Present and past

January 15, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My brain, sometimes, stops in the present. Preoccupied with life, and daily routines. It forgets how she was/used to be. Right up to August 2021, my mum was the queen of her condo/castle. She had a daily schedule. Up every morning at 5.30am. Complained about being late even before she began the day. A constant clock […]

Brother number 1

December 11, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am sad and tearful when I think that my Gunda is no more. I know what has happened but my head and heart are having a hard time accepting, believing. Most of this year, brother number 1 was not in a good way. In and out of hospitals for his protracted prostate condition. And […]

Letting go

October 23, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

I had tea with a school mate recently. I was looking forward to meeting up with her. Catch-up on our personal lives as I haven’t seen her since before March 2021. Discuss and debate the socio-economic and political situation of the country with a like-minded person. Do something fun and relaxing like have tea and […]

A milestone birthday

September 25, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum turns 90 on Wednesday. She is the only 90-year old I know, up close and personal. None of my immediate family members got this far. My dad and my maternal grandmother left at 62. My paternal grandfather exited at 72 while my father-in-law passed on at 82, a distant contender. Kudos to my […]

Still waiting

September 18, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

Each time I have had to wait in the waiting room/area with my mum, my husband and on my own to see a medical specialist or general practitioner, the one pressing, perplexing thought/question is – there must be a better way or system to treat patients. People in need of medical attention – urgent or […]

Running late

September 11, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

When I make an appointment, I am early or on time. Never late. I fret if I am going to be late. To avoid giving myself stress, I leave early even though I know I might be the first to arrive. Better early than late, I say. I don’t want the other person/s whom I […]

Sister number 2

September 4, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

Sister number 2 left for Sydney last Tuesday. She came home in August to visit family. And, to help me care for my mum while Kalyani, the caregiver, was away in Sri Lanka. Having sister number 2 with us was an unexpected bonus. Honestly, I did not expect her to jump in to help me. […]

Old is not gold

August 28, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

This August is two years since my mum fell ill. I’ve written a lot about her. Her recipes. Her life. Her stories. More recently, it has been about her ailments. Only because of how much it has changed my mum’s life. My dear mum’s Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart failure and kidney disease have deteriorated. […]

Also overrated

August 21, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

I used to buy into overrated, and sometimes pointless, waste of money things. Younger and gullible, I believed/half-believed the hype and marketing. Still gullible but a little less so now. I accept that people place different importance on different things in life. No judgement. Me, I will no longer book with Airbnb and operators of […]

Rekindled memories

July 24, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

It was a look back couple of weeks for me. The previous Tuesday afternoon, I met up with a school friend. From the class of SNC’78. Whilst my husband, mum-in-law sat. The Friday before, I caught up with three of my university mates. All of whom I had not seen since the Covid pandemic. The […]