Poor Old Lady

Last Saturday, as I was preparing to go for my English Class, I was kind of feeling down, thinking why I had to spend money to learn English, when I should have learnt all these when I was younger. If not for the classes, I could be resting, listening to music or just relaxing. As I headed to my English Class, I walked behind a row of flats near Bedok Central and noticed a small stack of cardboard boxes, messily placed all over. Cluttered amongst them, was an old lady, patiently cutting up the boxes and stacking them onto a trolley.

The little old lady was probably in her late seventies or eighties and walks with a perpetual hunch. I could almost feel the pain as I watch her walk those difficult few steps. I could almost feel the creaking in her bones and the pain she must have felt.Despite the pain and difficulty she was obviously in, she was meticulous, cutting and stacking each box neatly onto the trolley and tying them down neatly. My mind wondered as to how much she can fetch for those few boxes? Ten cents per box and with about 10 to 20 boxes, she probably gets about two dollars worth?

All of a sudden, I realized how fortunate I am to be of good health, to be able to study, to be able to walk with pain and even jog regularly. I thank God for blessing me for making me what I am and I made up my mind to study and work even harder.

It's interesting how our attitude can change just because of one thing or another. Maybe it's these little incidents like what I had just experienced that makes our life worth living. What would life be without a few of these incidents to remind us of how fortunate we are. No matter how bad a situation you think you are in, there's always someone worse off than you, somewhere in the world!

Polite Old Lady

This week, I met a very sweet old lady during my train ride to work in the morning. The train was very crowded as usual at almost 6am in the morning when it made a stop at the Tiong Bahru MRT. An old lady got up and  she a little weak and frail. It's obvious she was going to work and I was just thinking to myself that she must have been about 70 and still working. It must be tough getting up so early at this old age. In China, we are used to it but looking at the number of people sleeping in the train, it must be tough for most city folks in Singapore!

I usually am able to get a seat as I start my journey in Bedok. As she came up, I noticed that there were no seats available and many of the commuters were sleeping away, waiting to reach their destination. Everyone was just trying to catch that few more minutes of sleep before the morning coffee wakes them up!

This lady stood in front of me, so I decided to give up my seat to her. I then stood up and offered her my seat. She politely asked me where I am stopping. Here is how the conversation went (in Mandarin of course) :

Old Lady : "Young Lady, where are you stopping?"
Me : "I will be stopping at Buona Vista, just 4 more stops to go!"
Old Lady : "Well then, you take a seat until you reach your destination, then I will take over your seat when you alight."
Me : "No, no, you take a seat. I have sat long enough! I came all the way from Bedok! I have sat here for half an hour already!"
Old Lady : "No, no, you take a seat! I can manage!"
Me : "Auntie, you take a seat because I am getting up to take a stretch"

With this, I held her arm and guided her to my seat. She must have told me "Thank you!" at least three times before settling down. What a polite old lady and what a pleasant experience it was for me!

Another start to another beautiful day!

The Old Lady next door!

This old lady looks after the lavatory at the Tampines Central food center and I see her all the time when I use the the lavatory. She is such a wonderful lady, always helpful, courteous and cheerful and she keeps the toilet sparkling clean. Sometimes I will just indulge in a short small talk with her when I am not rushed for time.. like when I have 10mins left after lunch!

The other day, she came to buy a bun for lunch and someone gave me some mooncakes earlier, so I gave her two pieces. She was so grateful that she thank me profusely!

The next day, my boss wanted me to go to their new branch in Sengkang and the day after, I had to go back to Punggol to work. When I got back to the Tampines branch the following day, this nice old lady came by to see me again. She told me she came by the last two days and was looking for me... and she won't buy anything when I am not around. How flattering! She told me she wished she had a daughter-in-law like me but her sons are all married.

She then asked me if I wanted some bowls and some clothes. I was very touched but I told her, "Auntie, you should keep them for yourself as I have lots of clothes. Besides, I am renting a room with a few others and do not have a place to keep too many things."

Life has its twist and turns. Treat people nice and they can turn around and make your day! You never know. This lady sure made my day!