2nd Day of CNY
Child, Special Moments January 30th, 2009This happened on 27th January 2009
Background story as to why 2nd day of CNY is extra special to me:
Ever since my dad passed away 14 years ago, we hardly get in touch with his family, except for CNY. My dad has 11 brothers and sisters (including himself). Its a big family that is scattered all over Malaysia, Singapore and one in England. My dad was born in Malaysia, but during the time of Singapore’s Independence, he became a Singapore Citizen, holding a pink IC.
When my mom left home one year after my marriage, my sis and I went MIA (missing-in-action) completely. I didn’t want to answer questions like, “Where is your mom? Where did she go? Why did she leave?…”
It was till the day she passed away, that we ‘re-appeared’ to this big family. It felt really awkward when we appeared on 2nd Day of CNY 3years ago. For one, we were the only family without the ‘old folks’. Luckily, my boys diverted the relatives’ attention away. It’s much better now.
Many ask, why did we bother to go back after 8 years of MIA. Simple, I miss them. My mom did them wrong, but we didn’t. In all due respect, I should still meet up with them once a year. On top of that, my sis haven’t been getting a ‘decent’ amount of Hong Baos for 8years. With her steady relationship with her boyfriend, she would not be able to enjoy the privilege of receiving them for too many years now.
Ever since my grandma passed away, the 5 families in Singapore no longer go into Malaysia, it was the other way round. ‘Cos the eldest sibling is in Singapore. The photo above only shows less than half of the huge family.
This year, Binbin was extra cranky. His level of cooperation decreases as we head to more houses. Till this (left) happened while we were on the way to the 3rd house.
Allan stayed with him in the car for another half an hour before we decided to end his nap.
The last house we went was a relative we had not seen for 10years! We didn’t have much to talk about but Binbin sure enjoyed himself playing with their dog.
This pretty much ends the visiting craze of CNY. This Sunday, we will be visiting my Mom’s family. The family who took care of me since the day I was born. *smile*
January 31st, 2009 at 1:52 am
What a nice family picture up top!
January 31st, 2009 at 3:03 am
wow…you have a BIG family…. have a nice weekend.
January 31st, 2009 at 3:52 am
Even though it can be awkward and challenging, I think it is wonderful that you reconnected with your father’s family. The ties of family are stronger than we realize. Very cute pictures of BinBin!
JCKs last blog post..Yes… sometimes, despite her children’s undeniable lusciousness, she wishes to sling back a Jack and Coke at noon …
January 31st, 2009 at 4:02 am
i think u r very brave girl and I think you have taught your kids some great values. What better way to teach them values than leading by examples.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Wow..u really comes from a huge family background.
And thanks for sharing with us your story too. :D
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:47 am
Family is family no matter what, even if there are some crazies amongst them. Oh wait, that’s my family!
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:55 am
its so fun to have a big family!! the kids sure love it (more ang pao!) Ours is so small that we finish our visiting in 2 days!
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:15 pm
nice family photo!
February 6th, 2009 at 9:49 am
Good for you for reconnecting with your family. Sorry that you had to be without them for so long! I love pics of sleeping little ones.