I was in Ikea the other day. Since it was during school vacation, there were many families. After hours of walking and admiring furniture, my companion and I sat near the snack bar to rest. We enjoyed ice-cream cones while watching the antics of children.
There was a family of five : father, mum and three boys who are all under the age of five. It was like a promenade, people streamed this way and that. First they walked from the check out counters towards the rest rooms. Then the father walked back past me to the snack bar with the eldest in tow. Then we saw them standing in queue. Five minutes later, the mum was holding the youngest, walking as fast as she could to catch up with the middle child. Finally, another ten minutes later, they passed in front of me again. This time the father was holding the two boys' hands, one on each side of him.
Out of the melee, we picked out this family to observe. Somehow they reminded us of a family we know. The mum was in her own world. She allowed her son to run ahead of her in the crowd. When she caught up with him, she merely wagged her forefinger at him. He ignored her mild rebuke completely. The eldest was totally not co-operative with the father. He was dragging the father on the way to the ice-cream queue. After having the snack, he was unwilling to leave. We can see the poor father was forcibly dragging him towards the exit door. The eldest acted up by bending his body backwards. He was looking at the ceiling and resisting the father's effort. The second child immediately copied his elder brother. It was amazing that they were holding up the crowd, yet neither parent uttered a single word. Let us fast forward ten years, what will the parents do when those two become taller than them?
The other family who are our friends is in the second stage now. Dad is retired. Mum is busy bringing home the bacon. The eldest boy is in high school and working part-time. The second girl is rebelling and the youngest boy is down right spoiled. All three defied the father as he is a mild-mannered man. Most of the time the mum leaves them alone as she sees no evil and hears no evil. When she gets frustrated enough she yells for a short spell. After an absence of about a year, we are shocked to see how thin she has become -- she must have lost twenty pounds. She claimed she did not purposely diet to lose weight. It was work pressure and stress at home that brought her a sprightly frame. We are just happy that her health is still good.
* istockphoto 5818814-seamles from istockphoto.com
No comments:
Post a Comment