of reunion and bonds from the past....

when i was in my twenties and thirties, i couldnt care less about reunions. what for?

honestly, i would still say, i am not a 'reunion' kind of person. i did attend my own school jc reunion 2 years ago, persuaded by kuech, cl and mag. It was good to meet up with a few good friends, but otherwise, i am never at home in a crowd.

i admit i was glad to hear of the reunion of the 1993 kids, and i was invited to attend. There had been some reunions that i didnt get to hear of. Twenty years. A long time. No, i didnt remember all the kids. But i remembered that year so well. It was the year, i started collecting shells....waiting, and waiting...for a way out of the tunnel, and that tunnel lasted ten years.

I didnt teach well....But i was diligent and conscientious, and did my best to support all my kids, though i cant say i handled things as well as i could. That year, i remembered the captain of the basketball team was the prefect in my class, a left hander. We played the crucial match against rgs, and the teachers went down to support. The captain was constantly being 'attacked', but she kept her cool, and that helped us clinch a one-point victory against a formidable team. I never forgot that feeling of jubilation. It was one of those moments that went into a special place in the memory. The 'kids' are most of them mothers with daughters in the school now. Yes, they have all grown up!

It was lovely to see former colleagues, and most of all, Ms Heng, which is the primary reason why I went. I really wanted to see her and to see her well was really good. Everyone greeted everyone with a warm hug. I joined them in 1991 and left 2000, so really it is really a 20+ year bond. I was touched that I was still well remembered and there were many kind thoughts.

Of course I know alot is emotional bonds. Age makes all bonds seem more than it was when we were actually together. Time itself is a strong adhesion, or so it should be. But not always.....

 But yes, in this case, there is alot of emotional bonds. This is the place that I fell in love with teaching. I had been determined to leave the job. But in this school, where I was given the space to develop my own teaching approach, I really love to teach, and it was here that I realise teaching is really in my blood.

It is not to say there werent conflicts. There were plenty. But, like a family, held by a principal that was so magnanimous and whose heart for the welfare of the kids can move one to tears, one learned to give and take.  Yes, remember only the good....

====================================
Earlier this year, I met a ex student from the 1991 batch twice, and yes, my fault, i still havent arranged to meet her for a chat. She was another of those special kids....won the MOE piano competition, and pursued a muscial career....

And then the contact with a 1988 ex student recently via this blog, was really gratifying to me....and she is now a social worker...good, caring for others... a very lovely kid that i remember so well....

yesterday, had a good fb chat with an 1987 ex student now in New Zealand...,,very daughterly...

And today, receiving an invite from scy from 1994 to attend a prize award ceremony of one of her works...she said, she could invite 10 guests and she wanted to invite those that had to do with what she is in her life now....yes I am touched. How not to be? I saw the girl grew, and flap her wings and took flight far beyond.....

=====================================

i never cared much about teachers day....but when you are no longer in the scene, and kids remember to wish you....yes, that is special. I guess like a family, the youngest children are always the ones that are special...so yes, my recent kids that have not grown, yes, they are very special.

And most special of all, i got a very lovely card, from my most special kid!

In many ways, i dont feel good.... and Brownee is not well again....i worry that she may not be with me for long....

 So having all these lovely contacts and good wishes, it is really heartwarming. I feel somehow I have not lived in vain.