The Sim Family

I'm going to write about my family today....Something kinda happened in the last few days that I feel that I'm compelled to write about my family.

I'm was and am still brought up in a relatively big family. Oh no, my parents don't have tons of kids, unless you count 3 too much. My nuclear family has only 5, Dad, Mum, Joanne, Jackie and me. Dad has 9 siblings and we have lots of cousins. There are some that we're really close to. Here's a list of my family...Sorry, some people, can't really remember their names....and I prefer their pet names...sort of...and sometimes we use their real names for cousins who do not have pet names.

Brothers
Dad 1st brother - Uncle Steve, Ms Wong (don't know her real name, used to call her that till she married uncle Steve and she became aunty, prior to her was Aunty Serene who unfortunately passed on - 3 kids,Boy Kor (married Yong Lee), Lina (married Shawn) and Shana
Dad 2nd brother - Uncle Larry, Aunty Amy - 2 kids, E (married B) and Jolynn
Dad 3rd brother - Uncle Albert (passed on), Aunty Lucy - 3 kids, Ah Bee (married Dan), Xiao Di and Morgan who has 3 three kids, Marc, Jim and Sean, my favourite.
Dad 4th brother - Uncle Francis - 2 kids, Ian and Iva
Dad 5th brother - Uncle Eric - 2 kids, Rouling and Hong Peng
And then last is dad.

His Sisters (I don't know their names)
1st Sister, uncle - 2 kids, Ah Kiang (his wife), Ah Qiang (passed on)
2nd Sister, uncle- and errr....countless kids that i don't really remember their names.
3rd Sister, uncle (passed on)- 3 kids. Dad's third sister was given up for adoption as a kid. We sort of keep in contact but we're not very close though.
4th Sister, Uncle Ben- 3 kids, Zhi Xiang, Zhi Wie and Yi Wen.

Well, readers might be thinking...why is she boring us with these silly stuff. Just read on if you will. While we were growing up, my best childhood memories were living in Pandan Gardens when Uncle Albert and his family were just living next block and Lina and her family was about 15 mins away by car. We used to play and have so much fun. Uncles Steve, Larry and Albert were like my dads. I think one of the reasons why the Sim girls are relatively educated is because of the brainwashing that we went through as kids..."You girls must always have an education so that when the man walk out on you, you'll always have something to fall back on!" We heard this so so much to a point that we could memorise it! And most of the girls after getting married, we kept our maiden surname. I'm proud to be a Sim and I was born a Sim and I'm not talking someone else's surname.

Over the years, cousins played, grew up, went overseas either to Australia or States to study, we still remained close. Some went away, came back and stayed or left again. E and Jolynn lived in Manila when they were kids but every summer they would come back to Spore and we remained close. E even helped planned our honeymoon 4 years ago and Jolynn, is bringing my parents around in States. Then we started to work and some stayed in Spore, a few in America and me in HK. A few years ago, we lost Ah Qiang. It was heart wrenching to lose a cousin. Very painful. And then Uncle Albert had to go too. It hurt even more. A father figure left.

Well, just 2 days ago, mum told me that a cousin is sick. She has breast cancer in the early stages. She's someone that I grew up playing with. She's like my sister. Most of my cousins, we're close. We love each other. My heart somewhat cracked a little. Not sure how I can help since I'm kinda far from her. Even when Morgan's marriage fell apart, we rendered help. I love his kids. But this is far more serious. What can I do except to pray for her.

The Sims has always been rather close. Even though living in different countries, and even continents, we have always been there for each other. When the call for help comes, help will be there. I really hope that I won't lose another Sim. Cousin, if you're reading this post, this is for you. Be strong and will keep you in prayers. Love you!