read my mind

Sunday, February 18

Here's what a twist of fate can do...

Years ago, a young mother was called up in the office. It was the babysitter, who told her she simply could not stand the baby's incessant crying. She told the mother to take the baby home at the end of the day, and not to come back anymore.

The mother, stumped, had to take two days off of work with the short notice. It was in the middle of the second day, while she was at home looking after her daughter, when the phone rang. The previous babysitter had met an 'auntie' at the market, who said she didn't mind taking care of children. The 'auntie' also stayed in the same block as the family, and the babysitter told the mother to just bring the child upstairs. There, the baby girl hardly cried, and was easily pacified under the new babysitter's care.

About twenty-four years later, I've just reached home from the nanny's home. She has grandchildren of her own now, but Jackelyn, Randall and I still treat her like a grandmother. She even considers my mom a daughter of hers, and we go there every Lunar New Year to celebrate.

Such a blessed coincidence. Happy New Year!