It’s not easy to wake up early for a working Monday.
It’s made worse with the news of passing.
Hubby came in to the room when he heard I woke. “He is gone” was his whisper. But I knew what he meant despite in the state of sleepiness.
Though I was kind of prepared for this, but it’s still hard to sink right into the heart. The heart broke, sour with tears and my head hurts. It’s like someone who is so close to me had passed away.
I had never see him in person, nor had a privilege even to glimpse a close look. No handshakes, not even a word that was spoken to me in person. Yet, I grief like I have lost someone significant to me.
This place which I proudly call MY home MY country, is a place that was built painfully; with nothing much in physical economic resources but his foresight, his courage and his boldness.
Sometimes I wonder about the sacrifices I have made for my children and family – the loss of ME time, the loss of possibly early financial freedom & retirement and the time to smell the roses. It definitely takes a bigger heart, a bigger person and a bigger human capacity to make sacrifices FOR a nation.
I do feel helpless now, trying to cope with my overflowing emotions that made my eyes welled up with hot tears. He must have felt the same, if not worse, at the time when he had to address the nation with the painful news back in 1965. But the pain and tears he shed then was the fuel that drives us, up till this day.
In his last days, he still show me a valuable lesson – to believe social media in the correct context, and to be someone who is responsible for the words spoken through mouth and by writing.
This very morning before we leave for work and school together as a family, I reminded Dawn to be respectful when conversations of the passing strike among her friends and classmates. While we may excuse the much innocent talks and reactions by Primary 2 students, I want to educate Dawn with something important that our Mr Lee has educated us.
This is for now, something that I can do, in the capacity as a nurturing mom.
Thank you Sir, for the sacrifices that you have made. For without those sacrifices, we may not have a home and a country that we can call our own. For without those sacrifices, we may still be living like how my parents lived in the 1970s. Thank you.