Overwhelmed with enthusiasm, smiles, and gratitude

Enthusiasm. It was really a wonderful experience last saturday to begin with. Totally overwhelmed by the elders' enthusiasm for the event. Their radiant smiles, warm greetings, and jovial laughter did hyped up the whole atmosphere thoroughout the entire event. Not forgetting the volunteers as well, the responses were spontaneous and totally awesome I would say.

Smiles. I could not recall a moment that I had failed to capture the smiles on the faces of the elderly. They were always there; ever ready for my camera to flash at. Never daunted by the humidity and the blazing sun, elderly and volunteers should be applauded for their perseverance in completing the walk.

Gratitute. Having said that, though many were tired after the walk, their spirits did not seem to dampen at all. Smiles, slight nods, and waving goodbyes were their forms of expression of gratitude to us; and arguably the most sincere and heart felt. Last by not least, I am really grateful for the volunteers who came down last saturday, and to my friends in Touch Seniors as well, thanks for making it possible and successful!

-All the best for your revision!- -ken-

Henderson Waves Outing

Hello to all !!! Last saturday was a good day for a walk in the park and CSC did just that, bringing the elderly from Henderson Waves to HortPark.

The whole journey covered many slopes but we can see that the elderly were generally very happy and enjoyed the whole process. As for myself, I was taking care of the old lady who was more than 80 years. Whoa, that is an impressive age, and I wonder what I'll be when I'm her age ( i.e. if I have the fortune of living to that ripe old age. )

From the conversation, I can tell that she is very proud of her grandchildren, one of which is going to graduate from some overseas uni this year. This set me thinking, our grandparents are actually proud of our achievements, even though a uni degree may be something that we take for granted. Hence, we ought to be grateful for whatever we have, especially when our family are rooting and supporting us without expecting any payback.

I think most people nowadays are not very close to their grandparents. This is sad, as they are a vast source of knowledge and experience. True, they may not have studied much, but they know how to appreciate kindness which greatly touched me. When the volunteers offered them cakes and biscuits, they insisted to share them with us, even though we declined profusely. And from their expression and gestures, it is apparent that they are very happy and grateful about the whole trip.

Initially, I had apprehensions about how to break the ice and talk to them. But I soon realised what matters is not the language, but the heart and thought that matters. As long as we are sincere about making their day, we will naturally click and the conversation will just flow. And it definitely helps that the walk goes through nature which makes everyone feels light-hearted with the fresh air and nice scenery surrounding us.

Lastly, I would like to end this post with this video. This is a Hokkien song by this Taiwanese singer: 蕭煌奇. This song was written for his grandmother whom he was very close to and which he was overseas when she died, hence he couldn't appear by her deathbed.

Enjoy the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an8kaGjzeKs&feature=PlayList&p=2035EFC9FE564410&playnext_from=PL&playnext=6&index=5

Signed:

Huixiang