Friendship

Disaster with my wardrobe this weekend. Owl got the combinations of the laminates on the front of the wardrobe mixed up. Distress. Asked him if we could have it changed to the combination we'd agreed on earlier. He said it would take too much effort - whole facade of the wardrobe would need alteration. Found a solution - changing the size of 2 of the pieces of the facade, but it does affect the intended look somewhat. J and Finance Minister thought I should have put my foot down and insist on the rework, but I decided to let it go. Was sad... really rather sad. But, had a whole string of friends who came by that same day, which more than made up for the mistake :-)

B & K were the first to visit in the morning, with A & S, 2 of their 3 lovely kids. The kids loved Karate Kid's room for its interesting steps and cave-like atmosphere. Almost too quickly, they were off to abacus class. After they'd left, we discovered the wardrobe problem...

There was just enough time to get over the initial shock, think of solutions and grab a quick lunch back at our old place - before J laughed her way into our messy, boxed up, warzone home. Yes, my dear life-is-amusing friend. We could hear her peals of laughter before we even saw her! :-) J's place is also en bloc, but she won't be moving till 2 years later. Passed some of our home decor magazines to her. She has an eye for design and colours, so I think she will have tons of fun dreaming up ideas for her new place. (Just thinking about her new place now makes me excited!)

We talked and laughed our way from the old place to the new - J, Finance Minister & I. Once there, J's laughter rang through the dusty house as we took a tour of the works and joked about not being able to get up from the low floors. And took pictures of and with parts of the house :-p We tried to visit my Second Aunt's new place in the next block (yes, Sweetie's 10 floors down, and Second Aunt at the next block - 3 concurrent moves!), but she didn't come to the door in time, so we headed back to our place.

For a split second outside NTUC at the common block, my universes collided. Was walking J off, picked up M along the way just in time to meet JL, E & Baby JE coming out of the lift. Dear friends, whom I know from very different periods of my life. Took everyone up, with special care that nothing and no one would bump into M, who's going to be a mother in a few months' time! :-)

My guess was that Finance Minister would be mesmerised by Baby JE, and I wasn't disappointed :-) Baby JE is so adorable... and smiley! JL & E's prayers are well answered. Baby JE took a particular liking to the kitchen roller shutter for some reason - not even Karate Kid's cave-like room could snatch her attention away from the shutter. So E got a good workout moving the shutter and shoe cabinet doors for Baby JE :-p ... I might have done JL a disservice by showing E the shoe cabinet and walk-in wardrobe though :-p

Baby JE got drowsy again after a while, which meant they had to go home. After they left, M, Finance Minister & I went to Sweetie's place and had a short rest before returning to our old place to have a 6pm tea break and enjoy the pastries that M had lovingly bought.

When M also left, I began packing my stuff. I packed laterally - meaning unlike my usual self, there's no system. I just started with one thing, and let it lead me to the next thing. I felt like I was rediscovering my past. That evening, I ended up facing the most difficult pieces amongst the things I have - 1 roller box and 3 shoeboxes' worth of gifts, cards, letters, concert brochures and little souvenirs. From family, friends, teachers, and students.

It was difficult to read some of the pieces - in a few cases, the people who wrote them have passed on. With others, it was an encouragement to be reminded that I have been blessed and also a blessing. WIth yet others, to see that I have walked with them through their own life stages... I read a letter a friend wrote to me in her freshman year in Melbourne, and the very next thing I picked up after that was her wedding invitation from 2 years back!

Some of the most touching things I rediscovered that evening came from M. I found a very old book that she'd bought me, back in the days when we had similar pencil cases and lined up our stationery at our tables in class in mirror image. She'd scrawled a multi-coloured message in crayon, in words so big that they would qualify as toddler training material. Big as the words were, they were minute compared to the message between the lines.

M has always been very good with her hands, so many of the trinkets in my boxes were handmade by her. Look at the detailing of this one:

 
... Thanks M, for 19 years of friendship and many more to come :-)

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Friendship is an amazing thing - it has the ability to lift the downcast spirit, clear the clouded mind, refresh and inspire the weary heart. Friendships can be everywhere yet incredibly difficult to find. Friendships can be simple yet difficult to understand. A hundred adjectives can be used to pay tribute to a friendship, yet in the greatest times of need, friendship needs no words. A friend can be thousands of miles away, yet right next to you with tremendous empathy or exuberant celebration. On the highest mountain and in the deepest valley, the faithfulness of a friend makes all the difference.  

Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure. 

Thank you all for being treasures :-)