MY MUM'S JADE BANGLE

This was the jade bangle that my late mother was wearing when her soul left her body.  As a matter of fact she had been wearing it for quite some time.  When the undertakers were putting on the garments (sou yee) for her, they removed the bangle and gave it to me.
Initially my brother-in-law, Michael and I had thought of placing it inside the urn together with her bone fragments but then the bone fragments filled the entire urn and there was not much space to accommodate the piece of jewellery.  Then we thought of placing it in the niche but then the worker at the Memorial Park advised us not to do so as it was real jade.  So, I am still having the bangle.
This is something to remember my mum by and a flood of memories about my mum kept coming to me when I was downloading the picture of the bangle.  From the time I got news of my mum's death until the time her urn was placed next to my dad's, I did not have time to feel sad.  However, now that most of her affairs are settled, I feel a sense of loss.  I remember my mum's cooking and her warmth.  Each time I look at the curtains in my house, I think of my mum as she was the one who sewed them for me.
By nature my mum was a sweet natured woman and she got along with everyone. I felt comfortable in her company as she did not nag me.  She loved watching Korean and Hokkien dramas.  Another one of her passions is gardening.  When I told Haji Hasnin that I was going to do lots of charity and good deeds and transfer the merits to her, he said that my mum was a good person and so I needn't really worry about giving her merits to offset her sins.
People say that when a person is near the end of his or her life, they would begin to behave differently from their own true nature.  I guess this is what happened to my mum.  She seemed like a different person from the mum I had known.  There were lots of times she made me angry and mad.  Some people say that a dying person might try to make their loved ones angry with them and hate him or her so that they will not feel too sad when they pass on.
However I know that my mum is now reunited with my dad. They were a very loving couple and after my dad died, she had been pining for him and waiting to join him. So now mum is together with my dad and younger brother.  Now that is something happy.