Eventful lunch

Two days ago, a friend and I decided to invite Mrs Lai and Yuen Loong out for lunch. We went over to fetch them and could see the joy and excitement in Yuen Loong's face, as he waited to be taken for an outing. Although it was the lunch hour, the traffic was not too heavy and we arrived in good time at the mall. Yuen Loong refused to ride on the escalator so we found a lift to go up to the restaurant on the first floor.

Ordering the meal was easy - he usually has fried rice because he finds difficulty chewing chunks of food. His order came first. My friend led in saying grace - the way Yuen Loong is taught at the New Hope ministry. Then the three of us started encouraging him to start eating. Three 'normal' adults with one not so normal one. And we forgot that the rice was steaming hot! Poor Yuen Loong took a mouthful and his face contorted! But he managed to swallow the burning hot rice. After which he turned away and refused to touch another mouthful. No amount of persuasion would make him change his mind! Throughout our meal, he just sat half turned away. No amount of coaxing would make him take another mouthful! Thankfully, Yuen Loong just sat quite patiently while we had our food. And after the meal he was very happy to walk around again, with a broad smile on his face! When we got back to his house, the packed up rice was put on a plate and this time he took hearty mouthfuls willingly.

It was amusing to think that three adults, in our enthusiasm, had forgotten the simplest of things- to test the warmth of the food. It took a not so normal person to 'remind' us that many things we take for granted we cannot, in his case. I had a good time overall. It was a blessing to be able to take Yuen Loong out, even if just for a simple meal. As usual I was more than rewarded by Mrs Lai's fruitful crop of custard apples from her garden.