joie de viv-re

Monday, February 06, 2006

A tale of 3 families.

The chinese new year card which told the sad story.

I grew up in church with 4 close buddies, from 2 different families. They formed such a huge part of my childhood, that till today, I can remember some of the silly things we did. The funny and weird games we played. One of which, was jumping around trying to step on another person's foot. But sadly, one by one, their families left my church. And all contact ceased to exist.

And interestingly, both families suddenly resurfaced in my life. And the last of the 3, being my family. And its just so frightening, how much each family can change over the span of 5 years. It is a tale of 3 families, alas, it is a sad tale.

Family A consisted of 2 boys. The older was adopted. From young they were extremely playful, and were never academically inclined. Their parents sadly, were overly engrossed with increasing their wealth. They both fared poorly in their PSLE, and moved on to mediocre schools to continue their secondary level education. Now, one has dropped out without a O Level certificate, and awaits his enlistment. The younger, took his O Levels, and is trying to pursue an education in anime drawing. While I seem to place an emphasis on just academic qualifications, what saddens me most, is that the family has broken up. I just cannot imagine. An uncle and aunty I used to see together every Sunday. Only communicating to each other through lawyers.

Family B consisted of 1 girl, 1 boy. Likewise, both were our best buddies, and we all hailed from the same primary school. Nothing seemed to go wrong for them. They had fantastic results. Both made it into Raffles. Their dad was a pilot. Could life be any rosier. 5 years on, they still continue to perform excellently on the academic level. However, their dad was struck down with Parkinson's. And his sickness has turned him into a control freak, establishing a dictatorship at home, over his wife and children. And they are suffering. We met up with them. Their lonely faces summed up everything. Where every action is scrutinised by their dad. Every word censored. A visit to the relative's place has to be approved. Yes, the family is intact, but is it not a broken family.

I wish my buddies had it better in life. They never did anything to deserve something like this. They afterall, are only at the tender age of 18. Would I be able to take what they have gone through. Would I still be here, had I been in their shoes. Suffered the pain of it all. I guess that is why I should be ever thankful about the family I have. Where every member plays an active role in maintaining the harmony of the unit, as one. Not just any family unit, but a happy one.

I could not have been given a much better gift could I.

Reminiscence the past, cherish the present, look forward to the future with hope.
10:43 pm

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