Wednesday, September 15, 2004
memoirs of my ah yee
i discovered a birthday card signed by ah yee (my aunt serene who was cremated today) on her dresser."hsinyen
Today and in the year ahead, may you come to know in an even richer and deeper way how much you are truly loved. happy birthday.
aunt serene"
it's despairing when you find out someone had you in mind (my bday's not till nov) and all you did was...nothing. i felt useless as her only niece for not visiting her enough when she was doing better. i hated myself for my selfishness when all she had was generousity.
she watched me grow up. plastered my 8 pound baby pics in her office cubicle. plied me with smurf figurines and strawberry shortcake dolls. shared my frenzy for shoe and bag shopping wherever we travelled. tokyo, san francisco, vancouver, auckland, beijing, paris, perth and our annual hong kong sprees. how we devoured italian food and cheese. how we missed paris and their fresh bakes. doing our xmas gift exchanges. how we loved osaka's ika dish. how we always ate duck's tongue whenever we're in hong kong. how i missed her laughter. her fearless gung ho personality (she mocks superstitions and detests gossips). and how i'll miss seeing her at gramp's place every sunday drinking from her can of coke and nibbling on sng boeys in front of the latest cantonese serials.
we can't turn back time. but you'll be greatly remembered and cherished. may your sweet smile dawn on us always.
bee wrote this at 4:34 PM
