Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

No matter how old you are, no matter how ready you think you are, nothing quite
prepares you for the loss of a parent. My father passed away years ago, and I still haven’t
quite recovered. People have been saying to me all week long, “At least your mother lived
to this ripe old age, and you got to spend all these years with her.” And I just want to spit
in their faces. I want to scream at them, Shut up, all of you! My mother died. Please don’t
tell me how lucky or fortunate I am that she lived this long. She has been here on this
earth my entire life and now suddenly in the blink of an eye she’s gone. Gone, gone, gone.
And I am an orphan now. And even though she was a difficult woman, even though she
drove me crazy half the time and I was never ever quite good enough for her exacting
standards, my heart is broken. I will miss her every day and every hour for the rest of my
life. My only regret was that I wasn’t there with her at the moment of her passing. Cat
was the only one in the room with her, and I kept asking her what happened. But Cat
seems too distraught to speak. She won’t tell me a thing.
—
A small, discreet, one-column death notice was published in the obituary section of The
Straits Times:
SHANG SU YI, Mrs. James Young
(1919–2015)
Beloved wife and mother
Son—Philip Young
Daughters—Felicity Young, Catherine Young, Victoria Young, Alexandra
Young
Sons-in-law—Tan Sri Henry Leong, M.C. Taksin Aakara, Dr. Malcolm
Cheng
Daughter-in-Law—Eleanor Sung
Grandchildren and Their Spouses—Henry Leong Jr. (m. Cathleen
Kah), Dr. Peter Leong (m. Dr. Gladys Tan), Alexander Leong, Astrid Leong,
M.R. James Aakara (m. M.R. Lynn Chakrabongse), M.R. Matthew Aakara
(m. Fabiana Ruspoli), M.R. Adam Aakara (m. M.R. Piyarasmi
Apitchatpongse), Nicholas Young (m. Rachel Chu), Edison Cheng (m. Fiona
Tung), Cecilia Cheng (m. Tony Moncur), Alistair Cheng
Great-grandchildren—Henry Leong III, James Leong, Penelope Leong,
Anwar Leong, Yasmine Leong, Constantine Cheng, Kalliste Cheng,