Little Clarence

母親我怎麼讓你等了那麼久

文/ 劉繼榮


母親真的老了，變得孩子般纏人，每次打電話來，總是滿懷熱誠地問：「你什麼時候回家？」

且不說相隔一千多里路，要轉三次車，光是工作、孩子已經讓我分身無術，哪裡還抽得出時間回家。母親的耳朵不好，我解釋了半天，她仍舊熱切地問：「你什麼時候能回來？」

幾次三番，我終於沒有了耐心，在電話裏衝母親大聲嚷嚷，她終於聽明白，默默掛了電話。隔幾天，母親又問同樣的問題，只是那語調怯怯地，沒有了底氣。像個不甘心的孩子，明知問了也是白問，可就是忍不住。我心一軟，沉吟了一下。

母親見我沒有煩，立刻開心起來。她欣喜地向我描述：「後院的石榴都開花了，西瓜快熟了，你回來吧。」

我為難地說：「那麼忙，怎麼能請得上假呢！」她急急地說：「你就說媽媽得了癌，只有半年的活頭了！」我立刻責怪她胡說，她呵呵地笑了。小時候，每逢颳風下雨，我不想去上學，便裝肚子疼，被母親識破，挨了一頓好罵。現在老了，她反而教著女兒說謊了，我又好氣又好笑。

這樣的問答不停地重複著，我終於不忍心，告訴她下個月一定回去，母親竟高興得哽咽起來。可不知怎麼了，永遠都有忙不完的事，每件事都比回家重要，最後，到底沒能回去。

電話那頭的母親，仿佛沒有力氣再說一個字，我滿懷內疚：「媽，生氣了吧？」母親這一回聽真了，她連忙說：「孩子，我沒有生你的氣，我知道你忙。」

可是沒幾天，母親的電話催得越發緊了。她說，葡萄熟了，梨熟了，快回來吃吧。我說，有什麼稀罕，這裏滿大街都是，花個十元八元就能吃個夠。母親不高興了，我又耐下性子來哄她：「不過，那些東西都是化肥和農藥餵大的，哪有你種的好呢。」母親得意地笑起來。

星期六那天，氣溫特別高，我不敢出門，開了空調在家裏呆著。孩子嚷嚷雪糕沒了，我只好下樓去超市買。在暑氣蒸騰的街頭，我忽然就看見了母親的背影。看樣子她剛下車，胳膊上挎著個籃子，背上背著沉甸甸的袋子，她彎著腰，左躲右閃著，怕別人碰了她的東西。在擁擠的人流裏，母親每走一步都很吃力。我大聲地叫她，她急急抬起滿是熱汗的臉，四處尋找，看見我走過來，竟驚喜地說不出話來。

一回到家，母親就喜滋滋地往外捧那些東西。她的手青筋暴露，十指上都纏著膠布，手背上有結了痂的血口子。母親笑著對我說：「吃呀，你快吃呀，這全是我挑出來的。」

我這沒有出過遠門的母親，只為著我的一句話，便千里迢迢地趕了來。她坐的是最便宜、沒有空調的客車，車上又熱又擠，但那些水靈靈的葡萄和梨子都完好無損。我想像不出，她一路上是如何過來的，我只知道，在這世上，凡有母親的地方就有奇蹟。

母親只住了三天，她說我太辛苦，起早貪黑地上班，還要照顧孩子，她乾著急卻幫不上忙。城裏的廚房設施，她一樣也不敢碰，生怕弄壞了。她自己悄悄去訂了票，又悄悄地一個人走。

才回去一星期，母親又說想我了，不住地催我回家。我苦笑：「媽，你再耐心一些吧！」第二天，我接到姨媽的電話：「你媽媽病了，你快回來吧。」我急得眼前發黑，淚眼婆娑地奔到車站，趕上了最後一趟車。

一路上，我心裏不住地祈禱。我希望這是母親騙我的，我希望她好好的。我願意聽她的嘮叨，願意吃光她給我做的所有飯菜，願意經常抽空來看她。此時，我才知道，人活到八十歲也是需要母親的。
車子終於到了村口，母親小跑著過來，滿臉的笑。我抱住她，又想哭又想笑，嗔怪道：「你說什麼不好，說自己有病，虧你想得出！」受了責備的母親，仍然無限地歡喜，她只是想看到我。



母親樂呵呵地忙進忙出，擺了一桌子好吃的東西，等著我的誇獎。我毫不留情地批評：「紅豆粥煮糊了；水煎包子的皮太厚；滷肉味道太鹹。」母親的笑容頓時變得尷尬，她無奈地搔著頭。我心裏暗笑，我知道，一旦我說什麼東西好吃，母親非得逼我吃一大堆，走的時候還要帶上，就這樣，我被她餵得肥肥白白，怎麼都瘦不下去。而且，不貶低她，我怎麼有機會佔領灶台呢？

我給母親做飯，跟她聊天，母親長時間地凝視著我，眼裏滿是疼愛。無論我說什麼，她都虔誠地半張著嘴，側著耳朵凝神地聽，就連午睡，她也坐在床邊，笑咪咪地看著我。我說：「既然這麼疼我，為什麼不跟著我住呢？」她說住不慣城裏的高樓。

沒呆幾天，我就急著要回去，母親苦苦央求我再住一天。她說，今早已託人到城裏買菜了，一會兒準能回來，她一定要好好給我做頓飯。縣城離這兒九十多里路，母親要把所有她認為好吃的東西都弄回來，讓我吃下去，她才能心安。


從姨媽家回來的時候，母親精心準備的菜餚，終於端上了桌，我不禁驚詫──魚鱗沒有刮盡、雞塊上是細密的雞毛、香油金針菇裏居然有頭髮絲。無論是葷的還是素的，都讓人無法下箸。母親年輕時那麼愛乾淨，如今老了竟邋遢得這樣。母親見我挑來挑去就是不吃，她心疼地妥協了，送我去坐夜班車。

天很黑，母親挽著我的胳膊。她說，你走不慣鄉下的路。她陪我上了車，不住地囑咐東囑咐西，車子都開了，才急著下去，衣角卻被車門夾住，險些摔倒。我哽咽著，趴在車窗上大叫：「媽，媽，你小心些！」她沒聽清楚，邊追著車跑邊喊：「孩子，我沒有生你的氣，我知道你忙！」

這一回，母親仿佛滿足了，她竟沒有再催過我回家，只是不斷地對我說些開心的事：「家裏又添了隻很乖的小牛犢；明年開春，她要在院子裏種好多好多的花。」聽著聽著，我心裏一片溫暖。
到年底，我又接到姨媽的電話。她說：「你媽媽病了，快回來吧。」我哪裡相信，我們前天才通的話，母親說自己很好，叫我不要掛念。

姨媽只是不住地催我，半信半疑的我還是回去了，並且買了一大袋母親愛吃的油糕。

車到村頭的時候，我伸長脖子張望著，母親沒來接我，我心裏忽地就有了種不祥的預感。
姨媽告訴我，給我打電話的時候，母親就已經不在了，她走得很安詳。半年前，母親就被診斷出了癌症，只是她沒有告訴任何人，仍和平常一樣樂呵呵地忙裏忙外，並且把自己的後事都安排妥當了。姨媽還告訴我，母親老早就患了眼疾，看東西很費勁。

我緊緊地把那袋油糕抱在胸前，一顆心仿佛被人挖走。原來，母親知道自己剩下的日子不多了，才不住地打電話叫我回家，她想再多看我幾眼，再和我多說幾句話。原來，我挑剔著不肯下箸的飯菜，是她在視力模糊的情況下做的，我是多麼的粗心！我走的那個晚上，她一個人是如何摸索到家，她跌倒了沒有，我永遠都無從知道了。

母親，在生命最後的時光裏，還快樂地告訴我，牽牛花爬滿了舊煙囪，扁豆花開得像我小時候穿的紫衣裳。你留下所有的愛，所有的溫暖，然後安靜地離開。

我知道，你是這世上唯一不會生我氣的人，唯一肯永遠等著我的人，也就是仗著這份寵愛，我才敢讓你等了那麼久。

Malacca River & Red Stadhuys at Balanar Time

Walking down the jonker street from one end to the other. At the T-junction, we saw the "Eye on Malaysia" signboard pointing to the right direction. Yeah, if just follow the road sign and have a left turn at the next traffic light, it will be just few metres away. Night was late, we kept on walking, stopping by a bridge which lies across Malacca River and took some shots..

Crossing the river, there we are, ReD StADhuYs...

Jonker Walk, Malacca

Il Divo - The Power of Love

I love this song! Love is sorrow... 凄美...

Starbuck Coffee Jelly Frappucino

Hohoho... Starbuck branded new ~~ Coffee Jelly Frappucino! Nice nice..

Catch-up With An Old Friend

On the same day, we had another friend, Wee Yong visited Penang before he starts his battle, fighting the best for his new life. Bonne chance :)

We started off the day by intruding Gurney Redbox Karaoke..

It was like few years back, singing karaoke with this big guy. Surprisingly, his voice is like Panda Xiong, 熊天平 and he can really sing well... **tenor**

This is the song that he picked! My favourite singer in university life.

He can even sing faye wong, 天空 together with me, amazing!

Next, we stopped by Armenian Street, a Swiss Cafe titled "Edelweiss". According to Wee Yong, this Cafe is opened by the mum of a Miss Malaysia (Year unknown, name unknown.. keke)

Outside

Inner view of the Cafe (This photo is taken by Jolyn :))

Giant & antique clock

A picture above a cupboard

Special lamp

Menu

Pork Ribs. Quite big in size but normal only lo..

Sure I will test the Cappucino everytime I drop in any Western Restaurant. Normal taste.

German Sausage lunch set. Served with Pumpkin soup and ice lemon tea. Pumpkin soup is very nice but the German sausage so so only, kind of weird mix with the sauce.

I personally think that this place is worth to visit just for the environment but not for the food. Maybe We didn't ordered the "chew pai choy". Let me know if you happen to try something good there.

Contact number

This is him, posing in front of the Cafe. :)

Thai Restaurant - Cherry Blossom

Couple of us brought a visitor from US to Cherry Blossom, a Thai Restaurant located at Sg. Ara. I personally think that the dishes served are pretty authentic and the environment can't be comfortable more for chit-chatting and gathering.

We ordered a variety of Thai food to satisfy the visitor's test bud. Btw, his name is Ken. :D

I brought my D60 there, trying to pick up some photography skills. After so long, can't really see the improvement. One of the reason is I don't play much with it.. haha.. I am trying very hard..

The first dish served is Meng Kam. One of my colleague, Eric who was sitting next to me keep saying "good.. good" after he tried this.

Green curry chicken. They cook the chicken with Egg Plant.

Pucha. A combination of minced chicken (still figuring out what are the other ingredients) and fill it in the crab shell.

Pandan Chicken. Recommended dish!

Deep Fried Kangkung. But I think Chok Dee has the best deep fried kangkung that I have ever tried.

We ordered white Tom Yam too. Just realise that I didn't take the photo of it.

Of course, served lastly with Tap Tim Krop, a well known Thai dessert served with water chestnut, jackfruit, coconut milk and.... ice..

Six Happiness Tips

I would like to share six happiness tips with you:

• 1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions — such as fear, sadness, or anxiety — as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.
  
  
• 2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.
  
  
• 3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?
  
  
• 4. Simplify! We are, generally, too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.
  
  
• 5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do — or don't do — with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.
  
  
• 6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.

Express gratitude whenever possible is like counting our blessings each day. Gratitudes for the day passed, just before bedtime.. I find it interesting and wanna give it a try. Counting our blessing is to let us realized how blessed we are and how rich we are... :)

I have opened a chatbox to note down every wonderful thing that made my day. :) To whoever would like to say thank you to any wonderful thing in your life, feel free to leave your loves too. Let us make this world full of happiness and love!