Skip to main content

Sudden loss of a good friend



     Few days ago I received news that a friend had passed on due to cancer. It took me 2 days to accept the fact that she was no longer around, but I still get teary when I think or speak of her… She was one of the good ladies whom I met when I started Zumba - always so energetic, fun, enthusiastic and encouraging. She did Zumba almost everyday, besides other classes. I often told her I really admire her energy and stamina. Though I’m not really a dancing person, watching her dance inspired me to put in more ‘heart’ and simply enjoy the music n steps. We often chatted about traveling and food coz we both love those, shared pictures, experiences, where to eat, what’s nice etc. When Covid happened, with no traveling/gym/eating out/meeting often, we continued to check on each other from time to time, changed our chat topics to what we cooked, shared recipes, shared our days, encouraged each other on stress days (work stress for her n online classes stress for me) and sent food to each other sometimes.

     Her death came as a shock to me because when I spoke to her, like 2 weeks ago, she told me she was taking a break from work, was in Singapore v her hubby and that she was planning to move there next year. I told her maybe I’ll plan a trip there to visit her and she said I should. I was happily picturing her finally taking a rest coz she was kind of a workaholic, always busy working. That ‘picture’ was utterly shattered coz the next thing I received was, a message that she had left us n a video of her at her wake. I cannot forget the feeling of reading her hubby’s reply saying that she had passed away, from her number after I texted to check on her, and the funeral was a day before… I was overwhelmed and I couldn’t process that unexpected info at that very moment.

     Yesterday, 15.10.21, I went over to the house (with permission from her hubby) to ‘see’ her one last time, to pay respect and to bid a proper farewell. I felt it was sort of like finding a closure for myself too - for me to accept and move forward, since I didn’t get to attend the funeral. It was really the LAST because she chose to scatter her ashes into the sea together with her beloved doggie, Bailey, who passed away end of July due to skin cancer. There will never be a fixed destination to visit or commemorate her…. Somehow, I can see why she chose to do that. It’s very ‘her’ - to be free to go wherever she wanted, together with Bailey. After chatting with her hubby, I found out that she was actually in quite a bad shape in the past few weeks. Her condition deteriorated too fast. He asked me to please forgive her for telling the white lies as she wanted to just leave quietly and did not want us to feel sad or worried. Yes, I understand she probably wanted us to always remember her as the bubbly, happy lady but still, it hit me pretty hard for not knowing what she went through in the past 2 weeks after I last spoke to her. I cannot imagine how she managed to go through that torturous period of time without telling anyone…

     Though we have not known each other for long, I’m thankful to have met such a wonderful person. Tears will not mar the smiles she had given us when she was alive. She will be dearly missed. I too hope I can stay as positive and strong as her, sending happy vibes and giving as much to others while I’m still alive, not just people saying some good words after I’m gone. Being able to open our eyes every morning is truly a blessing. Never take anything or anyone for granted, always be grateful/thankful and most importantly, stay healthy + happy. We only have one life. Live it to the fullest so we’ll not have any regrets at the end of it ❤️

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YACON SOUP WITH CORN AND CARROT

Was shopping at the usual supermarket recently when I saw a lady promoting something which, from far, looked like sweet potatoes to me. I didn't pay attention to her til she called out to me and handed me a piece to sample. She was promoting organic yacons, not sweet potato. The moment I put it into my mouth, I remembered eating this looong time ago, but because I seldom see it in the supermarkets, I had totally forgotten about such a thing.  The yacon is a traditionally grown for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Though the root looks like a   sweet potato, the taste and texture are completely different. Its crispy texture, juiciness and mildly sweet taste makes it somewhat similar to water chestnut or snow pear. It can be eaten raw or cook. It is said that yacon  is very high in fiber and low in calories which makes it a healthy and nutritious snack.   Some of the health benefits of yacon include its ability to regulate blood sugar ...
Post a Comment
Read more

LEAN'S @ ATRIA SHOPPING GALLERY

Tong sui are a Cantonese specialty. If you've grown up in a Cantonese family, you must have had tong sui before. The term 'tong sui' literally means 'sugar water'. It is a collective term for any sweet, warm soup or custard served as a dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese cuisine. My dad is a huge fan of tong sui : red bean soup, peanut soup, barley ginkgo and black sesame soup being his favorite. I'm not really a tong sui person but I remember seeing this Lean's place in Atria that sells a variety of desserts, including tong sui , nyonya kuihs and light meals, so I brought my dad there to try when my parents came over. It was afternoon teatime when we arrived. We were feeling a little hungry, so we ordered 2 nasi lemak bungkus, a cucur udang, steam cakes for my LO, black sesame cream, barley ginkgo and bubur cha cha. Nasi Lemak bungkus (RM3.70). Cucur udang (RM3). Pandan and vanilla steam cake (RM1.50 each). Nasi lemak is a famous lo...
Post a Comment
Read more

CHINESE ARROWROOT SOUP WITH PORK BONES

This is the simple version of the Chinese arrowroot soup (Also known as 粉葛湯 'Fun Kot Tong' in Cantonese). Our family love drinking this soup. It is tasty and cooking it with pork bones and dried squid makes it sweet and refreshing. Some people who like boiling arrowroot together with lotus roots or peanuts, and my mother-in-law usually boils it on its own and drink as 'cooling' tea. Naturally sweet and tasty. If you don't like seafood, you can choose to omit the dried squid. This is how the Chinese arrowroot looks like.  The arrowroot is a type of root plant similar to taro, potato or tapioca. However, it is harder in texture and incredibly starchy. When it is cut up, it has patterns that looks like the ages of a tree trunk. It is usually made into powder and used as thicken agent in cooking. The arrowroot is high in protein and fiber which is very beneficial to our body. Ingredients: 1 medium-sized Chinese arrowroot (Approx 700g) 10 red dates, ...
Post a Comment
Read more