It was kinda ironic that after all the anticipation and prep, our CNY this year was possibly the biggest non-event we’ve had in a while.
We already knew that this year would be more muted as my MIL was going to be unable to host the 初一 lunch like she usually does. And then, it got worse when Mei came down with HFMD just 5 days before CNY. Yes, the dreaded hand-foot-mouth-disease. While almost a rite of passage for every preschool child in Singapore, it was just incredibly bad timing. And since Noey never got it, it was a bit of a shock that it actually happened!
We were told by our paediatrician that the best case was that she recovered in five days, i.e. by 初夕夜. But I knew that even if she did, there was no chance I’ll be able to find a doctor on the 1st day of CNY to certify her ok! She was going to have to miss the festivities of the first two days.
The hardest decision we had to make was to leave her at home alone with my helper while we went for reunion dinner with my parents. We had no choice really, since I was responsible for bringing a soup, and my mother had invited my MIL and SIL to join in the gathering. With little E going to be in attendance, I wasn’t comfortable with bringing Mei. So we bid a teary farewell to the little girl before heading out for dinner. At least my soup was well-received! I tried my hand at making a fish maw crabmeat abalone soup was really pleased with the result. (Recipe coming up, stay tuned!)
What then followed were the quietest CNY days I’ve possible ever had. Since Mei was not going to be able to join in, my parents decided we didn’t have to come over to 拜年 on 初一 and that we would do it on Saturday (初六) instead. My MIL went home to receive guests and she told us we didn’t have to go down either. So we had a lie-in in the morning which was honestly, really weird. For all the complaining that I usually do about our hectic CNY days, it was actually oddly disconcerting to be so free! At least we got a chance to take some nice family photos at home which we usually never have the time to!
Thereafter, DD and I took turns to head out with Noey for visits. The poor boy probably had the busiest day as he went with me to lunch with my extended family, then with DD to his grandmother’s. That was still a far cry from our usual schedule! We were able instead to spend much of the day, erm, watching TV. Given the occasion, DD decided a Chinese movie was in order and we introduced the kids to the wonder of kung fu movies with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Still good after all these years!
We spent 初二chilling out at home, and with nothing to do and Mei pretty much fully recovered, we went for a swim in the afternoon, then relieved Mei’s cabin fever by heading out to Satay by the Bay for dinner. The children had a lot of fun blowing off steam scooting madly up and down the strip between Marina Barrage and Gardens by the Bay.
Hmm, maybe our CNY wasn’t that bad huh!
Everything resumed a bit of normality on Saturday when we finally got together with my family. So glad we were finally able to get a photo of our three munchkins together in their matching Elly outfits!
We also managed to squeeze in a visit to my aunt’s and spend the afternoon with our godchildren before heading back to my parent’s place for our first steamboat of the season. Ah, can’t do without this!
So it was a kind of different CNY. One that wasn’t as busy as other years have been, and we had more time to ourselves than usual which was really a blessing in disguise. We also shared some good news and some really bad news in the same period of time. But despite everything, our CNY was in many ways still a reminder of the meaning behind the season — a time to laugh, cry, share and reconnect with family and friends.
Also, thank goodness there are 15 days since that meant I still had enough days to dress my kids up in the cute clothes I had gotten for them!
That was our CNY 2016. Let’s hope we’ll have a better start to the next lunar new year!
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