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| Meet the Spongebob clan. :) |
growth;
[n.] the process of developing physically, mentally or spiritually.
Growth is rather
interesting. I reckon that it can be seen in unprecedented situations,
especially one that includes conversations with people–be it with family,
friends, strangers or observing strangers communicating with other strangers.
* * *
It was the Saturday after
Father’s Day. My paternal extended family tend to celebrate significant
occasions either a week earlier or later; in order to be first to enjoy the
scrumptious, mouth-watering delicacies or to basically avoid the Malaysian
crowd.
My father is part of a
huge family of 12 siblings (including himself). I have 24 cousins, 3 nephews
and 5 nieces. So, on special events like Father’s Day, we’ll normally spare our
mothers and head out for dinner. This time, it was buffet! That’s the best part
about having an extremely big family tree.
* * *
We, my mother and I, were
queuing to pay our parking ticket. It was the closing hour of the hotel;
therefore a long queue was inevitable.
During this typical
situation, the usual happens. People were furiously tapping their fingers away
while some hung neutral expressions on their faces. Others were making small
talks, with hope that the clock would tick faster and the queue would get
moving.
I, however, had my
attention on a group of children that were seated at a corner, probably waiting
for their parents that were in line. There were two girls and a boy. They must
be less than seven years old. Their giggles reached my ears and I could not
hold back the grin that formed on my lips. Cheesy, I know. Children are the
epitome of happiness. They spread joy on breads and magically turn people’s
frown upside down.
Out of a sudden, the
little girl that wore a pink princess dress stood up and faced her two friends.
“Now, let’s take turns to tell each other what we want to become.” She said
with a her child-like accent. I won’t lie; I was amazed at her fluency in her
speech. Kids these days can talk. No kidding.
“You first,” she pointed
at the boy in the group.
He matched his green and
white-checkered dress shirt with a pair of jeans. Caught off guard, he remained
silent. He was in the midst of coming up with a witty answer but the little
girl that threw him the question went on saying, “I know what you want to be.
You want to be a house husband!” she exclaimed happily, as if she has gotten an
A+.
I laughed at her remark,
mentally of course. The boy flashed a cheeky smile, embarrassed, and covered his face with
his hands, succumbing to his friend’s teasing. The little princess then
diverted her attention to her other friend, who had a cowgirl get up.
Little cowgirl took a deep
breath and garnered all her courage as she stood up and said, “I want to be a doctor.”
The little princess and soon-to-be-house-husband wowed and cheered cowgirl on.
The rest of their conversation remained a mystery to me as the queue started
moving.
* * *
I can vividly recall the similar conversations shared with my cousins when we were little. We dreamed
big; we wanted to become astronauts, work in the police department, become doctors,
lawyers, teachers and fire fighters.
I remember the times we
sweat when we played hide and seek, ice and fire, police and thief, sometimes
we even pretended to be doctor and teachers. Back then, technology
wasn’t at its finest. We only had each other for entertainment, and I reckon
my childhood became brighter with the presence of all my cousins, my ohana.
As we shared a meal
together that Saturday, we no longer chat about how
much angpow money we received, or
asked each other about the weather. Instead, our bonding sessions have evolved
into something more. Something deeper; it was as if our time in the kiddy pool
was up.
When we were younger, we
shared about our dreams. Fast forward to now, we talked about making them come
true. From ADP to SAM to A-Levels, we debated about the pros and cons and the
suitability of the course for an individual. My other cousins bragged about how
college life is undeniably more relaxed compared to the rigid education system
that I’m currently going through.
We talked about driving
and cars. I’m no driver, so my cousins did all the talking. They did not
hesitate to unravel me to their many harmless accidents that took place on
roads. It was hilarious. I’m in the midst of getting my license. Driving is
fun, but be sure to not let the clutch, clutch you.
* * *
Growth was evident during
dinner the other night. We were children that used to carry out kiddy conversations.
Now, we are young adults entering adulthood; in which we will decipher life a tad more. It
is also a chapter entailing our future, our goals and our desires.
It’s heartwarming to see
my cousins growing up and becoming adults; although they still act like a kid,
laugh like hyenas and munch too much on extremely long bread sticks like nobody’s
business.
If you’d asked me, growth
never cease to fascinate me. It catches me off-guard and it teaches me life’s
greatest lesson, one day at a time.
I may not know what my
future holds, but I know He’s holding my future.
