Saying goodbye

We meant to pen down our thoughts earlier but didn’t get down to it as we struggled with our lack of eloquence. I was prompted to briefly mention this in another post that I am working on but it seems rather unjustified to have this by the sideline. I guess we decided that it is good to have a page on our blog - no matter how unentertaining/simple/solemn it ends up to be - dedicated to expressing our thanks to someone who has given us the opportunity to be where we are today.

Farewells have always been hard for me, especially when it is impossible to follow up with “may we meet again” in this life. This is because saying goodbye brings back overwhelming emotions, nostalgia, gratitude, reflection and sometime even regrets.

While I have been fortunate to not experience much loss thus far, the recent passing of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore, has left Mark and I heartbroken. Our grief came as a surprise to both of us as we never expected to feel so much for a man we had never even met.

After his passing, we got to know Mr. Lee better through the numerous publications and testimonials of him that shared a glimpse of his personal life and character. Social media was filled with stories of him, uncovering incidents in his career where he dealt with other parties commendably, reiterating his sound values and principles.

It is definitely kind of weird to start getting acquainted with someone who has already left us. As with most of the younger generation, we took Mr. Lee’s leadership for granted. We grew up in a safe country with little worries, and only knew Mr. Lee as our stern Minister from our Social Studies textbooks. But his departure gave us the opportunity (and probably the curiosity) to learn much more about the man. We learnt that Mr. Lee was an intelligent leader who knew what had to be done and did it, even if it was hard or unpopular. We realized that he always had our best in mind and worked hard for Singapore’s future. We discovered his heavy burdens, which he took in his stride and never once complained about. After realizing how much he has been through as a person, our respect and admiration for him increased tremendously.

The mourning week has also brought out stories about the soft side of Mr. Lee. Commonly known as the man who rules with an iron fist, we found that he was indeed as human as us. He had a family as real as ours and was also truly concerned about his fellow citizens, regardless of their social status.

Perhaps this was why the week following his death was filled with tears. Tears of gratitude for what we have become and tears of regret for not knowing better, and not expressing our appreciation earlier.

As we stayed up for the state funeral that night to bid him a final farewell with the rest of Singapore, we pledged silently in our hearts to make good what he has given us and to do better with our lives.

Thank you, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Respectfully Yours,

Mark and Isabelle