Ghost

It is time of the year again. Chinese Lunar 7th month.

This is the month, Chinese believe that the Gate of Hell open for all the spirits to wonder free on Earth. It is like a one month vacation for them and their holiday destination is our dimension.

My daughter told me the other day that children can see them - "ghost". She said some girls from her class saw it in the school's toilet... but we all know that story. It has been around for the last 80 years.. my mother's time, my time, now my daughter's time.  I remembered when I was in primary one, one of my classmate ran out of the loo screaming, claiming that she saw a hand waving at her. I dash into the toilet immediately, but what I saw was a hand print on the wall.

During my secondary school days, there were talk about a ghost girl crying by the well, the teachers' room was haunted, the sewing room was haunted, the toilets were too... I wondered around hoping that I too could have a story to tell but all to no avail.

Years later, my youngest sister told me a spooky story. You see, they built a new secondary school and when it was ready, all the secondary students walked, two by two, from their old school to the new school on the first day of the opening.

All was well, the opening ceremony was good, the students explored the school, checked out their classrooms and allocated seats for themselves.

A week went by without any hitch. The students were joking about how the ghost, if there were any, were left behind in the old school.

Lo and behold! The next week, there were cries of the new school being haunted. My sister's classmate, who usually reached school pretty early in the morning saw one!  She saw a "girl" in the classroom sobbing.

We asked around and were told that when the students all walked to the new school, the "girl" may have followed, but "she" could find her way back to the old school.

Anyway, how much do we believe?  I don't know. Some people claimed that they can see cos they have the "third" eye. Well, in my case, I am glad I can't see "them"!

Am I a good Mum? That is the question.

Watched YOG closing ceremony on TV  with my daughter last night. Saw her dance mates performing on center stage. The TV crew captured them so clearly, unlike the opening ceremony.

Let me start from the beginning...
My daughter was selected to participate in Singapore's Inaugural Youth Olympic Game Opening ceremony. The rehearsals and practices were very long and tiring for her and her dance mates. There were times during the course of rehearsals that she cried and said that she doesn't want to go thru with it. I could understand and sympathize with her, cos most times she would return home past midnight after rehearsal. Guess it was not an easy task for a 9 year old, especially when she had school to attend the next day. However, I did make it easier for her by allowing her to go to school late the next day, ensuring that she had enough rest.

After much coaxing, she finally performed in the Opening ceremony. It was a proud moment for me and hubby. As there were many performers that day, we were unable to spot her on the stage. She was quite disappointed with that, but overall she did enjoy the whole event, thanks to her ballet teacher. Without, her I don't think my daughter had this opportunity to perform in such a great event.


When my daughter was told that she would also be performing in the closing ceremony, I was so excited for her. Even though it clashed with her piano exam, I would at the most forfeit the registration and pushed it to next year. However, she was not so. Said she didn't want to do so, reason being she was tired.

I tried to persuade her, coax her and even bribe her, but she stubbornly refused.

After last night, as we watched her friends performed which was clearly captured on TV, I was filled with a sense of "failure" as a mum. My daughter's face was so crestfallen and I could see a sense of regret and remorse creeping up. She turned towards me and said," mommy, now I feel really guilty."
She felt that she had let herself down, she had let me down, she saw her friends on the stage and she wasn't there. I felt horrible. I failed as a mum. I should have insisted, should have told her she had no choice but to go ahead and do the closing ceremony.

I am an adult, I should have known better, should have known that she would regret that she had missed such a wonderful opportunity.

What was wrong with me?

I walked around the whole day berating myself... ah!!!!


 I was angry with myself, why didn't I insist, why was I so soft? Sigh!