When I say many faces, I literally mean MANY FACES. Cheeky face, smiley face, stubborn face, euphoric face, sad face, impatient face, weeping face, bossy face....a 4 year old's face full of expressions, and a face always stuffed with wonderful food. That's my nephew Ryan's face.
I never understood why a mother could possibly love her child so much that she would sacrifice a good 9 months of her life carrying it, and go through labour pain without any regrets. I never saw a father who would anticipate the growth of his son so much so that one day, they could be playing soccer together as they're both Man U fans. I never realised a grandmother wouldn't mind climbing up and down playing lion dance with her grandson, just to have a glimpse of happiness on his face. I never knew a grandfather would abandon his usual stern look and start having baby talks with his grandson. If it wasn't for his many faces, I would never understand why all these wonderful things happened.
I still remember when he was tiny, he used to have milia, a milk rash all over his face. He was such an ugly duckling then. As time went by, his rash disappeared. He quickly transformed into a toddler with impeccable skin. People soon forgot how he looked like last time, unless they went through his baby photos, which i believe my sister has locked them up in a safe. He was so gorgeous and cuddly that everyone would like to hold him and squeeze him tight.
He was growing so fast that he was learning names of everyone in the family even before the expected milestone. He was able say mummy, daddy, yiyi (auntie) and popo (grandma). However he was having a real tough time saying gonggong (granddad), but after intensive training and baby talking with his grandfather, he finally blurted out "gonggong". You should've seen my father's face, he was extremely proud.
I used to bring him his favourite mochi, a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice, every time when I went back to Sabah. He loved it so much that even when he was sick and had no appetite, he could still swallow a few mochi to fill up his empty stomach. I was so deeply related to mochi in his memory that he started calling me Mochi yiyi. Even till now that he is no longer fond of mochi anymore, I am still his Mochi yiyi in his mind.
Ryan can be quite clingy sometimes. He knows who are the ones the he should be in good terms with, and who are the ones that will bring him present and goodies. There is a circle of friends and there is also a circle of trust in his mind. Everyone is in his circle of friends, of course with certain priorities, but not everyone is in his circle of trust. In order to get into his circle of trust, you have gotta be a male icon. Boys are boys, girls are girls. He thinks he should befriend with girls, as that's what mummy told him, but he also thinks he should only bond with boys, as he is a real man! He will always rank his male counterparts ahead of his female friends.
I remember the last time I saw him during CNY, he just celebrated his birthday. He promised his parents that since he's a grown up now, he would sleep in his own bedroom at night. For the first few night, he was totally excited and proud of himself , as he managed to keep his footsteps away from his parents' room. But the following nights, he started waking up in the middle, knocking on their door, asking to go toilet and wondering when sunrise was. In less than a week, he was back in his parents bed again. So much of a real man!
Every time when I meet him, there's always something new about him. Whether it's his current trend of dressing, his latest toy or his newly found girlfriend. But every time when I say goodbye to him, I can see the lost face of his as there's one less person to dote on him.
We try to capture his many faces with or without his attention, but due to his poser instinct, he will always put up a contagious smile in front of camera. It's through all these dynamic photos of his face that always make us forget about all the regrets of spoiling him.
I never understood why a mother could possibly love her child so much that she would sacrifice a good 9 months of her life carrying it, and go through labour pain without any regrets. I never saw a father who would anticipate the growth of his son so much so that one day, they could be playing soccer together as they're both Man U fans. I never realised a grandmother wouldn't mind climbing up and down playing lion dance with her grandson, just to have a glimpse of happiness on his face. I never knew a grandfather would abandon his usual stern look and start having baby talks with his grandson. If it wasn't for his many faces, I would never understand why all these wonderful things happened.
I still remember when he was tiny, he used to have milia, a milk rash all over his face. He was such an ugly duckling then. As time went by, his rash disappeared. He quickly transformed into a toddler with impeccable skin. People soon forgot how he looked like last time, unless they went through his baby photos, which i believe my sister has locked them up in a safe. He was so gorgeous and cuddly that everyone would like to hold him and squeeze him tight.
He was growing so fast that he was learning names of everyone in the family even before the expected milestone. He was able say mummy, daddy, yiyi (auntie) and popo (grandma). However he was having a real tough time saying gonggong (granddad), but after intensive training and baby talking with his grandfather, he finally blurted out "gonggong". You should've seen my father's face, he was extremely proud.
I used to bring him his favourite mochi, a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice, every time when I went back to Sabah. He loved it so much that even when he was sick and had no appetite, he could still swallow a few mochi to fill up his empty stomach. I was so deeply related to mochi in his memory that he started calling me Mochi yiyi. Even till now that he is no longer fond of mochi anymore, I am still his Mochi yiyi in his mind.
Ryan can be quite clingy sometimes. He knows who are the ones the he should be in good terms with, and who are the ones that will bring him present and goodies. There is a circle of friends and there is also a circle of trust in his mind. Everyone is in his circle of friends, of course with certain priorities, but not everyone is in his circle of trust. In order to get into his circle of trust, you have gotta be a male icon. Boys are boys, girls are girls. He thinks he should befriend with girls, as that's what mummy told him, but he also thinks he should only bond with boys, as he is a real man! He will always rank his male counterparts ahead of his female friends.
I remember the last time I saw him during CNY, he just celebrated his birthday. He promised his parents that since he's a grown up now, he would sleep in his own bedroom at night. For the first few night, he was totally excited and proud of himself , as he managed to keep his footsteps away from his parents' room. But the following nights, he started waking up in the middle, knocking on their door, asking to go toilet and wondering when sunrise was. In less than a week, he was back in his parents bed again. So much of a real man!
Every time when I meet him, there's always something new about him. Whether it's his current trend of dressing, his latest toy or his newly found girlfriend. But every time when I say goodbye to him, I can see the lost face of his as there's one less person to dote on him.
We try to capture his many faces with or without his attention, but due to his poser instinct, he will always put up a contagious smile in front of camera. It's through all these dynamic photos of his face that always make us forget about all the regrets of spoiling him.
