Sunday Read

"Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives." - Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Of all the wise sayings in the book, the quote above is the one that stood out the most to me.

Mainly because, I was one of the children who moved away from my parents. But very fortunately, I didn't have to wait til my skin sags and the heart weakens to know that, my story sits atop the stories of my parents and their stories sit atop of my grandparents. I'm where I am today, because of them and the generations before me.

At the tender age of 17, I moved away from home. I came to this foreign land of Melbourne, not knowing anyone or anything. I still remember the days leading to my departure, I was naively dreaming about the freedom and the fun I was going to have. On the other hand, my parents were running around frantically, making sure that they had done everything within their power to get me ready for a life abroad. They were asking around to see if any of their friends have friends and relatives living in Melbourne, who would lend a helping hand.

Before I came, I was handed a list of names, of people who's residing in Melbourne. They were friends of friends, friends of my aunts/uncles, sons/daughters of my dad's friends. They were all strangers to me. Yet, I was told that, I should give these people a call, if I ever needed help. I was urged to meet up with them so they could show me around in Melbourne, giving me a head start.

Boy, my faith in humanity was put to the test. And luckily, these people did not disappoint. Many went above and beyond to help me settle in, despite the fact that we didn't know each other before hand.

That was how my life started in Melbourne, and the rest just seemed to unfold from then on.

It's been 8 years since the first day I moved away. Looking back, I didn't realise how fast the years had gone by and how many things had happened over the years.

I guess, at that time, it didn't seem like a big deal to me. It didn't occur to me that it's a bold move to move thousands of miles across the globe by myself. It's just something I'd always wanted to do ever since I was 15 and when the opportunity came, I just did it.

When I told people about my story, those who're still living with their parents would look at me, with awe and maybe a tad of envy. I suspect, it's because I'm living their dreams.

But for me, it's a dream that my 15 year old self envisioned. A dream that no longer fits with what I want at the age of 25.

Now that I'm 25, I know for sure that I want to move back.

Well, I don't mean to physically move back to Malaysia.

I just want my parents to be big part of my story.

Simply because, I don't want them to miss out on the best years of my adult life.