• Skip to main content

SUMMER LOTUS

My Blog

  • HOME
  • About Me
    • my blog and objectives
    • E-book on Singaporean cooking
    • E-book on water fountains in the home/ office

What I Learned From A Ninety-Three Year-Old Lady

Never assume that they are helpless……

Summer Lotus Feb 16   4 min read

Image for post
By Rosalind Ho

It’s the second day of the Lunar New Year. I decided to tag along with my sister-in-law, Terry who does regular visitations to the homes of elderly people who live alone.

I brought along some oranges, a red packet, and some biscuits and crackers. It was my first time meeting Mdm Tan and I wanted to find out more about her story.

Mdm Bio is 93 years of age and lives in a rented flat, heavily subsidized by the government in the eastern part of Singapore.

(The Singapore Govt has devised a very supportive plan for those who have no other housing options but met the criteria to apply for rental flats. The flats are leased at a very cheap price in many parts of the island, some going for as low as $26 a month.)

Mdm Tan strikes me as very upbeat, sprightly, and receptive. She was watching a television program when we arrived, immediately welcomed us warmly into her house, and offered us New Year snacks.

It was not what I had imagined. I had thought that she would be a very depressed, lonely elderly woman, living within the confines of her own flat with no one to talk to and passing her time with much difficulty.

She was very engaging in our chat. She has kept herself relatively healthy eating mostly vegetarian food which she cooked herself. At 93, she still has most of her teeth (sans the lower molars) and she ate with gusto.

Mdm Tan had one son and a nephew and both have their own families and commitments. She had stayed with them before but chose the path of freedom where she could have her own space, do her own thing, and be free from responsibilities and any fuss over her. She is extremely happy in her current situation.

It is indeed remarkable for a lady this age to be so independent. She has kept her house spick and span. The $50 a month rental flat is a good size for a single person with a roomy living room, kitchen, and bedroom. This is more than any person can ask for if you were to compare to similar housing in countries like Hong Kong or Japan.

In the kitchen, her utensils hanging neatly, aligned along a long bar which she installed herself. She still prefers to cook with a gas stove though many elderly now use conduction or electric stove. Judging from the layout, she must enjoy food which is probably the highlight of her activities.

Mdm Tan had many interesting stories to share with us and she brought her albums out to show some old pictures. She was a pretty little lady, slightly plump in her younger days in pretty clothes.

Her mum was also a pretty lady, of Peranakan descent. I deduced that she is so healthy from being an active and proactive person. She had worked for more than forty years and regaled us with the story of being a domestic help for a British expatriate whom she said was strict and no-nonsense.

She has lots of fire in her belly as she complained about tough times in the old days. Having a fire in her system is good, I felt. It gives her energy which she uses to care for her plants outside her flat along the balcony.

She proudly showed off her array of plants and it was clear that she has green fingers. Her favorite thing to do is to go to the market and look for bargains. Even though she lives alone and there are occasional visitors, she does not want to join her neighbors for chitchat sessions, seeing it as a platform for gossip.

Nonetheless, the witty lady still knows what is going on in her immediate neighbors’ homes.

We were very happy to see that Mdm Tan is living the life that she wants. On this floor which is unblocked, it is quiet and overlooks a serene view of distant housing blocks, greenery, and blue sky. We can see why she is happy.

Mdm Tan has everything going for her as she savors each day. As the cool breeze rustled the plants on the balcony and refreshed our bodies, we bade her farewell and left feeling inspired to be as cheerful and independent as her if we ever get to that age. Happiness is what you make of it and she is a prime example.

All rights reserved by Summer Lotus 2020

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You may opt-out if you wish. PRIVACY & COOKIE POLICY, TERMS & CONDITIONS
Cookie settingsACCEPT REJECT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT