where i grew up.

i spent today walking around with mum and dad in changi point shopping centre. it's quite busy for a sunday and maybe also cause it's a new mall. we spent about 6 hours there doing... almost close to nothing. okay, we shopped a little, really just mum and dad though.

headed down to hougang to visit my mum's parents, aka my grandparents in the evening. which is something that i realise i haven't been doing enough in the past 11 months. i've been too caught up in my own life, to the extent that i've neglected the only people who may possibly love me more than my own parents.

climbing those familiar stairs again, i remember growing up with my grandma and grandpa. my kindergarden and primary school days were mostly spent at their house because my parents were too busy with work to take care of me. dad would drop me off at grandma's at 6 am and i'd alternate between school and there till 8 plus in the night, before heading back home . i spent almost 11 years that way. i remember how i used to go to the market with grandma during the school holidays, hold her hand, say hi to all the old auntie and uncles that i didn't know and push her market trolley.

it's been almost 6 years. surprisingly, i remember every little detail of my days spent there. how i jumped on their spring bed so much that the bed spoilt (which explains my height), the times i watered the plants with my grandpa in the evening, and washed his fish tanks with him. they would tell me stories of how things used to be in their younger days and teach me what they thought was important (moral values, how i should always treat people with sincerity, and of course : how to eat well, which is why i LOVE food )

Their corridor was my favourite play area. my cousins and i used to play catching, hop scotch, sissors paper stone and countless other games along that stretch. walking down that stretch again today, i can almost hear our laughter as we played together. of all my favourite places in that "area", my number one favourite would of course be my grandparents' house itself. to others, it's nothing more than a small and simple 3-room flat. but to me, it's a place filled with so much warmth, love and memories.

i slept there since i was an infant in a cradle that hung from the ceiling, to the little mattress that i fitted perfectly on. i learnt how to walk in that house, said my first words there and it was the home that i left to go to my first day of kindergarden and primary school.

over the years, i've realised that that little hdb flat, is my shelter. it's the place that i go to when i'm tired and need a break from the world. it's a place where i know i'm safe and i don't have to worry. it's the place that will always welcome me with open doors no matter who i become. more importantly, it's the place where 2 of the most important people in my life are.

time will change many things, and my grandparents may not be able to always stay by my side. but today i've realised, more than ever, that i need to cherish the time i have left with them. for the simple reason that i don't ever want to regret not letting them know how much they mean to me, and how much i love them.