Away From Home

Working away from home can be very miserable sometimes.

Loneliness, fear, and depression may accompany your life.

Here you will miss your family, relatives and friends;

And here you will have to carry yourself well.

Of course, you may have a wide circle of friends to share and take away loneliness.

But sometimes, it is not that simple.

Some friends are only good in teasing and playing;

They speak freely on every topic without restraint,

And they are immoral and ruthless most of the time.

Mixing regularly with them may help to alleviate loneliness and depression,

But it's definitely not a good long-term solution.

In situation like this, you really need a true friend to share your thoughts, your vision and mission, your dreams, your aims, your strategies, etc.

Sometimes, you may have to change your circle of friends or learn to categorize your friend.

You may have to change some of your hobbies and interests.

You may go online, browsing interesting websites and involve in some instant messages.

You may go to movie or concert to relax and find your comfort.

Or if you prefer, you may go window shopping and outdoor dining.

But ultimately you need a true friend to confide.

Have you found yours?

Be patient. It may take time.

But, believe me, you really need friend;

A physical friend who is there ready to help, to share, and to love.

You know life must goes on

All of us have friends and neighbors. Some of them are very close and dear to us. Good friends and neighbors are hard to find, but when you have them you will not easily let go. But the fact is that as you grow in years, many have left you. Some have left the world, others have travel far, and still others have become less close than before or have become your worst enemies and nightmares. You have painted beautiful pictures of friendship when you were young, but now they are only fade memories of those cherished times. Those memories hurt but you know life must goes on.

You have endearing stories to tell about your families and relatives. You are really close with your parents, your granny and grandpa, your uncles and aunties, your great uncles and great aunties, your nieces and nephews, your cousins and the rest of the families. You speak proudly of them and your can relate many incidents of them splashing through your life. You are touched to the core, and even moved to tears every time you think of them who are far and gone, and who never want to get close to you anymore. Those memories hurt but you know life must goes on.

Yah, children do grow up fast and leave home. They are now busy with their studies and their careers. They are now married and having children to take care. They are now always on the move and you can hardly see them except on rest days and holidays. You miss them and you can't wait to see them and speak to them. And you hope it'll be soon. Waiting for someone dear to appear and speak to you can be very taxing. You go through the family albums many times and you mumble to yourself. It takes patience to listen to you mentioning them by names when you become emotional and restless. Those memories hurt but you know life must goes on.

And so I sat on a long bench dwelling on the memories of my late mother who always had fond memories of everyone she knew. And I remembered she mentioned everyone by names, by their dates of birth and their places of stay....