My silent friends

Flowers are our greatest silent friends. ~ Jim Brown

The maid paradox

I have an elderly father who is no longer able to look after his everyday needs. We need a maid to look after him. With his "idiosyncracies" and his strong preferences, a nursing home is out of the question.

He has 5 children, two being overseas and therefore are spared the responsibility of looking after the father's everyday needs and spared the everyday worries. Three of his children including me are still in the country but inviting him to stay with us (which we have tried) is a non-starter as he would never leave his house.

So, we depend on a live-in maid. Herein lies the paradox: we cannot do without a maid, but we also wish we do not have to have a maid. Changing the maid may result in other problems. Well, you know the English proverb 'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know'. So to solve the problem we allow the problem to be.

My date with 外丹功

Four months ago I joined a Waitankung 外丹功 class, with great trepidation, at the invitation of a friend. Now I find myself maybe a little bit more agile and energetic. Well, it is an ancient Chinese exercise, not a martial art but more of an exercise for health enhancement. The basic principle is to activate the Hsien Tien Chi (inner energy) inside the body so that the energy flows smoothly through the internal organs. I understand this is a good exercise routine for the middle aged.There is a discipline to Waitankung. I still cannot perform all the movements properly but hopefuly I will get there one day.

Well, with exotic names like "Tortoise Breath"面東龜息吐納功 , "Fluttering of a Bird"翼臂足翹一妙功 , "Lift of Pearls" 捧珠入覲安魄功"Big Crane Walk"大仙鶴步 , etc, there is reason enough to be motivated. hehe.. .

What the elderly do to have a little fun

My friend sent me this elderly humour several days ago. I think it is nice..hehe...

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day, Bev my wife and I went into town and visited a shop.

When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up to him and I said, 'Come on, man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?'
He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.

I called him an “a--hole” . He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn-out tires.
So Bev called him a “s--t head”. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.
Then he started writing more tickets. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Just then our bus arrived, and we got on it and went home.

We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age.

Source: unknown

Not an easy process

I realize that bitterness festers over time. We may be able to suppress the feeling most of the time, but the when the memory gets triggered the rage will return, worse than before. The pain and the injustice overwhelm us again.

It is possible to recover from bitterness, but it is not an easy process.

CNY at my Father's

Four generations and friends under one roof on CNY day at father's house in Petaling_Jaya.

祝大家新年快乐 !

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

Every Chinese New Year since Mother passed away I had diligently cooked Mother's CNY dishes. There is always stuffed fish maw, staffed shitake mushroom, stewed sea cucumber, poached chicken with chicken rice, among other dishes. Even if nobody truly appreciates my efforts, I take comfort that I am doing this to keep up Mother's tradition.

要開開心心過每一天!

Gardening, a humbling experience

Totally shocked to find my full bloom periwinkle with pretty white flowers completely devoured by this fat blue-eyed green worm!

We've all had our humbling gardening experiences and will continue to have more, which is one of the best parts of the pursuit--there is always a plant about which to learn, a part of the garden to renew, or a technique to master.~Sara Begg, Executive Editor, Horticulture Magazine, May 2007

A night of camaraderie

Pre-CNY dinner with my Waitankung brothers and sisters-that's how we address one another.

As the night warmed up, all the ABBAs, Beatles, Frank Sinatras, Andy Williams relived their golden days!

Precious pictures

Last week my niece, LeeAnn, now in Toronto, sent me these precious images taken more than 20 years ago.

My late Mother with LeeAnn's brother, Shane, now in Melbourne

My late Mother with LeeAnn

That looks like me at the back with Shane

My Father, with Shane

Several pictures of some of my parents' 16 grandchildren. Now 4 are in Melbourne, 1 in Sydney, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Toronto, 1 in London and 8 in the country, 9 married, 7 not married, all pursuing their dreams. I love them all.

3 year old had 73 physical injuries!

In Johor_Bahru Malaysia, abuse victim Nur Dania Qistina, 3, died last Sunday. A post-mortem on Nur Dania Qistina at Sultan Ismail Hospital found signs of internal bleeding in the lungs and 73 physical injuries on the body!

Her father, 30, and her 25-year-old step mother had been detained by police

Please read: Deceased's siblings abused as well

Child abuse is a repulsive issue for the society and it would affect the image of the country. Furthermore, it is a big problem with a serious impact on the child's physical and mental health, well-being and development throughout their lives. Children should have the human rights of life free from violence, harm and exploitation -Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susan_Tan