HOME ALONE

Nana, our domestic helper, has to return her home to Indonesia for three weeks.  I convinced my mother she'd be better off in a nursing home while Nana is away.  She was admitted into Bright Hill Evergreen Home in Punggol just yesterday.  Of course, we had already checked the place out last month so Mum knows what she's getting into. 

Nana's Scoot flight was due to depart at 5:55am today.  I had booked us a taxi for 3:30am to take us to the airport.  When I woke up at 2am, I saw a message from the airline informing us that the flight has been rescheduled to 12pm.  Luckily, there were no further flight delays after that.

Even at 62, I'm very seldom left to my own devices so am feeling kind of surreal.  To celebrate my newly found liberation, I picked up a mini speaker from Muji while I was in Changi airport!

I MISSED YOU QUIETLY TODAY

You crossed my mind again today.

Not in a dramatic way.

Not with tears
or heavy sadness.

Just quietly.

In the middle of something ordinary.
A song.
A memory.
A moment.
I instinctively wanted to share with you.

And it's strange
how some people
continue living inside you
even after life moves forward.

Not every connection ends loudly.

Some simply become
a quiet part of who you are.

And maybe that's why
certain people never fully leave us.

because pieces of them
still exist
in the way we remember,
feel,
and love.

Unsaid Bonds

THE ROCK BUN STILL RANKS NUMBER ONE

 

Made Lemon Yogurt Cake a couple more times.  Gave one to Mayz.  

Mum, who seemed to enjoy the cake just a few days ago, doesn't like it anymore.

This morning she said, "I think the cookies with the dried fruits (she means Rock Buns) are SO MUCH nicer!"

Then, a friend gave us a few slices of butter cake.  Unfortunately, Mum wasn't impressed. "They aren't as nice as the yogurt cake that you make!"

I guess this means that the Lemon Yogurt Cake now ranks Number 2?

YELLOW = ORANGE

Had lunch at Wild Coco with Eunice and Eva yesterday.  Baked them each a small lemon yogurt cake.  It used to be one of my mother's favourites but she has now forgotten about it completely.  Dementia can turn out to be a good thing because there would come a point when everything you come across is new and exciting.  My mum's most common phrase in recent years: "I've never eaten this before in my life!"

Yesterday she wanted to know why I was putting orange zest in the batter.  When I informed her it was lemon zest she asked, "But isn't lemon supposed to be green?"

This morning, I baked a second batch of cake.  Mum asked, "Is that orange you're using?!"  When she tasted it her comment was, "It is VERY GOOD!  Adding orange is a brilliant idea."

"I used to make this cake quite often.  Don't you remember?" I asked.

Just as I expected, she said "I've never had this before in my entire life!"

A few weeks ago, my mother insisted that she has diabetes.  Even the doctor wasn't able to convince her otherwise so she was sent to the lab to have her finger pricked.  The result was negative.  Mum came home a happy bunny.

Mum makes every single day a drama.  

春风若有怜花意 可否许我再少年?

白发青丝一瞬间，年华老去向谁言。春风若有怜香意，可否许我再少年？满堂明灯照我衰，残酒倚楼咏苍髯。空馀物是谁住，更添怨色寄寒潭。 

元.李之仪《咏苍髯》