Last Sunday (15 April 2012), Aunty Amy left for a five week home vacation and was in tears when saying goodbye to them at the airport. I didn't want to prolong the goodbye because baby elephant had not yet seen her tearing and I didn't want him to be affected. That, plus I started tearing up as well. It's supposed to be a happy occasion because she was going home for a well deserved holiday and she is supposed to return after that. So that was the message we wanted to send to baby elephant.
Aunty Amy has been our helper since baby elephant was three months old and since Chris was born. I think she's also naturally drawn to loving children. When we're out on Saturdays, she often points out other kids to me, always with positive comments and not in comparison to our kids.
I guess what touches me is her ability and willingness to care for my kids, many times at her inconvenience. She often rushes through her own meals or doesn't even mind eating a late lunch or dinner because of them. Usually we free up time for her to eat her lunch before noon, but she chooses to have her dinner after 8pm, after she sees that things in the household are settled. This means she will play with the kids while making sure we have time to eat, shower and get ready to put the kids to bed. There are times the kids' schedules are delayed and they're settled only close to 9pm. She never once complained or made a face or showed any signs of reluctance. I worry about her getting gastric sometimes... To me, this goes beyond what is expected of her. To me, only parents need to put up with such inconveniences. So we appreciate her dedication to both the kids and us.
We try hard to reciprocate the kindness but I think she is probably simple to please. On our Saturday morning breakfasts, she Always chooses the cheapest item on the menu *face plant*... and she eats the same thing every single Saturday even though we give her the menu all the time. At Jimmy Monkey, she has a chocolate banana muffin. At Brunetti, she has pancakes. We get her a nice latte each time and I hope she enjoys it. Once, we went to a HK cafe for dinner, she ordered instant noodles with luncheon meat *double face plant*, the portion was so small I unconsciously frowned at the waiter when it was served. We offered her fried rice because baby elephant was certainly not gonna finish even a third of the adult portion served to him, but she said the noodles was enough. We don't like nagging, so we respected her choice.
We are very glad she chose to renew her contract with us. There may come a time, anytime, when she may grow tired of Singapore or maybe even our family. I'll respect that choice too, when she no longer wishes to work with us. And we'll still love her for her overwhelming dedication while she is with us.
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