Tomorrow, many celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States, where it is a public holiday and families travel across the land to reunite and celebrate the occasion together. Depending on which website you surf, anywhere from five to over 15 other countries in the world have their own version of Thanksgiving too. Not so here in … Continue reading Life Skills I Do Not Have #4 — Thanksgiving
Son, congratulations on owning your first cell phone! You’ve proven yourself mature and responsible enough for us to entrust you with this modern-day device. Given that you have a new cell phone in your hands now, courtesy of your mom and me, we obviously trust you to make good decisions. So why are we making … Continue reading Parenting Motivations #5 — Our first family cell phone agreement
I Just Need A Moment (Violin Musing II) So this is how it feelsWhen a dream dies.A dream I never knewWas all mine.Had I knownI would have given it back.Returned it like a dog-eared library bookOr an old shoe to its rack. But we strolled into this dream togetherDidn't we?We didn't force feed or threaten … Continue reading My Monday Metrical Musings #53
Please son, won't you play? (Violin Musing I) What does it feel likeWhen a dream looks likeIt's about to die? When something so gloriousYet deemed by him a weary taskIs about to disappearLike a puff of smokeNever again to pass? I'm not ready to give up this fightYet I can sense this fight is onThe … Continue reading My Monday Metrical Musings #52
Hey J my precious son, First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS! After six long years of primary school education, you're finally done with that Holy Grail of a gruelling national examination (the PSLE or Primary School Leaving Examinations). That which forever decides which secondary school you'll go to next year. Of course it's only the first of … Continue reading Father-son bonding #1 — “Now that exams are done, …”
The shrill delight in my youngest son's loud declaration reverberated across our home yesterday morning. C was emphatically reminding us that it was Children's Day in my land. Yet for some nebulous cosmic reason, what actually came to my mind when I heard him was a voice from another land instead. Or should I say, … Continue reading “Tomorrow I’ll miss you” — my son’s last Children’s Day
I'm so pleased today to introduce a fellow stay home dad and his musings on Children's Day 2021 (celebrated today in my country). This is also my blog's very first guest post on parenting! Woo-hoo!! (For more in my blog on parenting, click here) Cliff Tam's a friend I got to know in June this … Continue reading Guest Post On Children’s Day: Another stay home dad’s musings
So last week I started this mini-series to talk about how to retire well. You do that you know, when you're like me; a man past 50, increasingly living on borrowed time! In that post, I talked about the first of three important truths I've come to embrace: If we don't want to suffer retirement … Continue reading How to retire well #2 of 4: Know who you are and what you love
Two days from now is the annual UN International Day of Older Persons and one thing remains unchanged. Despite the inevitability of it, few of us bother to plan for the day we retire. Until recently, I would include myself in that unfortunate lot. Why unfortunate? Studies show many of us who fail to plan … Continue reading How to retire well #1 of 4: Have a plan “with legs”
For the longest time, sports was never my thing; I would much rather sit down with a good book. Even now when I regularly swim, jog or brisk walk, I would still never call myself a sports enthusiast. I do those merely to stay in as pink a health as I can. For, unlike other … Continue reading Sports: How I came to play my least favourite game!
