Happy 74th Birthday PP!

Harrison & I just got back from Kluang last weekend. We went back to attend my Granny's birthday. I lost track of her age. My memory is worst than her's.

So, I checked up her passport and this is what I get:

TARIKH LAHIR - 16th August 1938

Hmmm.. so, she should be 69+ yrs old now. Can't be. Couple of years ago, she was already 70 yrs old. So I decided to check it up with the little info that we have i.e. that she is born on the 13th day of chinese new year and her chinese horoscope is dog.

After doing some cross reference, if not mistaken, i strongly believe that she is born on the 26th February 1934 and she is 74 yrs old this year.

The mixed-up could be cause she was registered for a birth certificate only on 16th August 1938 (4 yrs after she was born). Reason could be that my grand-grandparents were illiterate and were very very poor. Or, that they were hoping that she would die so saving the needs to having to report death if it did happen.

I am sure many of you are aware that for centuries, baby girls are always consider a misfortune/loss for chinese. Cause girls are married off. Its a waste of rice to feed little girls. My granny once relay a story to us that, she was once left under the bed to die when she fall sick. Unfortunately (for her parents & luckily for us), she survived.

How cruel right? Mentality were different then. Livelihood too were difficult. One mouth lesser to feed, one hungry stomach lessen. Daughters were meant to be married off... to carry her husband surname and bore her husband's child. Son on the other hand, were meant to carry on the family surname, one generation after another. So, sons are naturally more precious than daughters.

Its amazing how things has change in this era, this new century. Daughters are no longer an excess baggage in a family but treasure. Daughters help around at home while the sons are out galavanting. Look around, even after when a daughter is married off, they are still taking care of their parents well and spend time with them more than most sons. Betul tak?