Chinese New Year is here

 

  

Every Chinese New Year, it’s Back to Basics for my family.

We return to our kampung (village).

We gather in a small humble house with no air-conditioning.  

We eat our reunion dinner in the hot and humid kitchen. 

We sleep in the sweltering heat. Amazingly, we manage to fall into slumber.

  

Chinese New Year is a time to reminisce about our lives, offer thanks for our blessings and pray for good fortune in the coming year.

It’s wonderful to have the family together. 

Enjoying meals together. 

Chit-chatting in the kitchen. 

Sleeping under the same roof.

 Grateful for the rejuvenating moments!

My Maid's Hard-Earned Money

Photo credit: www.health.com

My part-time maid bought a banana cake at her neighbourhood shop and gave it to me as a token of appreciation. After she has left, I removed the cake from the packaging and was horrified to find mould on the cake although the expiry date was a week away. 

I rang my maid and told her not to buy anything for me in the future and that she should save every penny of her hard-earned money for her young children. 

The cake cost MYR 4.50 only and I thought of just tossing it away. But, my maid said she could exchange it at the shop and would come over to my house the next day to collect the mouldy cake. Unfortunately, I reached home late the next day - around 10 pm at night. My maid said she would come over the following day.  

While watching TV, a thought struck me. I can toss MYR 4.50 away without thinking, but to my maid that amount is hard-earned money. 

At 10.30 pm, I put the mouldy cake in my car and drove more than 3 km to my maid's house. She apologized profusely for troubling me but was extremely delighted to see me. 

As I was driving home, I felt grateful for the wisdom to show my maid that I value her hard-earned money.