Missing my Ama

June 17, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My heart continues to hurt. I miss my mum. I can’t see her. I can’t speak or share with her the things that are going on in my life. Not in person. I knew/know she couldn’t have held on much longer. She was getting more breathless and weaker by the day. It was a struggle. […]

My mum

June 10, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I asked my mum to wait for me. I touched her feet, something I rarely do, and said goodbye. I stepped out of the front door, and waved at her. She smiled, waved, and looked directly at me. She doesn’t do that when her Tamil serials are on. Her focus is usually the telly, and […]

Being older

April 15, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum will be 91 this year. Every so often, she tells me she wants to go to her Tata or grandfather’s house. It’s a story she has created in her head. Part imagination and part memories. My mum’s Tata story has grown manifold since she first started talking about it when she became unwell […]

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 […]

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. […]

Storytelling

March 13, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum is a depository of stories. Sometimes a little unclear but mostly interesting. Her stories have given me precious glimpses into the various phases of her life. That said, there is one peculiar but still interesting story about two young girls, who visited her and played hide and seek in her condominium. She saw […]

Transmitting

January 2, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

I didn’t know what RCA was. I didn’t know there were male and female cables or jacks. Yes, what rock was I living under? The electronic, electrical and technology boulder-rock. Yes, that same boulder-rock that initiates shut down of all brain function the minute anything electronic, electrical and technology is mentioned. I was in the […]

Half-siblings

November 14, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum has been chattier of late. Sharing stories with sister number 3 and me. Some people, some events I was already familiar with. Some not. I knew my mum is the first born in the family of three girls. Her parents, my grandparents, were Tulasi and Sandrakasan. I also knew that my grandmother was […]

Different things

October 24, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband and I had a nice send off after our holiday at the Tanjong Jara resort last week. Some staff gathered to wave us goodbye and wish us a safe journey home. I chatted with Chef Ann while my husband walked over to collect our car. Tanjong Jara’s designated parking area is situated close […]

Ordering food

October 3, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I use food delivery platforms. Mainly to order vegetarian meals for my mum. Convenient, yes. But, not always straightforward. Like most things, I guess. My mum is the end user. I place the orders. She knows nothing about ordering online via a mobile phone or computer. She doesn’t want to know. She’s never been one […]