Family

It started when he was three years old, about the time he could say his words in a full sentence.

"Mum, I want a brother."

"OK, we will try our best "

Few years later:

"Mum, how about we just buy a baby?"

"Where"

"In a smell shop."

It was not just Digital saying so, but he actually took me looking for this smell shop, whenever we go out shopping, or sightseeing somewhere. He sounded so sure that there was a smell shop just around a corner. We never found a smell shop though, but we brought home one awesome imaginary friend. His name was Kenny. They spent many hours talking with each other or just quietly playing together. It was actually much more livable than tears and heartbreak every time he said goodbye to any of his cousins, which during his early years he met up with them almost every weekend.

Years later I asked him, "Do you remember the smell shop?"

"You mean where we can buy babies.?

"Yes."

"Ya, I remember."

"Did you really believe there were smell shops?"

Very carefully he answered, "Mum, there was no smell shop, and I knew you were just humoring me when we went all over the place looking for it."

"Duuhhh.." And I gave him a hard wrestle.


Growing up with Malaysian family:

With an older cousin, making paper art

At our family home with  some of Digi's cousins - growing together crowd.
Take note of the wriggling baby girl in purple in the arms of her older cousins (2006)

That wriggling baby of the earlier  pic now one of the girls in pink (Ain's twin). By this time (2010)
we have another set of twin girls  (Damia's}. The two girls in maroon tops are the eldest set of twins (Hani's)
Yup, we have twins in the family, they belong to two of my brothers, and one of my sisters.

With more cousins at a family get together

With the Hani's twins

When you meet you eat - with older cousins

Or go treasure hunting, with older cousins

Missing family even before the road trip: 

It was Digi main concern that he would be missing his cousins, aunts and uncles while away from Kuala Lumpur. And was he! He spent the first two nights off Paris stay crying. It was awesome walking Paris, meeting with the Thinker and dating with Mona Lisa, but the moment we were at the hotel, it was all tears again.

I asked him, "Why Digi."

"Because I won't be seeing them for the next six months."




Connecting with Europe: 

With Olivier and Sven (our EU connection),  while back in Malaysia

And was he so happy to see Olivier (in Antwerp) a familiar face, someone he knew. And a home. Nope, no more tears after that. He still missed all his cousins, but friends and later meeting his big brother in LA was great too. And six months later, the feeling was reversed. But that will be another story.


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