There are people who show their love through words, people who prefer to use action and others who tend to keep their feelings to themselves.
I have always been one who likes to say "I love you" to people who matter to me, I like giving hugs and kisses and receiving them, and I want to make sure that those people I care about can actually feel the love I have for them. Since becoming a mum, I find it even more important to express my love, not by extravagant or fanciful means, but through loving words and caring deeds every now and then.
I mean, you never know what life has in store for each of us tomorrow and it is really important that we try to make the most of each day, hold our close ones near and live with minimal regrets.
In this post of "Happiness is...", it's about showing our love and our care in the little ways we can.
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As we counted down to P6 prelims and PSLE for Ariel, I knew she was looking forward to receiving her care pack because we did one together for Jiejie three years ago.
So I took time to search around for a backpack in a shade of purple that I knew she would love and started feeling it up with stationery, useful items, her favourite figurines and handwritten encouragement notes just for her. She loves unboxing stuff and had lots of fun revealing each of the items, and her joy was plain to see.
Besides clearing my work desk in my room to let her use as a study table - she shares a desk with the sister and it is usually in a mess - I also set up a magnetic board filled with positive thinking and growth mindset quotes, as well as printed out her exam timetable and a cute revision timetable template for her to fill up.
I also made homecooked chicken essence for her by tenderising and steaming chicken breast meat for over two hours every time. She loves it so much more than the bottled ones and would finish every drop of it every time. It's not just about the nutritional benefits; it's also about the love that goes into it.
While we recognise the importance of PSLE, we also know that rest and play are also equally important for the well-being of both parent and child. I don't want either of us to be overwhelmed by stress and I still want my kid to enjoy carefree days and happy times.
Ariel has a special affinity with Ansel and I am glad it had remained intact in this busy year and she still makes time to play with him, draw with him, read with him, watch TV with him and dance with him. It is a form of destress for her too, isn't it?
We also still make time to exercise and I like that my girls are old enough to go the gym with me now. In fact, they are fitter than me and I am usually the one who gasps for breath and stops running first. Haha. Oh well, 岁月催人老, but we can still try our best to live healthily and stay strong and fit, especially if we wanna see our kids grow up and not be a burden to them.
The kids are still going strong in their Taekwondo classes and in fact, the girls have become assistant coaches after getting their black and poom belts. As for Asher, he is black tip now and is also taking his poom belt grading test. Yup, time flies, I know.
Anyway, I always accompany the kids for their grading and will be cheering for them by the side as they do their sparring and poomsae. That is also a form of showing support and care, right? Since the girls did not need to take their grading this time round, I was there with Asher through as we waited for hours till his turn. He successfully passed his grading and will be getting his junior black belt soon, woohoo!
I like our weekends to be carefree and happy, and since none of the kids attend any tuition class up to this point, we are still able to hang out and do fun things as a family.
We went for a cooking workshop at Pastamania where the kids made chocolate chiffon cakes and banana milkshakes. It's always nice to let them try new experiences and baking is something that we do not enough of at home.
Ariel especially enjoyed it because she likes to cook and bake and I'm not sure if she will outgrow the love for parent-and-child cooking classes but I am gonna cherish them for as long as they last.
Back at home, while I am tired to cook on some days and will order takeaways, I also still want the kids to taste the goodness of home cooked food. It's one of the ways I show my care for their wellbeing and though I am not sure if they take it for granted, I hope one day when they think and look back, they will remember the love behind all the 家常便饭 we had at our dining table together.
Due to the nature of his military work, the hubby is rarely around but when he is, he still makes an effort on weekends to eat with us, bring us to places and also do fun activities with us like hiking in nature reserves and even dancing too. Well, the dancing part happens once in a blue moon but when it happens, the kids remember it and will talk about it. Doing things that our kids enjoy is also another way to show that we care for them.
We still like to visit the cinema once in a while and this month, we watched Inside Out 2 which was a pretty nice, meaningful and entertaining sequel to the first movie. The kids will always ask for some popcorn and nachos and I think we are quite lucky in that even the toddler is able to sit throughout long movies - it's pretty much because we trained them well since young. I still hope for movie outings and home movie nights to continue even when all my kids have turned into teens or young adults, but it's a dream that might or might not come true, so let's cherish whatever we have now.
Hello, Minions! We saw these mascots at Jewel one day and managed to take a photo with them. You know, the older kids are in the awkward adolescence phase where they are torn between being kid and adults, and some things might seem too childish or just out of place and uncomfortable for them, including taking photos with mascots, going on merry go rounds and other kiddy rides, watching theatrical productions meant for young kids etc.
But the fact that they do it stems out of their love for their siblings, especially Ansel who is still very much a toddler and loves all things cute and cuddly. I do not take this for granted and always remind the littlest that he is so blessed to have siblings who dote on him and love him to the moon and back.
We make it a point to eat with our parents regularly and better still, we come together to have a meal, chill out and chit chat. It's nice that our parents can get along and still have much things to talk about after so many years and it's a bond that we treasure very much. Our parents are very simple folks and a zi char meal will make them very happy instead of dining at expensive restaurants - and I guess we take after them in the sense. It's really the company and not the food that matters at the end of the day, in our view. After our Desaru trip together, we are planning for a trip to Bali at the end of the year and will share more then!
We also brought my Dad to S.E.A. Aquarium since he loves marine creatures and seldom ventures out to tourist attractions like this. He has glaucoma and can barely see in one eye and it pains me to see like that but I know how hard he tries to still join in our activities and interact with the grandkids - I also hope my kids will learn to empathise and care for Ah Gong more, especially when he walks and trips over, I hope they will always be there to hold his hand.
My Dad is very easy-going when it comes to food and he eats all kinds of cuisine so he always lets us make the decision on where to go. It's a different case when it comes to my Mum who much prefers Chinese cuisine and needs her bowl of rice for every meal and can't take Western fare much because she can't take anything buttery or creamy. I still love to bring my parents out to eat so it's about understanding, striking a balance and once again, showing our care and love in every way we can, right?
It's the same with the kids too, like they love xiao long baos at Ding Tai Fung and love western food like pasta and pizzas, so we try to take turns to choose, to respect each other's likes and dislikes and to show our appreciation whenever we get to eat a more expensive meal and not take it as a given.
It's been a couple of years since we attended any NDP Preview and this time, I kind of asked the hubby if he could get tickets for our family and he actually managed to, woohoo! We brought my father-in-law along as the eldest was going with her school mates already and it was nice that he got to enjoy the fireworks, military showcase and exciting performances with us.
While it's still nice to watch the live telecast of NDP on television, nothing beats that sense of patriotism when you are at the venue itself and I can't tell you how much pride we felt when we stood up to sing our national anthem, recite our pledge and witness the flag flypast. We love you, Singapore!
While we are all leading very busy lives, my Jiemeis and I still make it a point to meet up for birthdays, even if it is just for a quick brunch or supper. It matters that we try and put in effort, right? There is always so much to catch up on and so much to talk about whenever we meet and I treasure these gatherings so much. Even if I sometimes bring the youngest along (so that I do not have to rush off at 11am just to pick him from school) and have to keep an eye on him, I am still very thankful to have this bunch of sisters who keep me sane and let me know I am not alone.
Last but not least, a big highlight for Ariel and Asher this month was seeing their documentary showing as part of Ocean Fest 2024. In fact, this was how we managed to get tickets to S.E.A. Aquarium - it was part of the reward of them being part of the cast. They did the filming in May and we finally got to see the entire end product this month - which was pretty cool and I think they both did a really awesome job. It was a good learning experience for them too and we welcome any more filming projects that may come our way in future, yeah?
