Mom and Dad’s tunes.

I’m 27 this year. My Dad had me when he was 27. Its completely surreal this feeling, that i have, i really consider myself a baby in the grand scheme of things. I mean, tell me if anyone else feels this way too, that the years have gone by so quickly and you don’t feel your age yet. The numbers pile up but you still feel the same. Still feel 10?15?19? Maybe i’m pushing it. But there is some truth in it. I really don’t feel my age. Which is why i’ve decided to post this. Cause i think most people have an eye on the wrong prize. Too much emphasis is put on the actual numbers of our age and nothing on the value. Isn’t the journey more important than the end? Or so i’ve heard. Time to pay tribute to 2 very important ladies in my life. Sarah and Shyanne.

Because i’m studying again. I’m constantly surrounded by people 7,8,9 years younger than me. So it would be fair to say that i’d expect a fair share of sussing-the-world-outs with them. Most of them not really caring about what they want in life. Fair enough.

Sarah, whom i met while she was working for my favorite bar back in Singapore, is of that age. But truly getting to know her, i’ve found such an old soul in her. When you speak to her, nothing mundane or trivial comes out of her. Even her stupid jokes have meaning. I mean, you can tell, she’s still finding her place in the world but that’s what i love about her. That she’s actually and actively trying to find it. I love just watching Sarah do her thing, when she came down to visit me in Australia last year, I’d just watch her, she was always so graceful, elegant and intriguing. Intriguing. Very intriguing. To sum it up, Sarah’s got a grandmother’s soul in her young body.

Shy, on the other hand is cut from a different cloth. I’ve known Shyanne for what seems like ages now. And the thing bout her, is that Shyanne is very real. Nothing fake nor sugar coated about her. She has really lived. And learnt. I remember our old conversations, it was usually about love and life, i’d also remember that Shy and myself would always really get into the topic of love. A subject that both of us were very invested in. And what’s even more interesting to see, is how much Shy has grown. She’s got so much going on in her life. And yet she’s so in control. To me, i can think of no better example of a person who has gone out looking for her place in life and has found out that maybe, instead of looking, you need to start pulling things together to make your place. Which is what she’s doing, Making her place.

To you both. I love you very much, and i BELIEVE in you with all my heart. the both of you are such shining examples that despite the fact that we are all wired differently,  we should always focus on the things-we-find-along-the-way instead of the getting-theres. Because it can be done.

To the rest of us, myself included. I plan to start living like that. Maybe i’ve already started years ago.. Who knows. But i leave you with this. The other day while on the train, i heard this cover performed by Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice. Entitled “To Love Somebody”. A tune i believe the Beegees made famous. Well, growing up, i’ve always had music playing in the background, my parents were such music lovers, and i used to remember my Dad Singing and playing this song on his guitar. Which leads me to my revelation. Hearing Ray and Damien perform this song was great, cause all of the sudden i started to listen to every word, i mean growing up all i listened to was the song, nothing else, the words didn’t mean anything to me. But that’s how i think you know if you’ve grown up. It’s when you listen to your parent’s songs, and all of a sudden, the words resonate inside you. It’s now your song too, because you’ve been there, heartbroken, in love, sad, happy. So that’s how i know that i’ve aged, not my numbers, but because when i hear Mom and Dad’s songs now, i feel like the songs were written about my life. They’re my songs now.

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2 Responses to Mom and Dad’s tunes.

  1. oh man! the highlight of my week!

    i love you dearly, Ryan Lim Lee.

  2. and by the way, superbly written post!! like seriously!

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