My mother lost her own mother to childbirth when she was only 14, and although she was only one of many siblings, she carved her own opportunities throughout her school years to become head prefect and sportswoman, earning the respect of her peers at school and then in a prestigious university in China. Life at the dormitory was never easy with never much food, mostly porridge, bean curd and some salt shared by at least eight girls. In the cold China winter, she did not own a quilt, and managed only to keep warm by sewing together some scraps of cloth.
Deep inside her, however, she felt that her future lay outside China. So she set forth with only a few dollars in her pocket to look for her aunt and a sister who lived in Singapore to seek a new life here. To keep body and soul together, she started to teach in a school and supplemented her income by giving tuition to far flung parts of the island, often on foot.
It was during one of her tuition stints that she was identified to be a suitable daughter-in-law for her student's brother. She got engaged, left for the United Kingdom, got married and started a family. However, she soon realised that besides being a homemaker, she had to bring home the bacon as well. While in the United Kingdom, she acquired a teaching diploma in music. By the time she returned to Singapore, she held three jobs - teaching in school, giving Chinese tuition, and teaching piano.
In her 40s, she decided that if she needed to let her family have a better life, she needed a career switch. Her move into the financial industry enabled her to buy properties.
At 60, she started to learn Chinese brush painting and eventually staged two solo exhibitions. To this day, she is a prolific amateur artist and her paintings are much admired.
Later on in life, she developed a tumour in the left kidney and needed an operation to remove it straight away. About 2 years later, she had a slipped disc. Through it all, she was very stoic and a real pillar of strength. She survived it all through sheer grit and determination.
Already 80, she is still working daily, 9 to 5. She is truly a wonderful soul and the epitome of the never-say-die attitude.
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