Stories of my family

Apparently, when Ma dropped me off at primary school for my first day at school, I actually told her to go home.

Seriously.

Ma loves telling this story when we get together, and we love to hear them; bits of pieces of our past that only parents can remember. There was also the bit when I thought lizard's eggs were sweets and how I have this tendency to fall into drains. but let's not get into that, shall we..:)

There was the time when I really wanted to eat KFC. Now, 20 years ago, KFC was THE place, the King of fast food and a once-in-several-month's treat. Ma said I had seen the advertisement and one day Pa brought us to the KFC store in Ipoh. As we got down from the car, Pa actually said to me, if I wanted to eat KFC, I would have to place the orders myself. I think I must be about 7 at that time.

According to Ma, so strong was my desire to eat Colonel Sander's secret recipe that without hesitating, I pushed the heavy glass doors and walked up to the counter, all by myself, all intent on placing that order.

Ma said I had always been very independent. I think perhaps she might feel a little forlorn that her firstborn never had any reservations about leaving home. Hahaha. Seronok giler dpt ke MRSM and even more overjoyed to go overseas.

and because I was away from home most of the time and we moved house a lot, I never had a proper room of my own. When I was back for the holidays, I just slept in the room which they said was my room but was filled with stuff mainly belonging to sis Yanie. So, I guess the connection isn't there. and Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge this at all. When I say this, it isn't with contempt, merely stating a fact.

So, when I got married, THIS felt like going home. I can finally have a room where I can put my belongings and would never be given to someone else. I was never that bride who got teary eyed about leaving home (ala, macam dlm filem hindustan tu lahhh), not because I wasn't sad, it was maybe because the physical connection/belonging wasn't there.

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We were killing time at this mall in Cheras while waiting for the latest news on sis Yanti's labour and it was lunch time and we were in Kenny Roger's. I was remarking that, despite having been brought up by the same parents, with the same family values, isn't it strange that we siblings have turned out with our own moral values, preferences and priorities?

I don't think I could've done as well as Ma raising 6 kids, much more in this brand conscious, increasingly materialistic world.

I had been to school where kids with Barbie dolls and sticker collections were THE ones to know. I certainly remember practically drooling in 'jakun-ness' at the sparkly, furry, scratch-and-sniff stickers that the popular kids at school were showing and exchanging with each other. I know I had stared many times when the same kids would take out from their expensive school bags these huge box of double ended 24, 48, even 64 different coloured pencils!

But that was it. I stared and I drooled but I never longed. I don't remember going home and pestering Ma to get the coveted items. Even if I did, I don't think Ma would've given in...:)

But I never felt deprived. Life was not severely lacking even if I didn't have Barbie and her huge mansion of a house. To this day, that principle stayed with me. A brand is a brand, it doesn't replace the function of the object. I know of people who starve themselves in order to get a coveted Coach or LV bag and I don't understand that obsession (though a little starvation might actually do me some good! Hahaha).

I haven't got my own yet (sis Yanie insists that all parental values goes out the window once your child learns how to ASK) and I hope I could instill the same values in my child as my Ma did and more importantly, that she (I want a daughter la, a girl is so much fun to do shopping for) would never feel deprived even if other kids have the complete set of Barbie, complete with the ones from each country of the world.