A Child Taught Me To Count My Blessings

A Trip To The Hospital
  
My staff had arranged for our team to spend the morning at the children’s ward at a local hospital today, to celebrate the birthdays of 2 kids stricken with cancer.  We had brought with us colored paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils and other necessary paraphernalia needed to teach the children simple crafts like making Chinese New Year decorative lanterns and firecrackers. 

I was really excited about the opportunity to interact with the kids albeit slightly intimidated.  Up to now, in spite of my younger days as a volunteer at the charity homes for the elderly or mentally disadvantaged, I have never had the opportunity to interact with kids in this capacity.   Moreover, now that Joel is much older, I had forgotten how to interact with younger  kids apart from the fact that I had to shove my iphone in the hands of my colleague’s daughter one Saturday morning because I had forced the rather reluctant mother to be the “cover girl” at the photo shoot for my advertising campaign.  At that moment, I thanked the universe for giving us Barney the dinosaur on YouTube, and helping me to remember the lyrics to that Barney tune.  I’d never forget that weekend because I dreamt of Barney for 2 consecutive nights and was traumatized enough to stay at home, far away from the kids laughing and playing at the playground below my block of flats.

Touched By A Child

At the ward, I had the privilege to meet little V and her mum.  V is 14 months old and had never quite seen the outside of her home apart from the journey to and from the hospital for her cancer treatment.  V’s eyes were so big and bright, like limpid pools and her cheeks were so chubby you’d want to pinch them too.  She was so chatty as a child, and gesticulated animatedly when she wanted something.  Nothing about V betrayed the fact that she had cancer ravaging her little body and was subjected to painful treatments that no one outside of her family could ever imagine. 

While coloring a picture of Hello Kitty for V, I had a chance to speak to her mum who was such a strong and cheerful lady.  She spoke about V with pride, telling me how clever she was, what her favorite food was (chocolate), what her favorite fruit was (dragon fruit) and describing V’s mischievous antics.  I could sense a mother’s anguish and loneliness within her in spite of her broad smile and occasional laughter.  It suddenly dawned on me that as a volunteer, I was also holding the hand of this lonely mother who perhaps needed the comfort and listening ear of a friend.  It was not just all about the patient, V.  

Spending the morning with V and her mum was perhaps a little slap I needed to remind myself that I should be grateful for a healthy family.  With my attention constantly focused on work and other commitments, I had taken that for granted for far too long.   I suffered a breast cancer scare a few months ago, and while that experience was a hard kick in my shins to remind me to live life for the moment, that somehow didn’t last.  Shortly after, I was back to my old self of juggling multiple commitments, whilst barking at the husband and the boy for not pushing themselves harder to get more business, study harder, earn more, learn more and do more.  I was driving us to do everything more, apart from, to live more. 

I forgot to smell the roses again.

Learning To Count My Blessings

Meeting V was an absolute delight for me.  She was such a lively child and I was enamored by her giggles and her generally happy disposition.  How could a baby stricken with cancer, tormented by painful treatments and haunted by the prospect of a possibly limited future be so happy?

I am so grateful for the time spent with her.  She taught me to count my blessings.  Amongst them are my family, my friends, my team at work, my job which I love, my passion for Tarot, my clients…..I am so grateful for them.

Below is a photo of me with my looney team at the Children's ward at the National University Hospital. Thank you Children's Cancer Foundation for the opportunity we had to play with the children.
  
About the writer:

The writer of this blog post is a 43 year old mother of one, who spreads her time between her day job as a marketeer at a financial institution, her hobby as a certified professional tarot reader and numerologist, and her family which includes a 19 year old son.  She's married to a Scot who has been affectionately called "The Crazy AngMo" and prays that he does not find out that the term when translated, has labeled him as a "Ginger Head".

What Are You Celebrating This Spring?

The Hectic Year-End Festivities

 Before I could even put away my Christmas ornaments and discard the Christmas tree, Chinese New Year music had already drowned out the cacophony of bargaining shoppers at Chinatown.   Chinese restaurants were already collating reservations for Chinese New Year corporate luncheons and family dinners.  Most offices and mall spaces were plastered in red-colored decorations,  ranging from the ubiquitous  calligraphy of auspicious couplets, hanging mobiles in the shape of papier-mâché dancing lions, fire-crackers and pineapple-shaped lanterns.

Over the Christmas season, I found myself diving into a hectic rush of preparing a Christmas dinner menu, cooking up a storm and buying gifts  in between completing my work at the office during the day and managing a flood of Tarot readings in the evenings and during weekends.  When the New Year arrived, I had decided that the best way to spend the New Year was to rest my weary soul by camping out at home in the corner of my sofa in front of the television.  I never moved out of that position all day apart from when I needed a pee.  Even my meals were served up to me as I slouched in the couch. I was too tired to do anything else.

What a waste.

What Do I Want To Celebrate This Spring?

I was determined that this Chinese New Year, it had to be different.  I had to appreciate the significance of a festive season that welcomed back the Spring.  It was a festive season that celebrated family togetherness.  It was a the highlight of the Chinese Lunar  calendar that marked the intent for us to create a fresh start, a new beginning.  It was a 15 -day celebration where married couples and older relatives would be handing out little red packets filled with money as a gesture of good luck.  The elderly Aunties in the family would attempt to match-make the next generation of young unmarried relatives within the family, in the hope of extending the family with babies born in the next few years.  The cousins would come together to play a few rounds of Black Jack.  If you’re lucky, you might add a few more dollars to the collection of red packets you had received earlier.

This Chinese New Year festivities will span over a long 4-day weekend. It would be a good time for me to spend more time with my parents, in particularly, my Mum.  Our relationship has been bouncing up and down according to the volatility of our tempers so my approach to Mum as she judiciously organizes the family activities during the Chinese New Year period, is one of humble gratitude.  I want to restore my relationship with Mum, knowing that she has given her time and effort to loving me so selflessly.

I have also had time to think about my constant exhaustion.  Instead of blaming it on juggling all the different commitments in my life, I have decided to recharge my energy by getting back in touch with nature through the 11km trail walks through the MacRitchie Reservoir forest trail.

I used to do that quite regularly in the past but have stopped these walks for awhile with poor excuses given to justify my sleeping in.   I had done well kicking my diet back into shape post the year end festive feasting.  Now I had to use that walk to kick start my fitness regime.  

So this Spring, I am celebrating Family, Fun and Fitness.  What are you celebrating?

About the writer:

The writer of this blog post is a 43 year old mother of one, who spreads her time between her day job as a marketeer at a financial institution, her hobby as a certified professional tarot reader and numerologist, and her family which includes a 19 year old son.  She's married to a Scot who has been affectionately called "The Crazy AngMo" and prays that he does not find out that the term when translated, has labeled him as a "Ginger Head".

Thank You 2012, Welcome 2013

2 January 2013.  Back to work.  In the last few years, I used to return to work the day after a fairly boozy week-long festive celebrations, with a head-numbing hangover and my spirits irretrievably sunken into the abyss of post-celebratory depression.

However, I didn’t this year.  Not this time.  And here’s why.

Thank You 2012

I had a fairly difficult 2012 wrought with multiple changes in my work and personal life.  However, these changes were invaluable lessons which served to enrich my experiences.

1.    I learnt to appreciate that differences in personalities within a team can be very healthy as we grew closer as a “workplace family”.  The teamwork within my team amidst the challenges at work deserved praise.   No one left the boat adrift just because someone dropped the oars.  Everyone just chipped in and started rowing to get the boat back in the right direction.

Jin Kwon said, “One piece of log creates a small fire, adequate to warm you up.  Add just a few more pieces to blast an immense bonfire….individuality counts but teamwork’s dynamite.”

2.   I learnt to give people I don’t know too well, a chance and to accept that their skills and talents are just as invaluable although they may be different from mine.   

Albert Einstein said, “Everyone’s a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb trees, it’ll live its life believing it is stupid.”

3.    I learnt to accept my intuitive gifts even when some don’t.   That acceptance contributed to my using these gifts to help others.  Lenny Kravitz said, “I am not trying to change the world.  I am just offering my gift that God gave me, and if somebody is moved by it, that’s beautiful.”  My intent is very clear. I hope to keep on helping the clients who come to me for a Tarot reading, to find clarity and assurance whilst contributing part of the proceeds to my favorite charity, the Children’s Cancer Foundation.

4.   I learnt never to underestimate the power of will and determination.  David and Joel completed their first ever half marathon (with very little training and absolutely no experience), with one of them completing it in a gorilla suit, in a bid to raise funds for the Children’s Cancer Foundation.  I didn’t have much faith in the 2 of them initially as the only strenuous activity that they were accustom to, was walking from the sofa to the kitchen to look for food.  Wilma Rudolph said,” Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”

5.   I learnt to embrace the process of gaining new knowledge with childlike curiosity.  This was something Joel taught me when he entered nursing school at the local polytechnic quite reluctantly in the beginning.  As the months rolled by, providing him hands-on experiences doing laboratory work as well as a stint at the local hospital during his industrial attachment, he realized this was his calling and that he absolutely enjoyed nursing as a career.  Samuel Johnson said, “Curiosity is one of the most permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.”  Joel dived into the world of nursing, embracing new skills and knowledge learnt with voracity.  I will do the same with not only my marketing skills but also with Tarot, by continuously taking up courses to learn new things that will help me be a better marketeer and a better Tarot reader.

Welcome 2013

The habit of breaking New Year resolutions render it useless for me to make them.  So I don’t.  However, I am keen on welcoming the New Year with a lot more positivity and an ambition to continuously put myself on the learning curve of life without any fear of failing.


About the writer:

The writer of this blog post is a 43 year old mother of one, who spreads her time between her day job as a marketeer at a financial institution, her hobby as a certified professional tarot reader and numerologist, and her family which includes a 19 year old son.  She's married to a Scot who has been affectionately called "The Crazy AngMo" and prays that he does not find out that the term when translated, has labeled him as a "Ginger Head".