#11 - #11

-








It has been a peaceful week - almost two weeks - having Oisín home. Apart from the first three days, it has been largely chilled and very lovely. I asked Oisín if he was looking forward to going back to East Anglia and he said, so-so. I really like it here... it is sweet of him really. There is a loveliness, a gentleness about Oisín which both Ghiu and I will miss. Ghin and I are quite similar in that we are very serious - but Oisín brings the silly with him and I WILL miss that.

I made dinner yesterday - chicken olives which weirdly have no olives in them, and stuffing on the side with roast potatoes. Oisín requested this. I can still barely taste anythng, it is so frustrating. And I can smell even less. God. It is just very annoying especially since I love smelling things. I wonder if it will ever recover. Apparently having a reinfection can help you regain your smell.

The Karens are now out with Covid spiraling. Under any circumstances we should try to stay calm. But this has not taken place. Not really.

It was nice getting back to school and having the kids to teach. Class One is very different this time round. I take things a lot less seriously but at the same time am much better at teaching. None of the children express any issues - even the one who is 'slowest'. They are also the youngest and I am not going to worry about that until they turn 7. That's the beauty of the entire thing - we are able to give them time and to let them enjoy their childhoods. The proof of the pudding are my sons. I am only sorry I could not give them a family - a whole family - but that was not my call. That is not on my doorstep. That is someone else's responsibility and choice. At least I can be happy in that knowledge. 

The feeling of dull flatness still follows me. I come home and I am completely shattered. I find myself utterly exhausted and unable to think. I don't know if this is because of the virus, because of the self isolation, this time of the year. Occasionally I will catch a glimpse of my more motivated self and then... I lose it. I would happily lie in bed till there is more warmth and I have never felt that before.

I don't really have much else to say. I think i'll do the class planning and then do admin. Sigh. Everything is the same. More porridge with no end in sight of the porridge. Also I'm sad that Oisín will be going soon. I shall miss him. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Geylang sepaku Geylang

-
Image
Geylang Serai is the place i feel most at home in Singapore. Possibly because a vast majority of the population are still Singaporean and i speak the language they speak there - Malay. Also, it hasn't changed that much. OK, it has, but i'd like to think it hasn't. We ate at the new market there which used to be a little better than an open sewer. But it was our open sewer and we loved it. Geylang was heaving with people getting ready for Ramadan. On the table we have sup kambing, otak-otak, nasi padang and rojak. Drinkswise we have lime juice, Kickapoo and teh. It is hot - really hot. We are all pespiring and we can feel our clothes stick to our skin and bellies and thighs. Our hair is continuously in our faces, dripping and sticking too. The only thing that brings relief is a soak in the pool or a shower and an airconditioned room. No wonder when the boys came back, the first thing they said was, ah, it's great to be back in th cool weather again!. Singaporeans love th...
Read more

19.3.26 - 74 - Eulogy: What will survive of us is love

-
Image
I wrote and read this for Pa at the service. It was in long hand, but I have it here typed out now. It is peppered with verses from the New Testament, because I was asked by the priest to refer to Jesus occasionally, so I made that concession. Big shout out to Ben and the Christian Community whom I spent many a delighted evening reading and discussing the Bible during Bible study class. =========================== Thank you everybody for coming here to honour the life of husband, father and legend which is Eric Sim Chin Seng. Pa crossed over on the 16th of March at 7.30 am. He went peacefully and gently. He breathed his way slowly past this life and on to the new one, leaving his bark, his body, which carried him and his indomitable spirit and endless capacity to love, for 81 years, to say farewell to one last time. This tribute is to you, for you, Pa, who always walked in the sacred steps of Jesus Christ and lived the best life which could be lived. Part I: John 1:14 "The word be...
Read more

6.6.26 - 152 - -70

-
I should try and love Singapore. And I have really tried to love it. Really. But life in Singapore is not real life. Sadly. The only thing which is real about it is my relationships with my family. I understand we lead very privileged lives. We live in a beautiful house and we live in Serangoon Gardens. I get to swim everyday. We never worry about where the next meal's coming from. Very importantly, we have our health and we have each other. These are all very good things, nothing to be sneezed at. But Singapore itself ... that's a different story. Where to begin? I cannot complain because we actually live in a very nice part of Singapore. It's it unique in all of Singapore. There is no other place like it. In fact the government should slap a preservation order on the place. It is an actual village. Ring fenced by the houses and the roads, it was possibly designed by the British Army as a defensible position. Maybe they didn't mean to do it, but it is that way neverthe...
Read more