ice cream

the ice cream man.
nostalgic.

no, not the typical "mat kool mat kool kawan kuuuu!".
the old ice cream, with his bike and a bell that going "tingling-a ling- a ling-a ling"
he din sell cornetto or drumstick all that jazz.
it was icecream.
jagung
yam
strawberry
vanilla
chocolate
on plastic-like cones or even with bread!
THAT ice cream man.

i remember when amah was still around, we'd go walk in Tanjung Emas Muar.
How ice cream melts so fast I usually only manage to eat half of them.
How the wind would blow in your hair while a bunch of young teens would ride along the coast with their bikes.
How the apek uncles would be fishing by the side and I'd spy on them, wondering what the heck would still be alive in that dirty water.
Amah Yehyeh always did shower us with love & care.
Nonetheless, we weren't necessarily spoilt (ok.. maybe just a little)
but we learn to appreciate, love, forgive & respect.
Family comes 1st.
always.

That's what I got from her the most.
Family trips.
How she loved them.
We'd make it a point to travel every year, the whole ching-bang of a family.
from my aunts, to my uncles, cousins & siblings.
Even the ones that are not in Malaysia.
Trips like these always cheers her up.

My grandmother was a very poise lady.
From her cursive writing, her calligraphy, details in her crafts and cross-stitch, even to the way she precisely pronounced her English.
But she is also bold and daring, sporting and most of all loving.
I remember my grandmother drinking Tiger Beers & Ngan Yin groundnuts during one of our gatherings.
wow... boy oh boy.... she is amazing.

Our family trips always had a lot of people.
we're a huge family!
we could easily pao 1 whole floor or 1 whole apartment of 5-6 rooms for our trips.
and every night, we'd bring beer, junk food & snacks over to the HQ room.
where the adults drink and chat, and the kids ... well... we played. :P
those were the days.

endearing and heart warming.
family dinners are worth rushing back to.
family trips are worth making time for.
family are people who'd never turn their backs on you.

family.
:)

p/s: i miss you amah.