Celebrating A Woman Extraordinaire

       

My glamorous yet down-to-earth cousin

        She would have turned 63 today. I never missed wishing her Happy Birthday, even when I was travelling abroad. It thrilled me to hear from her, and she would always reply my messages in spite of how busy she was in the past. But last year was the first time that my birthday greeting went unanswered.

        She had a fall at home earlier that month and her health took a downward turn following that. We were still keeping in contact during her hospitalisation and she was sharing with me her latest photos. But soon after her discharge, she could no longer respond to my messages, although they had been viewed.

        She left us two months later, on 1 July 2020, after battling cancer valiantly for 13 years. She had shown such strength and positivity all these years. Even in her difficult times, she was the constant rock that her family could turn to. When I had my own health scare earlier this year, in my darkest moments, I reached for the phone to confide in her, to hear her comforting voice and to be infused with her courage. And then I remember she's no longer here with us.

        She was my role model, although I never told her that. I had always admired her efficiency, her determination, her genuine heart, her kind soul, her selflessness, her devotion to her parents, her bubbly personality, her zeal for life, her flair for fashion and the generosity extended to everyone. 

        She always had time for everybody despite leading an extremely busy life as the Country CEO of Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare. When my parents left a shy, barely eighteen me to further my studies in KL, she promised them that she would take good care of me. True to her word, she did. On the weekends that I didn't make the four-hour journey back to Ipoh (yes, those were the pre-North South Highway days), she would pick me up from my hostel and I would spend a blissful weekend at her house. She treated me like a younger sister and took me shopping; it was with her that I dined at places like Victoria Station and Haagen-Dazs, and went on weekend trips to Malacca and her holiday home in Bukit Tinggi.

        She had a great love for food although she herself was rarely in the kitchen. She didn't have to, as her mother is the great chef in the family and her own daughter has a successful cafe. In spite of being accustomed to lavish eateries, she never turned up her nose at smaller establishments. As long as the food's good, she'd be there. Sometimes when she was back in Ipoh on foodie day trips, she'd seek my recommendation on places to get simple hawker fare like beef balls and turnip cakes. And she'd often invite me to join her on such food sojourns.

        She was never one to rest on her laurels but had voracious ambitions and dreams. She told me that I should set up my own tuition centre one day. However, I have to disappoint her in this aspect as I just dream of an early retirement and a simple life. She had once offered my hubby a position in Subang Jaya Medical Centre, but like me, he's content to remain in government service. In her final years, she succeeded in building her dream home, with the entire top floor turned into her extensive bedroom suite. And she comfortably breathed her last in her dream home.

        She may be gone, but she will always be in my heart. I love you, and miss you so much, Pek Yim 姐姐. Happy Birthday to you in heaven!

This was our last photo together.