Things Jerry Says #31 – Wasabi No-Ginger has got a special sticker.

2017 really flew by! I thought we just crossed CNY and now it’s almost mid year. Hello month of MAY! Jerry turned 6 years old yesterday (already?!) and we brought him out after his school birthday celebration to pick a toy. I actually bought him a phone for his birthday (yes, I actually did!), but I guess the thrill of actually picking a toy personally is still fun.

He had a nice and enjoyable dinner at Nandos (he wanted chicken rice and I wasn’t willing to go to a coffee shop/hawker or actually eat chicken rice), and had fun shopping for his present(s). He came home happy with a Wasabi No-Ginger POP figurine (a character from Big Hero 6) amongst some other knick knacks like a book and a stuffed toy key chain. I had to mandate no opening of the toys in the car till we get home!

I thought this POP figurine looks weird at first glance – why is he on skis?! So I picked up the toy (after I took a picture of it), and was staring at the “skis” when Jerry saw me at it.

Jerry (J): Oh mummy. That’s a special sticker. You can take it out and stick it anywhere you want on the body. It is supposed to be like that.
Mummy (M): Really? I was wondering why he has skis.
(Not believing the kid, I flipped the toy over and almost burst out laughing)
Hmm.. Jerry?  (Pulls out one of the sticker off the feet) This sticker, is not a special sticker. It is also not part of the toy. This sticker, is meant to prevent people from stealing the toy. If you didn’t pay for the toy before you leave the shop, the alarm at the door will sound and people will know if you are stealing.
J: Really meh? I thought it is part of the toy. Then why just now when we leave the shop the alarm never sound? How the people know if we pay or not?
M: When you pay, the uncle will take the toy and scan it to deactivate the sticker so that you can walk out of the shop without triggering the alarm. If the uncle never scan, then the alarm will definitely sound.
J: Ohhhh…..
(ponders for a moment)
Oh, mummy! I remember already, when I was very young and don’t know anything… I also got steal right?
M: (shocked speechless)
J: Remember? I very very young, I don’t know and then I steal sweets! I steal sweets from the shop and eat!
M: Ohhhh… that! Wow, that was a long time ago! You still remembered it!

I guess this isn’t the usual funny stuff that Jerry says but it is one that I wanted to remember for 2 reasons.
1. That kids are really creative in their imagination and that could possibly conjure up possibilities when they don’t know what something might be for, which is pretty darn amazing.
2. That Jerry has extremely good memory on certain incidents in the past that I no longer remember, but he always brings it up to remind me about it.

He turning 6 years old is bittersweet for me. He is growing up so fast, I wish I can slow him down and hold him in my arms forever. At the same time, I am super amazed at the rate he is growing into a mini adult. He tells me things like, “Mummy, just google lor!” when I say I don’t know something (normally in a bid to stop his non-stop questioning).

The sweet stealing incident happened when he was about 2-3 years old – a running toddler who likes to explore things and touch everything he sees. We were in a toy shop where they had a corner where assorted candies are available for sale by weight. Jerry was just roaming and the next thing we know, he was chomping down the sweets one after another! We were so embarrassed by the incident, we bought some sweets from the shop and also spoke to him about it. I didn’t expected him to register and that it was a one-off incident so we never had to remind him about it again.

Today, it just hit me that he does remember..

And oh, he also remembers his art teacher’s name for the art classes he attended when he was about 18 months old. We stopped those lessons when Jerome was born as I had to be home for confinement and he eventually never went back, BUT HE STILL REMEMBERS.

He also remembers his lao-gong (my grandpa) fondly and occasionally asks about him and how he is doing. I am also very very thankful that he often says he wants to go visit the house that lao-gong stays in. It’s been a year plus since he passed, but I cannot be happier that his legacy lives in my kids.

2017 has been a rather tough year for me thus far, health wise. I have been battling infections of all sorts for months and struggling to keep sane at the same time. I also put on quite a lot of weight as well and doctor has asked me to try and lose some weight and clock in exercises. Been working on it, and hopefully I can emerge stronger and do more updates here.

If you are curious about what other stuff Jerry says, you can read more of his conversational posts in my blog archives, or other funny conversational posts I have on the blog. Till I blog again!

P.s. If you are still wondering about the sticker, it is those magnetic security tags found in most mall merchandise.