My mother

The person who influenced me most in my life is my mother. She was a first generation of Singapore citizen in our family, who was immigrated from China when she married my father at the age of 17. My father was 7 years older than her. I have four sibling and I am the younger and the only daughter in our family. Ever since I was born in the Naval Base Asia Hospital, my mother had been working to help out my father to raise our family. My mother is a traditional asian woman, she respected her husband, she cared and gave unlimited love to her children.

Way back then, our family was a dual income faimily. That explained why we had a life that was much better than those of my neighbours who toiled around in the factory / farm. I witnessed how being independant and have a constant income gave rise to a comfortable life during my childhood days. Not that I could have what I want during those days, and though I still compared poorly with my wealthy, chauffeur driven. classmates in the secondary school days, nevertheless, I was comfortable to have a daily allowance and not to worry over my school expenses/ tuition fees throughout my schooling life.

Mother loves me but she did not spoilt me. She showed me fairness in love towards my siblings. She cultivated in us a strong bond in our siblings though we did not grown up under one roof all the time. Owing to circumstances, we grown up near and yet far, far yet our hearts were closely knitted together.

She showered kindness and concern among relatives and friends in her own traditional ways. She too loved her own sibling. I had never left her a day throughout my grown up years, and I must say, I am the luckiest person in the world to have a mother so close and love me so much. I felt I had abundant of love that in my adult years that I decided to give the love to a child when I decided to adopt one.

During those days of hardship, I learnt to be independant and diligent. With a very high achievement oriented outlook, I came out top of my then Si San Public Primary School.  With a high score of PSLE, I had applied and was posted to the prestige NYGHS.

From the current literatures, breast-feed babies form a stronger bonds with their mothers. My strong bond with my mother could also be due to my being breastfeed till 'quite big' (mum's word), perhaps, up till 3 or 5 years old. I started my schooling when I was six years old. During those days, it seemed the school fee was free if you were at the right school going age. There was no such privilege if you were under age or over age. Hence I had the fortune/misfortune to repeat my primary one and fell in group of the right school going age pupils. There was also a pecular system during those days. When I was at my upper primary level, there was pupil in my school who attended our public school (a Chinese school) in the morning and attended another school (an English School) in the afternoon. He had stopped this, I guessed the system had ceased to allow such two sessions of schooling.

Like kids those days, my childhool was spent climbing our neighbour trees, playing the five stones, and others. My play mates during those days are long lost-touch. Even my primary school classmates, owing to resettlement of the whole village, they are no where to be contacted.

I believe strongly in neighbourhood primary schools. But when I went to NYPS to attend a school talk given by the school principal for my daughter primary education, I was mesmerized by the majestic building. It was like a mother, opening up her hands, receiving her home coming children, that I could not resist, and decided to enroll my daughter in the school despite the fact that we were living very far away at Tampines.

I hope my daughter will be  blessed with a very holistic education and she is able to grow up with a fond memery of her primary school education.