Recently, the King of Orchard Road, property tycoon Ng Teng Feng passed away. There were lots of praises for his hardwork, business acumen and nose for the best property deals. Theses praises come from government ministers and prominent business figures.
There was an anecedote where the tycoon brought his wife to a rare cinema date and he brought a penlight to do work in the dark (presumably when the movie was on). To some people, this shows his hardwork and dedication to his work. For me, I felt kinda of sorry for him, his wife and his children. In life, money never seems to be enough for most people. Even the rich wants to preserve their wealth for their children and their descendants. There's nothing wrong in providing for the family. In fact, it is our responsibility as parents to provide for our children as best as we can. It's just that I feel it would have been a pity that he work so hard and yet did not stop to smell the roses along the way. He was busy planting the seeds, cultivating the land, growing more and better yielding trees but didn't stop to enjoy the trees when they were young.
In life, it's important, at least to me, to have a balance. Our children needs our time and attention besides we providing them with their physical needs. For instance, last weekend, just before Tiffy went for camp, Bert bought a newly launched monopoly cardgame. None of us knew how to play it, but we played a few rounds of it. First time Tiffy played "boardgame" with us, and she won the first hand too! I'm sure such family time would form pleasant childhood memories for her. Even if she forgets, I know I shall treasure it!
Last night (Sat), I sat down with Feli and finally made time to build the Newton Cradle with her. She had bought the science kit in Jan at school but I couldn't find time to make it with her. I am so glad I finally did, as she told me with a very happy and big smile on her face, that we had mother and daughter bonding! So cute, huh.
I am sure the children of the late tycoon would have good memories of their father. But if my experience of my generation is the norm, I don't recall my father playing with me. But I do recall the sacrifices he had made to fetch and accompany me to piano lessons by taking and changing 2 buses to get there, and then going to sunset mass together, just the 2 of us. I remember the times he drove us, as a family, to Changi beach over the weekend for a swim and picnic. I don't really understand what work he actually did. His title was land baliff on all my school's forms and in my report card. Every teacher asked me what that was, and I gave them the same answer my dad gave me, which is still unclear to me, as it was not your usual run-of-the-mill kinda job. Anyway, the point is, I remember my dad not for the jobs or work he did, but for the time he had spent with me.
Dad recently had a fall. He also recently can't remember family members names. He recently can't associate faces with names. He forgot the maid's name. He's also almost deaf in his left ear. I think he can't see very well either. His sense of balance is way-off now. I feel so sad when I see him in such a state. I can't really converse with him now. When he was more articulate, there wasn't much to converse either as he's not that "chatter-box" unless it's about his experiences during WW2. But I shall almost love him for his time travelling with me almost 1.5h in the hot afternoons on Sat for piano classes, his offer to look after my children when they were young and I was working, for the fun times he brought us to the beach, and the unforgettable drive in my first mercedez benz with him and the whole family as young kids all the way across Singapore to Malaysia. I'm so glad dad stopped to smell the roses and shared the fragrant scent with me. I love you dad!
Love Theresa
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