A Pampering Granny Day-Out at Northpoint City for Mother's Day
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Oh her hair was in a mess. I don't know when she last washed. Well, it could be just the day before but it was flat and it made her look tired. A little perk me up of a wash and blow should do the trick to brighten that face!
My grandmother had her eyes closed most of the time, enjoying every scrub and every massage. Seeing her looking so relaxed made me smile. It looked like a good treat for any overworked mom, no matter the age. I, too, enjoyed looking at the bounce in my hair! Perfect way to wash off those grime after a work-out.
KANSHOKU RAMEN BAR
I was invited by Northpoint City to go on a pampering date, bringing a special someone, in celebration of our tiresome statuses as Moms. While I would have loved to bring my mother, she is no longer here with us. There was no better person to pull along other than the last woman standing in my family - the very hardy 85 year old grandmother.
It took a lot of convincing for her to agree though. There was a long list of excuses,
"I don't like to be pampered."
"Why do you want to waste money?"
"Oh... you mean there's ice-cream? Okay. Do you know ice-cream is my Best Friend?"
With that, she agreed to go out on a date with her eldest granddaughter, me.
Grandma has dementia. In fact, she agreed going out with me not knowing exactly who I was. I asked her as we walked to our first activity early Saturday morning, "Do you know who I am?" She looked at me and held my hand, "You are a pretty girl lor. Your face is familiar but I am very forgetful nowadays. I don't really know."
I told her my name and she had a lightbulb moment because that name rang a bell!
While she was unsure of what the day might bring, I was certain it will not be a difficult six hour stint for us. It is because she is a happy bird; non-agressive [well at least towards me], a natural jokester and lots of chirps to chat.
Her life had been tumultuous as the sole breadwinner for her family in her younger days and then again after her first marriage. Her second marriage brought her a little bit more respite but still, she never stopped working to bring home the bacon. From the stories I heard, she was like Cinderella - living a tough life yet so beautiful she was the dream of every young man in the village.
Mother's Day falls on Sunday, 13th of May 2018 and we've always celebrated with a meal. Cake, flowers and the whole family get-together kind of arrangement. Yet, going home is always quiet after everybody disperse back to their own families. I imagine how I would like to spend time with my children when they are all grown. Frankly, I think one-on-one time would be a lot more meaningful. Really spending time together, talking, holding hands and laughing. It is also the best time to dig up some good old advices!
We had a full day of fun ahead of us which included Basic Results Based Training [RBT], Yoga, hair wash, manicure and a healthy lunch. While I am certain she is not able to engage in RBT, I was hoping she would do some light Yoga exercises. Now did she?
ANYTIME FITNESS / KRISPY KREME
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Our first stop of the day was at Anytime Fitness. We pulled up a chair and had her watch me go through an easy set of RBT session which included box squats, KB farmer walks, shoulder taps, crunches, prone rows and tank pulls. I think that scared her a little and while she did agree to Yoga initially, she said, "No no no. This is for young people. I cannot do it."
Our first stop of the day was at Anytime Fitness. We pulled up a chair and had her watch me go through an easy set of RBT session which included box squats, KB farmer walks, shoulder taps, crunches, prone rows and tank pulls. I think that scared her a little and while she did agree to Yoga initially, she said, "No no no. This is for young people. I cannot do it."
At the back of her head, she was thinking, "Hmmmm where's the ice-cream?" Oh dementia patients are like children, I'm glad I have the experience of taking care of young ones. I treated her like my child. The team brought her for an hour of ice-cream at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and that made her sugar high happy.
While I worked out to burn fats away, she did the exact opposite! Calories loaded and unloaded. Nevertheless, we were both pleased with our morning "work-out".
KIMAGEWhile I worked out to burn fats away, she did the exact opposite! Calories loaded and unloaded. Nevertheless, we were both pleased with our morning "work-out".
Oh her hair was in a mess. I don't know when she last washed. Well, it could be just the day before but it was flat and it made her look tired. A little perk me up of a wash and blow should do the trick to brighten that face!
My grandmother had her eyes closed most of the time, enjoying every scrub and every massage. Seeing her looking so relaxed made me smile. It looked like a good treat for any overworked mom, no matter the age. I, too, enjoyed looking at the bounce in my hair! Perfect way to wash off those grime after a work-out.
After we had our hair nicely blowed, Mary [oh she was telling everyone her name is Mary. "M.A.R.Y Mary" she said] exclaimed, "My stomach is rumbling! What are we doing next?"
It is lunch time!
How big is Northpoint City really? We had so much to walk from Anytime Fitness to Kimage to Kanshoku! It is a huge shopping mall and I wondered out loud if there was a wheelchair available for rent at the mall. My 85 year old Mary, not hard on hearing, exclaimed, "No need! I can walk!"
Kanshoku means ‘to finish eating every last bit of your food’ in Japanese. Upon arrival, I was surprised to see a metal van kitchen taking up half the shop's square area! How interesting was that? My grandmother shared how times have changed and it is amazing that people are cooking in a van, inside a shopping mall. It's a novelty.
As she is a vegetarian, pork-based soup for her ramen was not going to work. The kitchen arranged a special vegetarian menu for her - dry noodles with two separate sides of corn and edamame - which she couldn't stop praising.
I had their famous Truffle Ramen and was rather impressed with the taste! Definitely our next new joint as a family. My husband has got to try this!
AVONE BEAUTY SECRETSIt is lunch time!
How big is Northpoint City really? We had so much to walk from Anytime Fitness to Kimage to Kanshoku! It is a huge shopping mall and I wondered out loud if there was a wheelchair available for rent at the mall. My 85 year old Mary, not hard on hearing, exclaimed, "No need! I can walk!"
Kanshoku means ‘to finish eating every last bit of your food’ in Japanese. Upon arrival, I was surprised to see a metal van kitchen taking up half the shop's square area! How interesting was that? My grandmother shared how times have changed and it is amazing that people are cooking in a van, inside a shopping mall. It's a novelty.
As she is a vegetarian, pork-based soup for her ramen was not going to work. The kitchen arranged a special vegetarian menu for her - dry noodles with two separate sides of corn and edamame - which she couldn't stop praising.
I had their famous Truffle Ramen and was rather impressed with the taste! Definitely our next new joint as a family. My husband has got to try this!
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When my family heard I was going to bring grandma out, they were all very excited about her doing a manicure service. They wondered out loud which colour was she going to choose and this marking her first manicure, they wondered how she would take it.
However, Mary had a different idea about someone else cutting her fingernails.
"No no no no no. I am not going to do it. I have my own hands. Why do I need someone else to cut my fingernails? I can still do it myself!" she asserted.
*nods* My granny speaks English and although her dementia is going downhill, she is still strong and assertive.
I tried to convince her because she really needed that trim. Her nails are hard and her cuticles needed cleaning. My father told her that he would jump on this invitation but he couldn't because I invited only her! So we all encouraged her to give this a shot.
Stubborn as a mule as any old woman would be, I was surprised she relented to my request.
Halfway through her session, I told the manicurist to stop.
She was closing her eyes all the while but unlike the relaxed disposition she had when she was having her hair wash. This time, grandma looked worried. Frightened almost. It wasn't her kind of pampering and I didn't want to torture her further.
Avone's manicurists were very patient and they handled her with care. While I was still finishing up with my own manicure, grandma rounded up her bags and stood up. We all asked her where was she going? And she replied, "I am done so I shall wait outside to free up the chair. How can I sit here and take up a space! They are doing business."
This cute little woman. Everyone chuckled and they invited her to relax in her seat for as long as she liked. I didn't want her to wait any longer and skipped the colouring on my nails. A good clean-up was good enough for me!
When I thought the day has ended, we were thrown a beautiful surprise from H2 Hub and Novela with Mother's Day gifts to bring home with!
H2 Hub is a leading watch and optical retail chain in Singapore with a history of 39 years. It is also the first watch retailer to offer an online shopping portal at www.newfashionwatch.com where shopping can be done at anytime of the day. They presented my grandmother with a gift which she could choose for her own. She chose a Paul Hewitt with a maroon strap. Good taste I must say! She couldn't stop looking at her watch on the way back home and when we tested her on time reading, she could say it accurately, "5 past 8." It's adorable how she speaks like an English woman - who says "5 past 8" in these days?
Novela, a cosmetic shop, skin care products, lipsticks and lip care balms. Now my dad gives me advices such as: Women must take care of their skin. Putting on skin care on a daily basis should be just as important as bathing!
So the saying goes, “世上没有丑女人，只有懒女人” aka "There is no ugly women, only lazy women."
I fall in the lazy women category and thank goodness I'm not that ugly.
I thought back on the day's events and wholeheartedly agree that it was a fun day. Truly, it would be something I'd rather have with my daughter and son for Mother's Day - spending time together, talking, holding hands, laughing and bringing back stories from the past.
Oh but still... mothers... no matter what you do for them, even if it's just a simple cake or bouquet of flowers [when time is a constraint and you can only afford to have it delivered by courier], it will still melt their hearts. We are so simple to please because we love.
** Thank you Northpoint City for the photographs
When my family heard I was going to bring grandma out, they were all very excited about her doing a manicure service. They wondered out loud which colour was she going to choose and this marking her first manicure, they wondered how she would take it.
However, Mary had a different idea about someone else cutting her fingernails.
"No no no no no. I am not going to do it. I have my own hands. Why do I need someone else to cut my fingernails? I can still do it myself!" she asserted.
*nods* My granny speaks English and although her dementia is going downhill, she is still strong and assertive.
I tried to convince her because she really needed that trim. Her nails are hard and her cuticles needed cleaning. My father told her that he would jump on this invitation but he couldn't because I invited only her! So we all encouraged her to give this a shot.
Stubborn as a mule as any old woman would be, I was surprised she relented to my request.
Halfway through her session, I told the manicurist to stop.
She was closing her eyes all the while but unlike the relaxed disposition she had when she was having her hair wash. This time, grandma looked worried. Frightened almost. It wasn't her kind of pampering and I didn't want to torture her further.
Avone's manicurists were very patient and they handled her with care. While I was still finishing up with my own manicure, grandma rounded up her bags and stood up. We all asked her where was she going? And she replied, "I am done so I shall wait outside to free up the chair. How can I sit here and take up a space! They are doing business."
This cute little woman. Everyone chuckled and they invited her to relax in her seat for as long as she liked. I didn't want her to wait any longer and skipped the colouring on my nails. A good clean-up was good enough for me!
MOTHER'S DAY GIFTS FROM
H2 HUB AND NOVELA
Novela - Facebook
H2 Hub is a leading watch and optical retail chain in Singapore with a history of 39 years. It is also the first watch retailer to offer an online shopping portal at www.newfashionwatch.com where shopping can be done at anytime of the day. They presented my grandmother with a gift which she could choose for her own. She chose a Paul Hewitt with a maroon strap. Good taste I must say! She couldn't stop looking at her watch on the way back home and when we tested her on time reading, she could say it accurately, "5 past 8." It's adorable how she speaks like an English woman - who says "5 past 8" in these days?
Novela, a cosmetic shop, skin care products, lipsticks and lip care balms. Now my dad gives me advices such as: Women must take care of their skin. Putting on skin care on a daily basis should be just as important as bathing!
So the saying goes, “世上没有丑女人，只有懒女人” aka "There is no ugly women, only lazy women."
I fall in the lazy women category and thank goodness I'm not that ugly.
I thought back on the day's events and wholeheartedly agree that it was a fun day. Truly, it would be something I'd rather have with my daughter and son for Mother's Day - spending time together, talking, holding hands, laughing and bringing back stories from the past.
Oh but still... mothers... no matter what you do for them, even if it's just a simple cake or bouquet of flowers [when time is a constraint and you can only afford to have it delivered by courier], it will still melt their hearts. We are so simple to please because we love.
** Thank you Northpoint City for the photographs
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