It was nothing substantial material- or financial-wise; and not enough to elevate my siblings and I to 'heir and heiress' status. Nonetheless, all it took was an encounter today that made me realise the legacy that Mummy left behind was worth more than anything money could buy.
Very often in my growing up years, there would be times where I could not relate to certain actions or behaviour that Mummy would do. And being the rash young me then, I would make noise and argue with Mummy when things just 'did not seem right' - my way.
Mummy will then retort, 'Wait till one day when I am not around, you will know why I did what I did today.'
It was like a prophecy come true - in many sense - after her demise.
On several occasions before she fell ill, I would returned home from work to find her scribbling away at her desk. One of her hobbies, I realised (while clearing out her stuff), was compiling contacts and filling up address books. It will list various useful contacts - for the house, relatives, suppliers so on - and she prides herself at being adept at it. Mummy never received formal education so learning to write and read simple English was a great achievement. The contacts came in handy at certain points of time, since I had to live alone now.
And then there were occasions where she will come running out to me asking me to write greeting cards to people that I vaguely know. That will somewhat irritate me that time but I did it nevertheless because I knew she had waited up for me to come home so that she can catch me to get the task done.
It never struck me until today, that small actions like these brought about big differences to the people whom she sent greeting cards to.
As part of the sale process of the current apartment I am staying in, one of the conditions of sale was an inspection of the flat by an officer from HDB. That morning of the inspection, a soft-spoken male officer in his 40s dropped by. Midway through his rounds, he stopped and stood in the corner of the living room where Mummy's favorite spot used to be and said, as he turned to me: 'I remember your Mum. She is very nice and kind....sends us cards every year. We all received her cards."
I was surprised, and couldn't quite react to his sudden comment. What I eventually did do was to briefly tell him what Mummy was stricken with, and that her departure was swift. On hindsight, it was a rather pathethic attempt to provide solace to the officer, regardless if he wanted to know or not.
The officer then continued for a few more seconds of looking around and gave the all-clear. Then he left, in less than 5 minutes.
For the rest of the day, my heart was filled with warmth over what I heard that morning. It is almost a year since Mummy left yet her small gesture of sending cards was remembered. More importantly, she was thought of by others in a fond way.
To me, such tributes are priceless and more valuable than anything material in this world. It is by far the best legacy Mummy has left behind for us, her children, to remember her by.
till later.
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