When I was young, visiting my grandmother was a weekly routine task which i didn't enjoy much. Somehow I was not close to her, maybe because my sister and i were not taken care of by her. So when Daddy Chan and I decided to sell our HDB flat and move into my in-laws' house last January, my mother happily commented that it would be a great opportunity for Renzo to build a strong bonding with his grandparents, and my mother was absolutely right!!
After our maid, Ayeaye, went back to Myanmar in August last year, my in-laws took over the responsibility of bringing Renzo back from school every evening. Although Renzo is able to walk on his own, on certain "bad mood" days, he still requests to be carried. So both my in-laws have to travel 5 bus stops to the school together, in order to fetch a 15kg boy and his little school bag home.
My father-in-law did "complained" a few times, that we should put Renzo to those nursery schools at HDB void decks, for a few hours a day, since he finds Renzo too young to really "learn" anything in a school environment. Luckily after visiting Renzo's current Childcare Center, my mother-in-law is super supportive that we should choose a better learning environment for Renzo according to our own preference, even if that means it's far from home and that they'll need to take a bus every evening. My mother-in-law always says that it was never a concern and that she can even take a cab home on rainy days if necessary.
Well I have to say my mother-in-law is really good at caring young children (that includes her 2 sons she brought up some 30 years ago). Now, although she still needs to work every morning and on 2 nights every week, she's willingly sacrificing her personal time for our boy. When I said "Thank you" for her time and effort, she always tells me not to worry, she's not "looking after her grandson", she's just "playing with her grandson". I know what she is trying to say is that she's not really helping us much, so that we do not have to feel too bad about it. She's always so active and energetic while playing with Renzo, at the same time she's also teaching Renzo a lot of stuff. She taught Renzo what is "Bouganvilla", and when father-in-law commented that Renzo is too young to understand that and she should just use the word "flower", guess what how she responded? "If every type of flower is just called 'flower', why do we need to name our son Wilson and Winson, why not just call them both 'BOY'?!! My grandson is smart enough to pick up such knowledge okay!!!"
And recently I also noticed the change in my father-in-law. He used to say that he can't communicate with Renzo because he does not speak English, but nowadays I often hear him talking to Renzo in English, and not just a few words, but full sentences. Renzo told his grandmother that "Renzo is angry", because "Ye Ye cannot talk!!", when he failed to "force" Ye Ye to pronounce the word "Hamburger" accurately. It's so much fun to see how they both interact with each other, although the conversation is not always smooth. And even Daddy Chan commented that he's never seen his father using English so frequently in his lifetime, it's all because of our little boy!
As for my own parents, although they are almost 3000 miles away, they dote on Renzo just as much. My mother is a "die-hard fan" of Renzo (nope I am not exaggerating). She always say I am so lucky to have a great son like Renzo. I seriously wonder why doesn't she think that Renzo is lucky to have a great mummy like me?!! LOL.. She has to remind me on a weekly basis that early education is so important to kids, and since Renzo loves reading and counting, we should start him with a 3rd language (she prefers French... though I wanted Spanish).
And my father, who always prefers girls, is finally starting to like boys because of Renzo (self-proclaimed by my proud mother). There was one time he told Renzo before he left home for work, "Wai Gong is going to earn $$ for Renzo, see if you want a piano or anything else, Wai Gong will buy for you okie?!". My father has retired for 2 years and just returned to work recently, I know it's purely because of his interest in the business, but I still feel so touched when he said he has enough wealth to enjoy life and the extra earnings are for little Renzo.
Renzo also loves them very much despite not being able to see them often. When he saw an aeroplane taking off at the airport, he said "Aeroplane! Pilot sit in front, wait for Renzo sit in the aeroplane, areoplane fly, go find Wai Gong and LaoLao(that's how he calls my mother)!"
I am not sure if Renzo will definitely have much better relationship with his grandparents next time, I just wish he knows one day that how much love and care the grandparents have showered on him since young. And I am sure by the time our condo is ready, all of us will definitely miss the wonderful time we've spent together with my in-laws..
