My Teachers' Day Yesterday

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was indeed looking forward to having a great celebration of Teachers' Day with both the teachers and students of SMKMS.

However, when I arrived in school on Monday morning, there wasn't any feeling of excitedness or happiness. Could it be because I've had one too many Teachers' Day celebration in my entire career? Or, more likely, was it because Monday was the day the funeral for a dear family friend of mine, Anthony Pious, was held?

Anthony was a great friend of my late husband, and he was always there to help whenever we needed help. He was one of the kind souls who helped to find people to donate blood to my late husband when it was urgently needed, and when my late husband eventually passed away, Anthony was one of the more active ones in helping around with the funeral preparations and proceedings.

I needed to pay my last respects. I sneaked out from school, halfway during the Teachers' Day celebration, to attend Anthony's funeral. When I look at his grieving family, all the sadness that befell my own family during my late husband's funeral - 5 years ago - came back to me. Actually, this sadness did not really go away. It has only been locked up and stored within a body-shaped container that always puts up a brave and cheerful front - which is me. Everytime I hear my late husband's favourite song, there'll be this twinge in my heart. When I eat his favourite dishes, such as his "mee hoon kuih", there'll be this lumpy feeling down my throat. And I miss him terribly during family birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Chinese New Year... all those celebrations.

As I looked at Kim, Anthony's widow, I pray that she will have the courage and strength to get through these trying times for her and her family; that she will have many good friends who will help her through this period, just as many good friends helped my family through 5 years ago.

I remember these beautiful words in a condolence card that I received back then:

"God in his great mercy,
knew when loved ones had to part,
Something special would be needed
to bring comfort to the heart,
So he gave us each a precious gift,
not even time can fade,
Of reliving tender moments
through the memories we've made"

Emily Matthews

So teachers, please forgive me for being slightly "off form" and moody on Monday. I promise you all that you'll see a cheerful Pengetua again today. Hey, it's a promise! :P