A VERY SERIOUS LETTER

Dear Grandchildren from the Ong Family,

I am writing to you to ask for your kind support of OUR cause.

During my recent weekly visits to Grandma's, I was informed about the rather poor frequency of visits by the grandchildren.

Have we as grandchildren lost our interest in our Good Ol' Grandma? Or is it simply the fact that our parents allow us to stay at home or do something else while they go visit Grandma?

Either way, it's effect is taking its toll on Grandma.

Of late, she has been speaking in a cranky tone and has been having weird mood swings. When asked whether some of you have visited recently, her head would lie low while saying "Jing Gu Boh Lai Liao..." (they have not come for a very long time). And it does not help that she's staying alone at home at this period of time.

I am getting increasingly frustrated also as it seems like just because I'm the eldest grandchild, I have to be the one who visits Grandma regularly. I'm not the ONLY grandchild, mind you. All of us as grandchildren are equally important to Grandma, regardless of gender or position in the family.

If we can take the effort to travel all the way to Orchard to shop with our friends for hours on end or go for extra-curricular classes at prestigious institutions far away from home (or even go to school!) , I do not see why we cannot just schedule some time to spend with our Grandma.

You might want to give her a call every now and then but it is simply not enough. Her joy comes from cooking dinner or lunch for us to satisfy our voracious appetites. She doesn't even expect much more from us! Other than to visit her. Our presence is enough to satisfy.

I am not you and neither the other way around. So I do not like to hear things like "Kenny lives near Grandma, so it's easier for him" or "Kenny is the eldest grandchild that's why he's much closer to Grandma than us".

We cannot replace each other. We are all individuals and Grandma has seen us since we were much younger (BABIES!). I cannot bear to see her leave this world and not develop fruitful relationships with each one of you (and myself too). I hope that none of you can too (if you do, you're probably... well, never mind).

I am already unhappy with the events that took place during Grandpa's struggle, and I shall not mention names.

Please, I beseech all of you. Take the proactive stance right now, like what I'm doing now by drafting this email to all of you, and make the effort to visit Grandma more often (regularly would be so much better). Get your parents to bring you to Grandma's place for a family lunch or dinner with your siblings in tow or you could maybe just pop by to say Hi on your own. You'd give our dear Grandma something to look forward to each week and give her a nice surprise when we do pop by. We'd probably not see her looking so downcast and sullen anymore from then on.

Thank you and regards,
Kenny.

P.S. Dear uncles and aunties and elder cousins, kindly explain the contents of my email to the younger ones if possible. Thank you so much. =)