Little C’s letter to her 外婆

I had to hold back tears, reading little C’s letter to my mum, guided by the questions. Seeing my mum through her eyes was both heart wrenching and beautiful.

She sees my mum’s energy and playfulness, shares her love for nature and exercise, and genuinely had fun with her.

“I knew I was important because you were very kind and did not force me to do things I did not want to do.”

From her precious, precious letter, I could see that little C also appreciated what I felt with my mum growing up - autonomy. A ‘no-must’ energy and a relationship full of mutual respect (except, hilariously, when it involved what time I took showers or going to bed with wet hair). Even when she looked after me during my confinement period after I delivered little C, she willingly bent some rules to suit my preferences.

The little drawing is of a few plants in my mum’s lush but modest corridor garden - full of flowers and edibles. Whenever little C stayed over with my parents on the odd weekend, watering and pruning the plants was a necessary activity. My mum had green fingers and was always dabbling in some plant project at any point in time - from repurposing plastic milk bottles into planters for garlic or onion, to trying to nurture vegetable seedlings. What I truly admired was her openness to learn and try something new, and her willingness to keep going even when projects don’t work out.

There were other things little C and my mum used to do together - watch movies, take double-decker buses just because, or go on endless LRT loops until little C had her fill of watching the train tracks go under the train.

They had a simple, uncomplicated and lovely relationship that almost mirrors mine with my mum. I feel so blessed that she could share that, even if only for those few short years, and I hope this blog will help C keep these memories.