Reality has sunk in and the quietness of home is now louder than ever. It’s not so obvious in the morning when we get ready for work because if M2 was still here, she would still be asleep. It’s the evenings.
The grunt, snort and stubbornness of official pet number one is more prominent, the water spouting within the aquarium is more pronounced and the lack of another person to have a conversation with is so glaring.
Sigh… both of us have to get used to this.
M2’s travel to Ireland was more manageable to track, eight hours behind our time compared M1’s travel to the US where the time difference was much more and so hard to keep up, travelling back in time and all.
She had a big send-off entourage which was nice but emotional at the same time. Sad tears flowed among family and friends present at the airport to see her off but there was also happiness for her as she faces a new beginning.
Like her cousins and sister, we are very proud of M2 to bravely go off to college without us having to accompany her – being so young at 17 and a half years old, surpassing even M1. Her taking this path in stride, to see and experience the world and be more independent makes me tear up when I think about it because my baby is all grown up.
M2 may be travelling in a group with other students unlike M1, who travelled solo but the fact remains both girls didn’t need us to go with them. M1 graduates this year while M2 has just begun her exciting journey.
We got home at almost two in the morning and I couldn’t sleep, needing to keep track of her on flightaware.com. This is the best site/app ever to live track the what, where and when status of an aircraft. When morning came, I was like a zombie in the office from the lack of sleep and my eyes still stung and remained puffed from all the tears shed.
By Monday evening our time, she arrived safely. The layover in Dubai wasn’t too long and Emirates is a great airline. I heave a sigh of relief knowing she’s well on her way to greater things in life.
M2 onwards to her new and exciting beginning!
When the girls are four years apart, the heartache occurs four years apart too…
Four years ago, when our firstborn M1 left for the U.S. to further her studies, there was heartache and anxiety. And it took us some time to adjust our lifestyle with one family member less.
Now four years later, history repeats itself.
Last night, our baby, M2 left for Ireland for her studies. And suddenly, we find ourselves having to adjust our lifestyle all over again.
Whether it was four years ago or now, the heartache and anxiety are the same. Sniffle… tears… and more tears.
My baby’s all grown up!!!
When M1 was still around years ago, both girls had the habit of tuning us out with their headphones on especially during exam week. Typically after dinner, both M1 and M2 would be diligently doing their revision at the dining table with their headphones in place.
It was hard enough for me when they’d do the same in the car, headphones in place and I have to wave to get their attention before speaking. It’s the same at home with this habit of theirs to tune me out and I have to wave.
With M1 away at University and only M2 around, she continued to have her headphones plugged in especially during exam week. And she constantly reminded me that I’d have to wave if I want to say something to her. Can I fault her when doing this was for a good cause, studying for the exams?
M2 may be done with school this year, so no more studying at the dining table but she still has her headphones in place these days to watch her videos instead.
The situation may have changed but some things never change and I will surely miss this habit, waving that is, the day she leaves for college.
Besides buying hubby a gift for his birthday last month, I also asked him if he would like his own personal Gnome, carved on the same date as his birthday. Of course, being my biggest fan and supporter, he said yes.
But he wanted his Gnome to be different from the rest and this complicated matters. Haish… Why put me in a spot? If it were to be different he would have to wait until his next birthday because I need to develop my characters and this takes time. Can’t just happen overnight, what more on the day itself and not earlier considering it should be a birthday Gnome. Hmm…
So we compromised. Carved on Meranti and not balsa, it dons a golden yellow cap instead of the usual red. And although it’s shorter than the other Meranti Gnomes, it is taller than the balsa Gnomes. Sounds complicated. Nonetheless, he loved it and decided that his Gnome will be the designated leader of the pack. Cute little fella I must say.
Carving whales to be smart phone holders are suddenly so passé. It is 2019 now and new characters have taken flight! The latest pod of whales are smaller, rounder and super cute. I find this direction very refreshing but puts the thought process into overdrive and can be very draining at times. My dinosaur brain can’t process that fast, I guess.
With this new direction, the Citizens of Gigglesville have not grown, neither have the Gnomes of Gnomie-wood. It’s okay, I am sure I will get around to the others in due course.
The minute M1 turned 18 four years ago, we decided to give her a credit card and this marked another step towards being an adult. I remember when I received my first credit card from Dad, albeit a supplementary one, I felt so important and all grown up.
And it wasn’t just a credit card but an American Express charge card. Even more important I felt back then!
M2 will be turning 18 this year and obviously we will do the same for her soon. My goodness, they grow up too fast, my babies. Sniffle…
Sometimes it’s fun to experiment with materials. I have a bottle of glow varnish purchased in the middle of last year and yet to be used on any of my carvings. One evening many moons ago, I couldn’t decide to start a new piece or simply just put the finishing touches on some existing ones. Then I remembered the Gandalf-like purple Gnome has yet to be varnished.
So I decided to give it the glow varnish to have it glow in the dark like some mystical character. But it’s hard to capture the image on my iPhone5S and I left it as is without further experimenting the effects.
Then not too long after that, I purchased a bottle of glitter gloss and I thought this might work better especially during the day. Forget the glow effect at night that might scare the bejesus out of myself.
My giant Gandalf-like purple gnome now sports a glittering beard but subtle.
Before the add on…
Glitter on just the beard
It’s a constant battle with the bathroom scale. We have the trusty old one for years and I swear by it to have a constant.
Last month when I was at the hospital to do my annual medical check up, the clinic’s scale added five unbelievable kilos to my weight. Of course, when I came home, I measured that against our trusty scale to reassure myself that is not the case.
But now things have changed…
Trusty’s accuracy is questionable and does not seem to be so trustworthy after all because there’s a new bathroom scale, a Christmas gift. And this newbie, a digital one, is more accurate down to a decimal point. Because of Newbie, I discovered to my astonishment that Trusty has been ‘lying’ to me all these years!
Newbie shows that I am actually two kilos less than Trusty. I had to blink when I saw the numbers. Eh? The hospital scale showed five extra kilos, now I am two kilos less?
I know I am not good in mental calculation but I can’t be that bad in my Math when I converted the pounds to kilos and vice versa to be sure. Such conflicting numbers. Which bathroom scale should I rely on now? Hmm…
Trusty and Newbie
Unlike the nation and the world who ushered in 2019 with revelry, we welcomed the new year without much fanfare. In fact, no fanfare at all. It rained in the evening and spoiled the mood to go out. So we stayed home.
I decided to carved a Whale to usher in the year. Hubby has been down with a cough for several days, hence no alcohol for him, I didn’t feel like drinking or celebrating alone.
Whale 14 in the making
Sure there were fireworks last night when the clock struck midnight which we could hear and see in the distance but I tuned them all out with my headphones and listened to Beyonce’s Listen, my favorite song.
The night before New Year felt like any other night in the week prior to midnight. And the first day of the new year is no different, a public holiday in the midst of a work week but kinda like a Sunday nothing-doing feeling. A quiet beginning is what it is for us.
Angieneering 
Remarks