Those were the days

I have returned, having completed all obligatory visitations, both local and interstate, for the last four days. And with the ushering of the Year of the Golden Pig, which apparently only occurs once every 60 years, dishes such as the suckling pig, roast pork, and anything pork are must haves.

It has been a long while since I last celebrated CNY with great enthusiasm and joy. The time had come many CNYs ago when my cousins were too cool to play chasing bicycles or hide and seek with me and my brothers (dawn, I hope this time will not creep up to you too quickly). The dwindling ooomph factor, coupled with my cousins' new found boyfriends/girlfriends, really made a sucky CNY. I now find myself on the main dining table, talking with my aunts/uncles, about all things adults. No more sitting on the kids' tables and throwing fishballs at each other. No more children shrieks or baby yells. Everyone has grown up. And so have I.

So there we were, in Ipoh two days ago, to visit my maternal grandma. We arrived late in the afternoon, and an arvo nap seemed very inviting since the day was hot and I was tired from driving. My nap was cut short when mum woke me up to say 2nd aunt & uncle would like to see me. I was very reluctant, since I don't have much to say anyway with my broken dialect and mixed Canto/Mandarin/Hokkien sentences, and a few English words thrown in as well.

So there I sat, did all the official greetings and met my new cousin sister and brother in laws. Soon I realised that my cousin sister-in-law was somewhat sitting in the same boat as I was, except that she was further lost at sea at the conversation table. At least I could still understand what was being said, lest I was being mocked and I could stand up for myself! Just kidding. She only speaks Mandarin and English, which was handy for me, so we started talking. Not long after, photo albums were brought to the table and we all started laughing at how we all looked when we were young, how fat/skinny we were, and how mum was the prettiest of all the 5 sisters, which is certainly true! And I must say, I hated the way I looked and dressed when I was a kid/teen! Geez my sense of fashion was atrocious! And no, you are not getting me to scan any of those photos in.

Ahhhh the good old days. Happy CNY to you all.