Dear C Earlier this week, on the way to school, you started humming along to Sting's "An Englishman in New York" on Spotify. But instead of "New York", you later replaced it with "Bedok", a town twice removed from where we live, and at least two million times removed from the Big Apple herself! When … Continue reading “An Englishman in Bedok” – Letter to C as he turns 10
Category: Parenting
To “get” my son’s autism, I must go “small”
"BUT WHAT CAN I HOLD?!!" My peaceful early morning was shattered by those five words, belted out at the top of my son's lungs. They were followed by a mumbo-jumbo of incoherence that I couldn't quite catch. Not from where I was comfortably seated in my morning "throne room" anyway. But I needn't strain too … Continue reading To “get” my son’s autism, I must go “small”
How this stay-home-dad braved yet another first day of school.
Dear C In the blink of an eye, you've moved up another primary school level. Congrats!! And your school even made the distinction very clear this time by moving you to a totally different campus. So, not only must you adjust to a new class with new friends and teachers, you have to adjust to … Continue reading How this stay-home-dad braved yet another first day of school.
PSLE or “SOAP”: Five ways to beat it this year.
Hey J! It's finally here. PSLE. Oops, I mean 2021! This is the year you enter an important phase in your education journey. This is the year every Singapore parent with a 12 year old sits up and pays the closest of attention to our country's most infamous national exam: the Primary School Leaving Examination, … Continue reading PSLE or “SOAP”: Five ways to beat it this year.
Connecting Caregivers – finally meeting a very special & overdue need
A small speck in the universe Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Being part of something bigger is what everyone's experienced at least once in our lives, whether we recognise it then or not. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it's part of every human's DNA that we aspire towards being … Continue reading Connecting Caregivers – finally meeting a very special & overdue need
Email circa 2031: My dear sons, beware “The Toxic 12” – #8 The Needy Victims
My dear boys You may be wondering if I had forgotten this Toxic People series, since my last email to you was so long ago. I apologise. The truth is I hadn't expected this to be the most difficult to write, until I sat down and started to. It was like opening Pandora's Box - … Continue reading Email circa 2031: My dear sons, beware “The Toxic 12” – #8 The Needy Victims
My Monday Metrical Musings #4
Photo by Lukas Rychvalsky on Pexels.com Each Sunday He doesn't live aloneTho' he might as well beEach Sunday ForThen they leaveAnd he can't help but to seetheHis silent rage rollsLike a perfect storm that unfoldsUnleashing torrents of tears like rainDrowning everything in its wake But he holdsOnly scowlsCos he's oldOr so he's told Then he … Continue reading My Monday Metrical Musings #4
The truth about ugly parenting – Alternation
I'm not a good parent. In fact, I often display downright ugly parenting! Why? Because I'm prone to violence, even if nine out of ten times I never follow through with what I'm tempted to do. And as for that tenth time that I do follow through? Let's just say that after my son gets … Continue reading The truth about ugly parenting – Alternation
The Joy of Writing – for its own sake!
It's finally happened - I've forgotten the joy of writing! Guess I should be glad it happened sooner for me than later. You see, I started my writing life a long time ago though I didn't know it then. As with most, writing first came by way of elementary school. There, we all had to … Continue reading The Joy of Writing – for its own sake!
International MEN’S Day?! Today? Shut up!
Photo by BROTE studio on Pexels.com That's right. You heard me. Today's International Men's Day! Well, all I can say is... WHAT??!! I mean we're all over the place when it comes to the women, right? There's the far more famous annual International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8th, which I wrote about before. Also, … Continue reading International MEN’S Day?! Today? Shut up!