Fountain of Youth

Last thursday my son Sheldon had about 10 friends over for dinner. The usual 10 young people, noisy and lively, so happy just to be in the same room with one another even though they have been together everyday in school for the last 5 years. Such is the friendship and bonding of the young and carefree. It was certainly a privilege for me to be part of their world even for a brief moment.

They laugh at everything and poke fun at each other without fear or favor, without worrying that someone might be offended or take heart to something said in jest. Ahhh...where have our time gone to? We used to be like this, life was simple....eat, sleep and exams !. Laughter heals a lot. Now , we are cynical and judgmental, we have to think before we say anything as once spoken, retraction is impossible. Sensitivity lurks in every corner....this is the curse of getting older , where wisdom is overtaken by pride and the "kiasu" syndrome......

How nice it is to be young ,restless and innocent,...well be may not that innocent, they know more in detail about everything then we ever did when we were that age.Its just that the young dont use their knowledge to criticize, to ridicule hurtfully or to downsize their peers, unlike adults. Adults tend to categorize people,size them up, label, box and store , to be retrieved later when the occasion arises.....in other words, to be used as information for gossip !!!

Wouldnt it be nice if we could remain young at heart for a wee bit longer. I know we cant wish to remind young physically ( now that would mean we would have to be like the McDonalds potato fries soaked in preservatives so they wont go bad even after 6 months in a jar!!!) but we could wish to remain mentally young with a touch of innocence ...hahaha...like asking for the moon to be made of cheese!!

Oh well, for what its worth, its always good to be in the company of the young. It never fails to make me happy to see and hear them all talking a mile a minute, their laughter so invigorating and contagious. Although I must say it makes me feel old sometimes as I have known many of them since their days in Chi Hwa. Now they are talking about going to university. What happened to kindergarten, primary school and high school? Where did the years go? Soon they will be telling us what to do and what not to eat and when to take our medication . It was just like yesterday we changed their diapers.....

To my sons and all their friends whom I know, it has been an experience, a pleasure and a privilege to have had the blessing of sharing your joys, your growing pains, your I hate school syndrome and, to still be able to remember that once you all stood just below the height of my dinning table and now, you tower over the tallest of us. Stand tall and proud children, and never say you dont know who you are ( like the stupid americans , always having to take a year off to find themselves).

God bless all of you. To those sitting for your UEC exams, I wish you all the best.