marquise de Sévigné (1626-1696).

And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen. ~Terri Guillemets