Before You're Too Old

Another year has passed
And we're all a little older.

Last summer felt hotter

And winter seems much colder.

I rack my brain for happy thoughts,

To put down on my pad,

But lots of things, That come to mind

Just make me kind of sad.

There was a time not long ago

When life was quite a blast.

Now I fully understand

About 'Living in the Past'.

We used to go to friends homes,

Baseball games and lunches.

Now we go to therapy, to hospitals,

And after-funeral brunches.

We used to have hangovers,

From parties that were gay.

Now we suffer body aches

And sleep the night away.

We used to go out dining,

And couldn't get our fill.

Now we ask for doggie bags,

Come home and take a pill.

We used to travel often

To places near and far.

Now we get backaches

From riding in the car.

We used to go out shopping

For new clothing at the Mall

But, now we never bother...

All the sizes are too small.

That, my friend is how life is,

And now my tale is told.

So, enjoy each day and live it up...

Before you're too old!

Something2Share:

I begin to enjoy my retirement for the 1st month in December 2008. At least I am now stress-free from work related problems. Moreover, now I have time catching up with old friends and making new friends.

All these while, I had been working in places far away from Segamat, especially the the past 5 years in Indonesia. I seldom had time for my family, let alone my friends in Segamat, Johor Baru and other places in Malaysia.

I really appreciate my old friend from Sydney, David Vun Thien Ngan, who charted a taxi to visit us in Segamat on 21 December 2008 with his wife and 2 children. They put up 2 nights in Johor Baru before they continued their vacation trip to China. Now they are back in Kota Kinabalu to visit their relatives. They will be in Kuala Lumpur on 10 January 2009 for a couple of days. I intend to meet them again before they return to Australia. The last time we met up was October 2005 when we were in Sydney.

Another year (2008) had passed as we celebrated the count down of the coming of 2009, am I a little older? I wish all my friends a year wiser and in good health! I just met my ex-Chief Clerk of Segamat Estate, Pathma, last evening. He is now operating a small sundry shop in Taman Bukit Baru, Bukit Siput. He told me that "he is now 71 years old." We had a good laugh when I told him that he should feel 17 as "I am feeling 26 in heart." We had a good working relationship when I was Manager for Segamat Estate in 1992/1993.

Now I can have regular exercise, going for morning walk on the green green grass of the golf course in Segamat Country Club, and to breathe in more fresh air. One day a Mr.Tan told us that "the golfers normally have to shout Balls before they tee off so that no body will walk into the fairway and being hit by a flying golf ball." On hearing that, I suggested that "why not we also shout after taking a deep breath to blow out the air in our lungs since we are earlier than the golfers? " He agreed and from that day onward, we also have our lung exercise as well and we can feel sweat flowing down from our foreheads after shouting for 3 times.

How true it is that we should "enjoy each day and live it up!" When we realize that everyday is a blessing from GOD, then we won't have anything to worry about as we grow a little older.

I Hope You Dance

According to the forwarded email which I'd received, the following letter was written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend, Bretha.

I wish to share it with you, my dear friends. After you have read it, please share with someone you care about and tell them to read it too. Obviously, you want to let them know that you’re thinking of them right now.

Most important, my friends, let us remind each other that “EVERY DAY, EVERY MINUTE, EVERY BREATH TRULY IS A GIFT FROM GOD.”

Oh yes. We may be forgetful at times, but don't worry too much and be happy and positive in life. During our ageing day by day, let it be ageing gratefully, and accept that "Old Age" is, indeed, a gift from GOD.

Dear Bertha,

I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time working.

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can sell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.

I'm not sure what others would've done had they known they wouldn't be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favorite food was.

I'm guessing; I'll never know.

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and children often enough how much I truly love them.

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

Warmest Regards,
Your true friend

Old Age Is A Gift

If you think you are as if suffering A.A.A.D.D. and feel that you are very forgetful most of the times, then I suggest you to read this article written by an old lady whose name I don’t know as I got it from a friend’s forwarded email. Anyway, as she put it rightly,” some of life is just as well forgotten” for ageing people but “eventually remember the important things” though we tend to be forgetful sometimes.

I feel that when we age, we should be ageing gratefully. Yes. I am grateful to God and how nice it is that when I wake up this morning, I get another day in life. And I am thankful that this is the day God has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.

I agree with her that “as we age, it’s easier to be positive.” Once we are positive in life, even as we move on into old age, everyday seems to be a joyful day for us to live on as long as we know how to stay healthy and keep fit physically, mentally and spiritually. Again I suggest you to read Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s advice on ageing and retirement.

Here is what the old lady has to say:

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, and my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60&70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)

A.A.A.D.D. (Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder)

I wish to share with you this forwarded email which I had received some time ago from someone whose name I can’t remember now.

For those who have retired, what had been written by the writer may sound familiar to you. If you are thinking of retiring, after reading please go and read again Mr. Lee Kuan Yew’s advice on Ageing and Retiring.

Here it goes:

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D.: Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder. Somehow I feel better, even though I have it!!

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye. They need water. I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

The car isn't washed. The bills aren't paid. There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter. The flowers don't have enough water. There is still only 1 check in my check book. I can't find the remote. I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I'm really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who the hell I've sent it to.

Don't laugh. If this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!

Holding Hands

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand.

They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water's edge with gates and towers and moats and internal passages.

Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand.

I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me.

Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle.

I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand.

Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up.

When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh.

SOMETHING2SHARE:

When I offer my hand, I can see the smile on the other person's face and I can feel the warmness when we hold our hands for a little bit longer than just shaking hands.

When I hold my wife's hand or she holds my hand as we walk together especially during an excursion, we can feel a closer relationship between us full of love, happiness and laughters.

When I bought my first Long Play Record of The Beatles in the 60s, one of their songs that I liked most was "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". I still remember the beautiful parts of the lyrics the Beatles sang in this song: And when I touch you , I feel happy, inside. It´s such a feeling, That my love, I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't hide.

How true it is that we just can't hide our feeling deep inside our hearts when we touch the hand of our loved one. That's true love, how wonderful it is!

Pray4 Sichuan

1) I don’t know how much do you know about this disaster.
But I know that you are deeply shocked of the tragic news.

2) I don’t know how many towns were destroyed.
But I know that many people had lost their home.

3) I don’t know how many schools had collapsed.
But I know that many classrooms were full of students before collapsing.

4) I don’t know how many people were still under the ruins.
But I know that most of them would not have survived the earthquake.

5) I don’t know how his house looked like before.
But I know that this old man is not able to rebuild it.

6) I don’t know the exact reason why they embraced each other tightly. But I know that there must be some sad reasons for them to do so.

7) I don’t know under the ruins these hands belonged to a girl or boy.
But I know that the hands were eager to touch her or his parents again.

8) I don’t know why here was a schoolbag left behind.
But I know that it must have belonged to a child.

9) I don’t know what the time then was.
But I know that it was a horrible time.

10) I don’t know when this child was found had already been dead.
But I know that this mother had already been crying here for a long time.

11) I don’t know whether this mother saw her child still alive or not.
But I know that any child was the treasure of every family.

12) I don’t know what made them crying in deep sorrow.
But I know that their tears were from their hearts.

13) I don’t know whether this child could survive or not.
But I do know that in her little heart there was already a deep slot.

14) I don’t know how long this young man had already been under the ruins.
But I know that he was very lucky to stay alive waiting for rescue.

15) I don’t know where they were running to.
But I do know that at that moment of time only they could help themselves.

16) I don’t know whether the driver had made it to escape or not.
But I do know that the road was already completely blocked.

17) I don’t know how this man escaped from the ruins.
But I do know that it won’t be an easy way for him in the future.

18) I don’t know what this man was looking for.
But I do know that the possibility was quite slim.

19) I don’t know where they were walking to.
But I do know where they were coming from.

20) I don’t know what they were thinking about.
But I do know that in their mind there was still hope.

21) I don’t know where this place was.
But I do know that this place wasn’t their homes.

22) I don’t know how many people were here.
But I do know that there will be big problem if lack of water and food supply.

23) I don’t know whether they could have a good sleep here or not.
But I do know that they didn’t have any other choices at all.

24) I don’t know what the finger language meant by this nurse.
But I do know that it wasn’t mean for “victory”.

25) I don’t know whether these babies could realize the tough situation.
But I do know that when they grow up their parents will tell them the story.

*WHAT TEACHERS MAKE*

How much do teachers make? Tribute to all teachers.....

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.

One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?"

(She paused for a second, and then began...)
"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.
You want to know what I make?"

(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)
''I make kids wonder.
I make them question.I make them apologize and mean it.I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.I make them read, read, read.I make them show all their work in maths.
They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything; I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant...You want to know what I make?
*I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.*
What do you make Mr. CEO?"

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

Something to share....

We salute you, our beloved teachers!
You were the engineers of our souls and are the engineers of our children’s souls.

You had shown your tender love and care in all of us since our day one in school. With great patience and a loving heart, you had taught us how to listen, how to spell, how to write, how to read, how to speak and how to think. Under your guidance, you had disciplined us to grow up as useful citizens to our countries.

In the recent 5.12 Sichuan earthquake in China where more than 80,000 lives had been reported lost to the destructive natural disaster, many of them were teachers and school children. Over there in Sichuan Province, there were untold tragic but touching stories above teachers who had sacrificed their lives to save many lives of their pupils and students.

I feel that teachers are the most respected professionals in today world. Many of us cannot be what we are today if not due to good influence of our teacher(s). We can proudly say that our teachers made us what we are today. Surely they make a difference in our lives!