88 today

September 27, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s my mum’s 88th birthday today. It’s a super special birthday on many levels. My mum is super-duper special to me. 88 is a grand old age to get to. 88 is an auspicious number. In Chinese it means fortune and luck. As my mum is a quarter Chinese, she will receive abundant blessings of […]

My mum’s recipe 7: WIP – Suji Puttu

June 14, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Two weeks ago, my mum announced that she was going to cook Suji or Semolina Puttu for her Friday lunch. Just like Upma, there’s nothing about Puttu that I like. Not the sand-like texture, taste or pale colour. But, that’s just me. Despite my dislike and disinterest in Puttu, I volunteered to help my mum. […]

Daughter-mother

May 17, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I missed the point. I’m the daughter. My mum is the mum. That’s the relationship. Yes, I’m my mum’s carer now. The roles and responsibilities may have somewhat blurred. But the relationship is clear and irrevocable. Mother’s Day was on May 9. The week leading up to it was unusually difficult for me. My tinnitus […]

Haircut week

May 3, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

It was my first hair cutting job and my mum’s first in about seven decades. She hasn’t been to a hairdresser or barber since she was about 12. I cut my mum’s hair a few weeks ago. It was a daunting and challenging responsibility on many levels. Why? My mum prides herself in her twice […]

My younger mum

April 5, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

One morning, without any prompting, my mum recalled her wedding and her early married life in Kuala Ketil estate in Kedah. She, who is always late and on a catch up mode, despite being up between 5-5.30 am every morning, was rather relaxed and in a chatty mood. Information was spewing out of her. Naturally, […]

My mum’s schedule

March 1, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

As my mum’s carer, I spend a fair amount of time with her. I pop down to see her about four times a day as she lives on a lower floor in the same condominium as my husband and me. I know her schedule. She is up between 5-5.30am every morning. Yes, that’s correct. I’m […]

My mum’s sous chef

February 1, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am now my mum’s personal sous chef. Who would have thought? Certainly, not my mum. Not me. Not my husband. He still laughs at my current thrust-upon role. He finds the circumstance-driven transformation rather ironic. I am not at all keen on cooking, especially the savoury stuff. I even have a plaque on my […]