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. […]

Palliative care

December 27, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

‘Alert and chatty’ is how the palliative care doctor describes my mum, in her log book, after her weekly and sometimes bi-weekly home visit. Positive and encouraging words. Optimistic adjectives. Happily, also true. My mum is sharp witted and cheeky with her answers and responses to questions and queries posed by her palliative team. She […]

Work. Save. Invest.

December 20, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am comfortable. Not rich. It took me many years – more than half my life – to get to where I am now. I worked, saved and invested a little. I took the conventional route. Yes, there are tech and business entrepreneurs who create apps, run mammoth companies and earn mega bucks. Yes, there are […]

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 […]

Returning home

November 22, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband and sister number 3 are home now. My husband, after being with his family for seven weeks, following his father’s passing. My sister, on compassionate grounds, to be with my ailing mum. It was not quick nor easy for either of them to return to Malaysia from England. Mainly because Covid-19 is still […]

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 […]

Terms and jargon

November 8, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I received this message when I tried to access my blogsite: ‘Login Issues Not Found. The Requested URL was found on this server. Additionally, a 404 Not Found Error was encountered while trying to use an Error Document to handle the request.’ I understood each standalone word but not together in the three statements respectively. […]

One Sunday

November 1, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’m busy every day. Busier than when I was working and getting paid a decent amount of money. I’m constantly chasing my tail. Always something to do. Always exhausted. So, what is it I’m doing? Why am I busy? Why am I bone-tired? Simple. And yet I never thought of doing it until last Sunday. […]