Glad I was born 5 decades ago!

I feel sorry for today's kids. They are bogged down with tons of homework. During my time, my siblings and I conveniently threw our school bags into the house after school, and after gobbling our lunch and changing into our shorts, we would run out and play till the sun set. I only did the minimum of homework required of me. Maths - a subject beyond my understanding! Hence, I would go earlier to school the following day, just to copy down everything from my classmates who were clever in Maths.

We were too poor to afford a TV. Hence, I would often sneak into my richer neighbour's house so that I could join in to watch programs like "Charlie Chaplin and Little Rascals". I guess my siblings and I were little rascals ourselves, the way we were so wild and free! Second sister was adept at climbing trees and was responsible for all the guavas, papayas and rambutans that looked down on us as if sneering "Come, get us, if you can".

We did not play computer games but we played rough and tough games like "hitting the ball" and the loser had to have his whole face painted with a Chinese brush and black ink! It was amazing that none of us grew up with bad complexion! We played whole day in the sun and yet did not suffer from skin problems! The drainage system was quite bad, and there were plenty of containers that must have collected tons of mosquito larvae, but thank God, none of us ever had dengue fever! We were like the wild flowers that grew on the mountain side, and the Creator saw to it that we were protected from the storms of life.

My siblings and I never had a Barbie doll or any toys. Whatever we lacked, we made up for it by being creative. We would sew and make our own dolls and played "masak masak" using unwanted pots and pans to pretend to cook vegetables made of leaves and ferns we could lay hands on. It was such ecstacy when we role played, with "guests" visiting us and enjoying our home cooked leaves and ferns.

My siblings and I grew up all right. We were still able to pass our important examinations and eke out a reasonably good career.

We really had a life and a very creative one as well! :-)