Of life through writing
Thank you / Get well soon / I miss you
When was the last time you received anything handwritten? Mine was last year’s birthday wishes, on the front page of a storybook. As I read the words, I felt my friend’s intentional wishes, and appreciated the time - however short - he took to write those words. If you asked me to write something today, I may need to practise a little to get back into the familiarity of holding a pen or a brush marker, because I used to be quite proud (?) of my writing. I also used to be that person in the department who would have a stash of stand-by birthday cards “just in case” we’d want to write group wishes for a celebration.
A week ago, we did some light springcleaning (okay, very heavy cleaning effort from my sister who’s way more hardworking than I am at keeping spaces tidy) at my dad’s, and I went through a huge box of things that belonged to me. Old diaries (eeks, follies of youth), recipe cut-outs, scraps of papers that would have my ma’s handwriting.
Here’s a ‘red packet’ from 2008. I always marvel at how tidy her penmanship was. I even found a songbook where she wrote down lyrics to her favourite songs because the Internet was not a thing growing up, and songbooks existed in the 80s and 90s but buying them was expensive. My ma grew up in a time where being lefthanded meant getting caned by your parents until you gave up and used your right hand to write. I am thankful no one did the same to me, and I remain a leftie though when it comes to racket sports, I use my right hand. May all my wishes come true indeed, when all my wishes are for her, wherever she is.
What does your handwriting say about you?
I dreaded 习字 lessons throughout secondary school - where writing Chinese characters over and over again as rote memory was a means to doing better at Mandarin exams. I had a Mandarin tuition teacher whose writing was absolutely beautiful and I think seeing her corrections (in red ink, of course) made me want to do better in writing clearly and reduce the red sea of remarks. While it may sound like something teenagers yammer on about, like palm lines or those lines at the side of your clenched fist that supposedly tell you how many children you’d have in your life (??), I think handwriting says a lot about a person’s personality, state of mind, and their intentions.
Life and luck, don’t discount it
Is your first answer “no lah,” if anyone praises you? Or that you tend to play down what you have, because you’ve been brought up to be humble and not stick out? That’s most of us, but I think we need to call a spade as it is, if we have the luck to be where we are, to make the choices we do, and to live well. I recall a primary schoolmate telling me during my ma’s wake, that he was envious whenever my ma would bring food during recess time for us, and I’m sure those years, I just thought that was natural for all mothers to look after their children in this manner.
But as an adult, I now know how lucky I have been to have had my mother as a life example of the person I want to be. This was a topic of reflection during my recent trip to Hong Kong with friends, and it was good to go around the dim sum table (at an overly Michelin-lauded, and in our lucky Singaporean minds, just missing the mark a little) to think about our blessings. Rick Astley has more to say on this.
Random links that help improve your day
17 best bagels in NYC - I don’t know when I’d ever find the energy to travel 19 hours there just for bagels, but you do you
Garlic butter biscuits that look incredible - think savoury warm scones, just in time for Christmas
Water lilies, time & ageing - finding one’s second spring and accepting the different frames of time
Komorebi - daydreaming about a healing week away in the forest, someday
To a quiet December,
Medhā