An Afternoon With The Old Ones

Days since my last post: 9

Surprise, this isn't an advertorial but rather a piece to honor all parents who have worked their bums out to make our generation a better living...though we complain about the most insignificant things all the time. Like the times when our phones are hanging or the internet line is dying, really. So here's a post inspired by spending an afternoon with my parents, my father's cousin and his friend over the old times that the new generation would hardly have to experience.

Sleep is for the weak not applicable here.

"I finally knew what it was like to start a family," my father's cousin started. He explained how difficult it was to cough on the first installment of the house but was grateful to come back to an empty home he called his own with his wife and first child. It was an interesting story to me, because I can't imagine a life like that today. Everything, it seemed, was on installments. First the fridge. Then the washing machine. Furniture pieces were gifts; a little from a sister and another from the mother.

Cool kids wear cotton nappies. Also pictured: The best friend.

"I remember when we had to buy diapers!" my father said. Or rather, there were no diapers. There were cotton nappies, painstakingly wrapped around our waists to protect our genitals and washed every time we peed or did the number 2. Diapers were a luxury reserved for outings, perhaps a piece or two every weekend. Today, cotton nappies are a forgotten piece perhaps reserved for the minority who prefers to deal with being economically savvy than for the convenience of dumping. And just so I could brag, I'll just like to say that I can tie a mean cotton nappy.

 Age unknown, but I think I drank lots of milk cause I was fat.

"Do you know how much milk powder used to cost?" my mother asked. A staple, the very best for every child. First there were expensive choices and then there were cheaper alternatives with less gimmicks. DHA and whatever other 'A' things were left out, a baby just had to be fed. They would skimp and scurry, looking for sales and other discounts that they would possibly milk, no pun intended. It is of course, way more expensive today and perhaps cheaper to rear a cow for your child then.

I probably really wanted to grow tall. Clearly didn't happen.

"Oh the nightmare when they all fall sick!" my father's friend piqued. Indeed, these were all parents in front of my eyes. Just as much as we wish they would stop nagging at us to come home early or to rest when it was time as we gallivanted on the empty streets, all they have was to wish that we were healthy and safe, wherever and whenever. Doctor visit were a nightmare, not just for the fact that the bills were high but because they didn't give you a 100% guarantee that you'll be well again. Apparently I nearly died, but I guess it's alright because I made it anyway.


But you know, these are simply the tip of an iceberg that runs deeper into an unknown sea of what a parent does for their child, and I believe that it probably doesn't have an end. So many words are left unsaid on what they have sacrificed for us yet all we have had in return was to ask for more. More holidays, better food, incomparable comforts. We want it all, but we're not looking to strive as much. Perhaps we're a different generation with a different mindset, but to have grown comfortably, where do we find that thought to grow up and mature?

Family: Circa 2013.

So thank you, parents of the world. For your endless nights and sleepless days, for your worries and your words. Thank you all for the love and tender care like no one could offer, for the enjoyment you have brought to us without complains. Thank you for raising us, may our generation see to being just like you someday. And a very Happy Parents' Day to you all.

Inspired by daddy, mummy, Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ka Fook.


