My Longkang

Benghui’s activity corner
I woke up this morning and tried to wake up Beng Hui. It is a very difficult task. I know he is very tired but I have to do it. I have to prepare him for school.The bus sekolah auntie is always very early.

I look at him and thank God that he is physically perfect. Curled in the Korean blanket given by Bengsim against the cold, he is half-awake and just waits for me to say,”Wake-up,wake-up”. He stretches and yawns and laboriously meanders his way to the toilet. Today he asked me,”Why you no ask me to brush teeth and pee?” He is so used to that I suppose. Our morning dialogue

I look at him and feel remarkably inadequate. He is growing up and one day I will no longer be his hero. He is trying to fend for himself in this world and perhaps I am too protective. After brushing his teeth, he will rush off to look for a pair of matching socks for me. To him, although he doesn’t realize it, it is a labour of love.

Yesterday, he brought me a cup of tea. I asked him why. He said because I love you. I checked myself from immediately asking, “What have you done wrong this time”? He put in 3 tea bags in one cup although he managed to fill the glass with boiling water without spilling or hurting himself.

He came back from school and immediately after having lunch, he fell asleep on the floor. He then decided to water the flowers. Somewhere along the way to water the flowers and his good intentions, he saw my dog Oopi. He spied my car shampoo and wanted to give Oopi a bath. He poured a quarter bottle all over the dog. Oopi of course did not take kindly to that

I recall so many incidents. He saw me shaving and decided to do the same. He absolutely insists he has a little stubble on his chin ( 8 years old ) To save us money, he once cut his own hair with disastrous results. I had to send him to Sungai Merah for a hair-cut. “Cannot repair”, the deaf and dumb barber signalled with his hands. ( he is indeed deaf and dumb but enjoys good business because he gives good service ) He gave Benghui a crew-cut. Benghui wasn’t happy but not a word of complaint came out.

He spoiled my watch,my micro-wave, my alarm clock and many other things in the home. His inquisitive nature sees him wandering to all corners of the house trying out ‘new’ things trying to understand how they work. Now he has decided he wants privacy when he is in the bathroom. With disastrous results too as he climbed up on to the sink to adjust the water heat and fell down together with the sink.It has yet to be replaced. I intend to use some of the ad money to fix up the bathroom a bit.

He has also started to look in the mirror, check his appearance before leaving the house. He inspects every article of clothing before agreeing to us buying the whatever it is we want to buy.

A new development that stunned me. “Daddy, I want to buy a bible.” I paused in the middle of checking for ripe pomelos. Visions of a Pastor Benghui came to mind.

” Every one of my friends has one. I want to have one too.” It is a good start although the intentions are less than honourable

He has lost interest in the tv ( I unplugged it after there was a row between him and Mrs Bengbeng ). He has now become totally absorbed in the computer. He has learned so many new things. He did something to Mrs Bengbeng’s laptop and the screen showed everything upside-down.

Mrs Bengbeng panicked ( work not saved ) and he smiled making Mrs bengbeng ‘lagi marah’. Then like a magician, with a few buttons voila everything was alright again. He was proud I saw but he was lucky Mrs Bengbeng was in a good mood

Actually he asks for so little. He looks forward to some nights when I take him to the local coffee-shop and he has his kampua while I take my chicken broth or usually just a cup of iced-lemon tea. It is just to give myself some quality time with him. He will take pride in showing off his skills with the chop-sticks. He is so bursting with pride just to show me he knows how to cross the road responsibly.

I prepared a room for him. We have three unused bedrooms. Every night the ritual will start . “Daddy, can I sleep with you tonight? Daddy, I am a good boy, I finished my homework. I finished studying. Daddy, I read a new book. He will then recount all the little details that happens in an eight-year old’s life. “Daddy, mummy says you sleep too late. Daddy, you must take care of your health. Daddy, daddy, daddy………”

If I take too long to reply, he will be asleep in the computer room. Parents, it is a privilege to have children entrusted in our care. It is a God-given task and duty. We have to do everything we can for them. It is also a joy. It is our job because we are the parents, brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles etc.