The Proceedings II - Sunday 13 April 2014

It was Palm Sunday. The orbituary was also published that day.

I brought the little girl to see her great-grandmother for the final time. It was 930am when we reached. I was glad that Little Baby did not fuss and was pretty much calm. I told her that Ah Chor was sleeping and that Ah Chor would be going to a better place. I told her that Ah Chor was going home to be with the Lord and that both he and she would look after us from above. I told her to wave goodbye to Ah Chor. And I held her little hand and we patted Mama’s coffin together.

It was emotional for me. While I am disappointed that Mama did not get to interact with Little Baby the way she had interacted with her other great-grandchildren last time, I was still glad that at least the both of them had a chance to meet when Mama was still alive. Even if Mama did not register anything in her mind, at least she saw Little Baby already.

K and my inlaws brought Little Baby home around 11am. It was relatively quiet till after lunch. Many people dropped by. We already expected it.

I was very touched that Tazzee popped by even though his own dad was recovering in hospital from an unfortunate incident. I hope his dad is healing well and that he is discharged by now.

Daniel and YL came by, as did the rest of the secondary school peeps.

Dad and Mum’s friends. My Aunt’s friends. My cousin’s friends. My Dad’s relatives. My Mum’s relatives. Adrian's church friends. Mama’s youngest brother came as well. (He’s 86 by the way. Spritely and very fit. He still plays tennis twice a week.)

It was hectic in a sense. I was hopping between tables, chatting with various groups, in between clearing and cleaning tables and giving out drinks and collecting contributions. Adrian, Mei and Marc had to be away for that afternoon because they had to go for their rehearsal in church. Rehearsal for their baptism during Easter Vigil this coming Saturday evening. Adrian shared with me that he was disappointed that Mama passed on before their family’s baptism.

By the time dinner came by, I felt a little woozy from the constant talking but more so from the lack of sleep. When the crowd thinned a little, I sat on a chair and "stoned".

I was worried for Mum and Dad too. Mum had caught a cold and fallen sick on the last two days of her trip to Korea. She was on medication and looked drawn and pale. She was napping on the sofa in the room whenever she could. And Dad had been running around since Friday night. He’s getting old too and I was worried that he would be very tired. I kept nagging at him to sit down and rest whenever he had the chance to.

After tabulating the contributions and clearing up the room, I managed to get home slightly earlier around 11pm. K was also very tired, he had been looking after Little Baby on his own for two whole days.

It was a busy day and I did not have time to dwell much on Mama.