It was a long few weeks of celebrations as the traditional CNY (Chinese New Year) festive period is traditionally practised. We will have a few reunion dinners before the actual day and then at least 3 more days of non-stop feasting and gathering of family members.
It is also a period to count our blessings and treasure the memories and quality family time we have had over the years as we enjoy this annual holiday. It is one of the most important periods on the calendar. A group photo of each gathering captures the smiles of everyone.
This year was a bit special. My older son managed to join us during this time after missing CNY for 2 years while studying overseas. He had started work in HK but managed to come back earlier as he could work in the local office.
The other thing of note was to see that my parents’ situation had stabilized. Mum’s dementia condition has worsened a lot over the last 9 months and Dad was trying very hard to cope, to manage her and himself. They had lived alone for years but now it was time to get permanent domestic live-in help to ease their burden of caring for the house and themselves. Their helper just arrived recently and the situation has improved, much to our relief as siblings.
I started the week on a Monday (05 Feb) with a CNY dinner with some very old friends from primary school days. One of them had recently reconnected again and perhaps it may be due to his health condition for his wish to want to meet up. I have known him for almost 50 years now since we were 8 years old. That is an incredible 85% of my life! The 4 of us reminisced on our innocent childhood days when we had zero worries and only cared about what we wanted to do next at the playground.
Wednesday was another CNY dinner with very good friends from my banking days. All of us have easily known each other for almost 25+ years now. We have had numerous long lunches over the last many years to build up a strong camaraderie of friendship which I treasure deeply.
Thursday was a reunion dinner at my sister-in-law’s place from my wife’s side of the family. A traditional steamboat dinner with a lot of wines and a bottle of sake. Too much food and alcohol as usual.
Friday was the actual day for reunion dinners as it is the night before the 1st day of CNY. I will usually cook for my family that evening and invite my parents and in-laws to celebrate with us. My whole family with our boys were also together to make this a memorable year.
Day 1 of CNY falls on a Sat. We had to do 4 visitations to pay our respects to our elders. First, it was to my parents’ place, then to my in-laws for a sumptuous lunch. Next was to my wife’s grandmother’s place. She has also recently been bedridden even though she is still very alert. Finally, it was my grand aunt’s place to pay her our respect as the next oldest at 90 years old. The grand finale highlight was a big gathering at our place for more than 20+ relatives from my wife’s side that night.
Day 2 of CNY is generally reserved for my side of the family as we spent the whole afternoon into the night at my parents’ place. We also visited my oldest sister’s newly renovated home as a sort of mini housewarming. The evening was another Loh Hei with potluck dishes from each family. The group photo is getting larger with new additions to the 4 generations gathered together.
Day 3 of CNY is another long lunch at an aunty’s home with more wines and food. Everyone chatted excitedly about planning for a big family group overseas vacation in the latter part of the year. Finally, it was dinner at our place for my older son’s last night with us where he invited a number of his good friends over for dinner.
This week’s blog will be my diary to record what happened and to remind me of the joyous moments we all shared once a year. As all of us get older, these occasions become more precious as we move towards our twilight years, especially for our ageing parents and grandparents. It is also for the special effort my son made to return from HK to join us.
We are indeed blessed with the fortune to see as many people as possible over the CNY festive period. It should not be seen as a chore but a celebration of what the Man upstairs had given all of us, We must count our blessings every day of the year and not just for this week alone.
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