Born Free....My Grandfather's passing
Kong Kong passed away on Wednesday the 26th of July 2006, right about the time when I landed on the runway in Los Angeles from my flight back from Singapore.
He had been ill for a while, and we knew he didn't have much time left, but it's always still a shock to get the news of a loved one's passing.
I'm glad I took the opportunity to go and visit him back in Singapore in June when I had first heard that he was ill. And just about two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to return to Singapore again to sing at a corporate event and I had managed to visit my Kong Kong on Monday the 24th of July, just a few days before he passed away. According to my grandmother, I was the last grandchild to see him alive. That was truly a blessing for me that I got to see him and spend some time with him.
It's funny how the memory of the last time I saw him becomes more poignant in the light of his passing. I had gone over to my grandparents' flat to give them some Bubor Terigu that my dad and I had bought from the nearby Hawker's Center. Kong Kong was cleaning out one of his bird cages. He has always loved keeping birds as a hobby and during his hospitalisation, he had given his birds to his friend Ah Chye for safe-keeping. Mummy said that about two weeks before he passed away, he was excited and happy to get his birds back from Ah Chye after he was discharged from the hospital, but as the days passed, perhaps realising that he didn't have the strength to tend to his birds, he set them free one by one, until he had just one bird left.
I think it's poignant that one of the last things he did before he died was to free his birds. Perhaps he sensed that the end was coming and that the best thing he could do for those birds was to free them from their cages...to let them roam free...perhaps the way he too, was soon to be released from the cage of his physical frailty and sickness...the way that the Lord would soon be calling him home; free at last to be home.
I shall always remember the last time I saw Kong Kong on that Monday before I left Singapore for L.A. He was a little tired, but he still chuckled and smiled as I gave him a hug and kiss to say goodbye. I know we'll see each other again soon...someday...when the good Lord calls all of us home.
I miss you Kong Kong.
He had been ill for a while, and we knew he didn't have much time left, but it's always still a shock to get the news of a loved one's passing.
I'm glad I took the opportunity to go and visit him back in Singapore in June when I had first heard that he was ill. And just about two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to return to Singapore again to sing at a corporate event and I had managed to visit my Kong Kong on Monday the 24th of July, just a few days before he passed away. According to my grandmother, I was the last grandchild to see him alive. That was truly a blessing for me that I got to see him and spend some time with him.
It's funny how the memory of the last time I saw him becomes more poignant in the light of his passing. I had gone over to my grandparents' flat to give them some Bubor Terigu that my dad and I had bought from the nearby Hawker's Center. Kong Kong was cleaning out one of his bird cages. He has always loved keeping birds as a hobby and during his hospitalisation, he had given his birds to his friend Ah Chye for safe-keeping. Mummy said that about two weeks before he passed away, he was excited and happy to get his birds back from Ah Chye after he was discharged from the hospital, but as the days passed, perhaps realising that he didn't have the strength to tend to his birds, he set them free one by one, until he had just one bird left.
I think it's poignant that one of the last things he did before he died was to free his birds. Perhaps he sensed that the end was coming and that the best thing he could do for those birds was to free them from their cages...to let them roam free...perhaps the way he too, was soon to be released from the cage of his physical frailty and sickness...the way that the Lord would soon be calling him home; free at last to be home.
I shall always remember the last time I saw Kong Kong on that Monday before I left Singapore for L.A. He was a little tired, but he still chuckled and smiled as I gave him a hug and kiss to say goodbye. I know we'll see each other again soon...someday...when the good Lord calls all of us home.
I miss you Kong Kong.
posted by Corrinne May | 8:38 PM
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