One piece for each trip, it was like a parting gift, a call to visit again. Upon my return in Singapore, I would pin them on the wall. By the time I left Singapore for good, the entire wall living room wall was covered with Elly’s drawings. Words spelt incorrectly, near illegible writing, scribbles here and there, pictures of me with a big head (mostly bald) with a tiny body… the very essence of a child’s innocence.
I was running through my boxes the other day and realised I did not keep any of them. Layered with dust as I took them down, I must’ve figure the bin was their next best home. Of course, I do have many more artwork from Elly since I moved here, but I just …. can’t… find… one that has a spelling mistake, those that will make me burst out laughing when I read them. Well actually, I did find one…
It was my “wellcome” card when I moved here for good.
You know how sometimes when you hear words from certain people around you, you knew that they say things for the sake of saying them. Not for a child though. Every single word penned by a child, no matter how badly written or how incorrectly spelt, you just know that when he/she writes love or lov or luv or lopv or rove … you know, that your child really meant he/she loves you. When your child refers you as dady or dadi or dadee or even deady, you know your child is referring to you, and no one else. The alive you of course. Or when your child wrote mummy instead of mommy, he/she didn’t mean you died during ancient Egypt times.
I am happy that Elly can write pretty well and construct pretty good sentences now, but I also know the days of her innocence words are gone forever.
So do you throw away your child’s drawings? Hopefully not, for your child’s gibberish writings and drawings are more meaningful than beautifully crafted words spoken by some people around you….
And here’s one of Elly’s better worded cards…
