CNY Reunion Dinner

Our reunion dinner with Ah Gong, Ah Mah and the extended family, was at Orchard Hotel (Hua Ting) at 6 pm. It was a bit of a rush for us, especially since Rose preferred not to join us. Sometimes, I wish she was more sociable and proactive in such events. We could really use her help...

Anyway, we joined the extended family reunion this year and it was great. The family has grown over the past year, with more little nieces and nephews from my cousins. It's really amazing to see the joy in their grandparents' faces. Lines were softened, smiles deepened... Pretty much like how Ah Gong and Ah Mah respond to Zixin, Sophie and Alfee.

Cousins from my generation are all now mature  adults, most have settled down with family and kids. I'm not very close to my cousins but there are a few whom I would want to keep in touch with. We share some fond memories and I suppose blood still runs thicker than water. 

There was another camera people in the house today - Josh Loh and the kids. Josh's my cousin and he's my age. His son, Thaddy, is a few months younger than Sophie. Josh and his wife Catherine were most patient and generous with Sophie throughout the evening. She was meddling with his camera and trying to take pictures with it. Although she seemed awkward and rough with his camera, both Josh and his wife were comfortable with taking the risk, letting her have her way. 

Here are some shots from Josh's camera, taken by either Thaddy or Sophie. I must say, they are pretty decent shots. Perhaps we should learn to take risks as well, giving the kids more room to experiment and explore, taking risks and investing in their attempts to try out new things and tread unfamiliar grounds. 

Sophie's shot of us (Josh's camera)

Sophie's shot - Josh & Thaddy (Josh's camera)

Sophie's shot - Thaddy & Parents (Josh's camera)

Sophie's shot - Thaddy & Min Kai (Josh's camera)

It's wonderful to see Sophie mingling with other children whom she barely know. She's never too shy or concerned with approaching others, especially if they have something that triggers her interest. Her curiosity and inquisitiveness supersede everything else. I'm beginning to see it as a strength to be nurtured. I think she got this trait from her dad.

Alfee, on the other hand, is just so joyful and cheeky. He was being very coy with my auntie and that really brought bouts of laughter at our table. He's unassuming and always smiling. Emotionally, he's definitely more stable than Sophie. 

My kids needs to be engaged and stimulated always. I tried to cater to their needs but occasions such as these are difficult. I made sure she ate a little before they came because I knew they wouldn't eat the food served. At one point, I had to give Sophie a book to read, just to keep her occupied. And I had to discipline Alfee who cried and refused to sit still in his highchair. 

These pictures were taken by Josh. As usual, Papa tends to focus on the kids so it's good to have another perspective to the reunion dinner. Of course, he got to appear in photographs as well.

(Josh's camera)

Josh took the opportunity to help everyone take family portraits before we called it a day. It was great because we very seldom take pictures as a family and extend families are hard to gather. Perhaps we should. My parents' family is huge and tonight is only half strength. Some were having reunion dinners with their own extended families, especially the daughters. Some were in JB and China. 

I never appreciated my extended family until very recently. Like all families, it takes effort and patience to get along. Now, I see it very differently. I did an Anthropology module in the Uni before and I created this really wide family tree for the assignment. I connected sheets of A4 paper and everyone was amazed by the number of kids my grandparents had. When the older generation pass on, it's really up to us to keep in touch. Nobody from my generation has more than 2 children (except those in China) so we would never have such a big extended family anymore. Never.