Friday, May 04, 2012

Provoking Thoughts

One fine day, while chatting with my colleague, one of them mentioned that we're 25 soon. If we could live to 100, we have spend 1/4 of our lives doing what we are doing right now.

This thought of only having 3/4 of my lives left is intriguing. What am I going to do with the rest of my life? Will I be wasting what precious time I have left?

Well, I left that pondering and didn't think much about it again. However, today, it hit me once more. This time round, I think of it from an angle of my grandparents.

My grandfather is quite old, he had just celebrated his 80th birthday. He's been through WW2. He's there to witness Singapore merging with Malaysia, became independent and the first election that happens.

He, I must say, has gone through 3/4 of his life. So, he has only 1/4 of his time left to do what he wants to do..

And I think he just want someone, his children or grandchildren, to be there for him.

Do you know he has slight dementia? He forgots some things easily. Like how? There was one day when my mum just visited him, the next day, my grandfather was complaining to my grandmother saying that my mum had not visited him for ages!

And he ask about me too, as soon as I left his house. He ask where I was when I just drove him home from an outing.

It's frightening to think that short term memory happens to anyone and they can't remember what they have experience. However, things that he will remember are his children and memories.

Memories of what he had gone through when he was younger.

You know, I use to value photographs importantly because it captures how I look like at that point of time. And if one day I look back, I can admire how I used to look like. Ugly, pretty, cute, weird...

But these days, I'm not very interested in taking photographs anymore. I feel what matters behind photographs are the memories we hold. Imagine if someone else look at a photograph that is meaningful to you. To them, they admire the photograph - how nice it was and imagine what led to you capturing that moment.

However, it could mean a whole meaning to you, perhaps it was a last moment with someone precious or it was a great birthday bash etc.

So I couldn't imagine what kind of memories my grandfather had and what are his deepest thoughts but in all, being his grandchild, the best we could give him are happier memories to live the rest 1/4 of his life...

I will accompany him after my exams :) Promise...