When I was a kid...

My mother gave birth to me when she was fifteen years old, so young and tender was her age when she became a mother............

She stands at a height of 5ft 7in, but not one of her girls takes after her height. Maybe we more inherited my father who is comparatively shorter than my mum. But I come from a very happy family. I had a very special grandfather. He was one of the greatest granddads one could pray for.

My mother told me that when I was born, my granddad was overjoyed and he even ‘lit’ the firecrackers to show his pride. I was his pride. I came into this world just when the clock struck 12 noon! And my grandmother named me ‘snow sister’ in mandarin. My grandparents showered me with love and pampered me. I was then a small, happy, giggling, big eyed, cute little girl who knows only love. Following me, my mum gave birth to six siblings in a period of 12 years.

We lived in a small hut, and we were poor. The invaluable lessons of living as a toddler were shared with delightful stories of how I was the ‘talk’ of the relatives. My grandmother showed her pride to many people. Some were not happy about it. She boasted of my cuteness and intelligence. That unknowingly started a cloud of annoyance and an unseen gap between some close relatives.

My mother told me this story…. I was clever at such a tender age. There was a time when my parents were working on their pepper farm. The weeds were tall and I wanted to look for them, but finding no pathway that led to it. So I climbed on my pet dog, rode it and went to search for my parents…. Through those dog-lanes…in the bushes.... can you imagine me riding on a dog? haha....

My grandfather left me when I was in kindergarten. I was too young to know anything though sometimes I still dreamt of him. sometimes catching the birds and butterflies for me.............my grandparents lived to a ripe old age.

Though I don’t feel myself witty or intelligent, I am also among the top five in the class. I don’t feel I am talented, but I just felt that I am different from my friends and classmates. I used to feel deeply and just could comprehend much better than some of us. That makes me a target of jealousy. My schoolmates used to eye me as an obstacle when credits were due.

There was once when I was in primary two when our class was punished for being noisy. So the teacher left us to write our punishments. We were to write for five hundred times. ‘I will talk in class while the teacher teaches.’ That was what was required by the teacher. So, all of us were writing feverishly at the same time grumbling.

I started writing too. After writing for a few pages, I felt something was wrong. The punishment should be aimed at correcting the students, not to write something like this. So, I changed the writing. I changed it to ‘Please forgive us for talking in class, we are sorry.’ And after another few pages, I wrote, ‘We will not talk in class while the teacher is teaching."

The teacher requested us to pass up the punishments. Funny, the teacher went through the meaningless scrabbles of sentences. When she came to mine, she was pleased and surprised. Not one in the class wrote what I wrote. Not even one in this school, she said. All of them followed exactly what was told. She told me that I was indeed an honest and unique person. She told me to keep up with my compassionate conscience.

She is now over seventy years old. When we met, we still embraced each other and couldn’t resist talking on those happy years. Her English was terrific, and I was influenced by her definitely. School days were sweet history to me.

We grew up amidst the jungles and streams. My childhood was spent running wild in the forest to pick wild ferns and collect wild fruits. My immature singing that filled the forest with ancient Chinese songs of ‘Third sister Lieu’ was fun. The fishes in the streams were also not spared. All sorts of nets and lines and hooks we tried. Bucketing old pails and baskets did the trick. And memories of such happy childhood aroused in me such deep acknowledgments of a carefree and happy me, at such a tender age. But I did the cooking, the washing and drying, looking after my brothers and sisters, sweeping the floor and at the same time reading books. Just imagine, I drafted a timetable so as to finish my job earlier.

I read books that I got from the public library. I could remember that I was only in primary two when I started reading. I dare say that no fairy tales, or fables or folk stories of my time were left out. The librarian just smiled when they saw me, and the face so familiar that I could draw out his profile even until now. They were my good friends too...

Being an animal lover, I used to talk to them, even the ducks love me, I purposely look for earthworms hidden beneath the stones or wood for them to eat. I think I am also a leader of my times. I planned my time carefully.

My father is an intellect in his own ways. His wisdom on common living and his positive ideas and wits made me admire him more. He is a skilled carpenter, though I felt he looks more a carpenter of life. He treats people fine and is hardworking. Even until now, I couldn’t resist my tears of gratitude for him when I think over all those sacrifices and hard times he had gone through just for all of us.

I studied in a missionary school that is why I was exposed to Christianity at an early age. I studied at St. Anthony primary and secondary school. But I couldn’t forget those times when I was living in a rural area with no electricity and no good roads. I could still remember those times when I was weeding in the pepper garden with my mother. You know what I did? I told her stories that I have read. We enjoyed each other’s company while in the pepper garden, hoeing, collecting pepper and all the varied jobs expected in the farm.

Yes, we grew up in the rubber and pepper gardens. We plant vegetables and I could even ride the huge male-type of motorbike. ‘Too tall and heavy… a 19th century vehicle for my size. I couldn't believe myself too when I recalled what had had happened during that time. I wore my grandmother's trousers, either too long or too big....

BUT WE NEVER COMPLAINED...^.

^{note: something wrong with my paragraphing, it just cannot be spaced as like the rest...needs to work on it again..sorry}