Ticking time

February 28, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum is a stickler for time. A clock watcher. Even now. Ailing with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and heart failure, her days are influenced by time. She has clocks everywhere in her condominium. One large analogue clock by her bedside wall. Another digital facing her. Two large ones in the lounge and kitchen. She […]

Special days

February 21, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

Last Monday was Valentine’s Day. The Saturday after was our wedding anniversary, my husband and my 25th silver anniversary. Yes, it is a major milestone. Yes, we have come a long way together. And, yet oddly, I was under prepared. Or rather I didn’t have ‘real plans’ for either. I wasn’t too bothered about Valentine’s […]

Bills

February 14, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s month two of 2022. Whizzed past? Plodded along? All a blur? Not sure. What’s for sure is come rain, sun or fuzzy days, a new month means bills – utility, credit cards and maintenance charges. And, the start of a new year usually heralds an assortment of other bills – insurance, council rates and taxes. […]

How not to be sad

February 7, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I don’t have the answer or solution on how not to be sad. I’m sad. I know why. I just don’t know how to shake it off. I just thought of Taylor Swift’s song as I wrote that. And, her video. I smiled. I guess that’s one way of doing it. Shake it off. Switch […]

The brain

January 31, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I binged watched a Netflix ‘explained’ production about the brain recently. Sat through 4 of the 5 episodes presented. There were some noteworthy nuggets on topics such as focusing, personality, creativity and brainwashing. The one on ‘brainwashing’ piqued my interest the most. It made me think about how the brain can be brainwashed – controlled, […]

Saying goodbye

January 24, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I have to say goodbye to sister number 3 on Thursday. She arrived on Deepavali Eve. Changed her return flight from 21 Dec to 11 Jan. Changed it again to 27 Jan. After 2 months and 26 days she flies back to England. Her 90-day MyTravelPass visa expires on 1 Feb. I am sad now. […]

11 minutes

January 17, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

It was the longest 11 minutes of my life. My mum could not be aroused. Not by her palliative doctor, who thankfully was present at the time, for her weekly visit. Not by sister number 3. Not by me. My mum was a little under the weather the previous Sunday evening. Phlegm and cough. […]

Going to the movies

December 13, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

After a 2-year hiatus, due largely to Covid-19 and choice of cinema worthy movies, my husband and I watched ‘No Time to Die.’ A definite watch-in-the-cinema James Bond movie. We didn’t know it at the time but we were amongst the earliest to see it in Malaysia. A day after it was released on Nov […]

Tis the season

December 6, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Deepavali 2021 was a non-event for me. It was just another day on the calendar. I didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want to celebrate. I didn’t make any Indian cake or ‘palavaram’ associated with the festival. Even my mum was a little subdued due to her ailing health. Deepavali 2020 was much better. It was […]

Live-in or stay-out

November 15, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I never thought I’d have to resort to outside help for my mum. I prided myself on being able to care for her – when she needed it and for however long. Actually, that’s what sister number 4 and I had discussed on several occasions. We will take care of our mum, between us. Of […]