Take me away

You know how certain smells take you to places? Not places, like countries or lands, but the ones that  take you back to a certain moment in your life. The moment is usually very brief, but the nostalgia it ignites sticks with you for a long, long time.

So today I was dumping out the last of the trash when I caught a whiff of the air out the window. Then I took a deep breath. And almost immediately - I found myself in my 15 or 16 year old self again - that's 6-7 years back, mind you.

Here, I was too, savouring the fresh night air, but at my popo's old home in Clementi. But - the old me had other thoughts on my mind - how difficult the IB was going to be, what I was going to write for my Extended Essay, when my library books would be due, who wasn't replying my MSN messages - you get the idea. All these worries then, almost laughable right now. They are a world away from the items and varied to-do lists running around my head. I was carefree and I didn't know it.

My popo's home was one of those old HDBs. They didn't even have lift buttons for each floor. It was just 1, 5, 10. She stayed on the 6th floor, so we'd have to get into the lift, hit the button for the 5th, get out, then trudge along the hallway and up one flight of stairs to reach her house. Oh it was a pain alright.

Her old flat had flavour though. It was overflooding with decades of memories - of her, her late Husband and her 5 children. It was built, piece by piece, layer upon layer by an impressively independent woman. My gong gong passed away long before I was born, so popo brought up 5 kids all on her own and then one by one, all us grandkids too. Everything in the house had been there for so long, every piece of plate, cabinet, stool and wok had its own story to tell.

Whenever we came back to Singapore for the Chinese New Year or summer holidays, I'd sleep in my aunt's old room in the flat. I'd pick up old momentos, point at old trophies and squint at the layer of dust that had settled over it.

They had an enbloc of the flats a couple of years ago - so popo moved over to the newer, more cramped HDBs. The fresh coat of white paint, air conditioned rooms, sky scraping HDB blocks all a glaring reminder to them as to how much Singapore has developed, and what has been given up in the process.

I must say I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this, besides that it seems that the best time is always in the present. Not necessarily looking back on what we've missed, nor looking forward to what we could have - but making the best of and enjoying what's right now. No better time for chasing dreams, that's what.

Guess I'm ready to battle through another 4 days of work. Although I am still expecting that mid-day breakdown tomorrow.