Facebook relationship status: it’s complicated

This is as close as it gets the distance between my mom and S. We are still dumbfounded at their strange relationship. S has no qualms greeting and being around my mom, but just not to be carried or fed by her.  Although there’s a marked improvement since last year but definitely not ideal… So my mom has no other choice but to spend her days watching TV. If there is any competition out there on the maximum number of Cantonese series one can watch in the shortest time, my mom wins hands down. Her record so far: three Cantonese series in ONE week.

It’s a mystery why S reacts this way but we sure hope their relationship will blossom, some day…

The ugly truth

Working in the financial sector often expose me to the ugly side of human nature. Today would be one of those days... Before I could even read or see the clips on the 8.9m earthquake in Japan, I (along with the team) was asked to comment on how the tsunami could affect the stock market. Seriously, is this all we care?  How earnings could be hit? How share price could plunge? NOBODY was concerned of the precious lives that might have been lost or the number of homes destroyed. It’s sad. But it’s real. Unfortunately, I am part of this unsympathetic industry.

My prayers go to those who are affected by the quake.

Isaiah 54:9 - “This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you…”

Baby talk

I believe every parent thinks that their children are the brightest and most intelligent.  I’m no exception.

SK: My god is so ____   

S: BIG

SK: Jesus loves____   

S: ME

SK: I’m 1,2,3 and you’re _____

S: ABC

SK: Bon Jour

S: Bon SU

SK: Jesus bless you from the crown of you head to the soles of your feet. Amen.

S: AH MIN

Spicy ginger

Recently, two 19-year old interns (twin girls) joined us at work . They are cute, smart and bubbly. Somehow they speak with an accent which some of my colleagues call the ‘affluent slang’ (can you see my eyes rolling). Talking to them makes me feel YOUNG at heart and reminds me how precious is innocence.  Some excerpts of our conversation:-

Intern 1: Do you drive?

SK: Yup

Intern 1 : I’m so scared because I have a driving test coming soon. I’m scared to drive…It’s so scary…”

SK: ????

********************

Intern 2: How long have you been married?

SK: 3 years

Intern 2: Wow! That’s long!

SK: …..

********************

Intern 1: How old are you?

SK:   ……

Intern 1: My brother told me that once you hit 25, everything goes downhill

SK:   ……

********************

SK:   So, which university are you going?

Intern 2: Don’t know… we’re trying Brown, Stanford, Duke, Princeton, maybe Cornell

SK:   …….

********************

Then I saw this picture, and I felt better… I totally agree with Kate Moss.

Note: They are not bimbos, in fact they are straight A students who are efficient at work!

MSKS

Following what SY blogged about her family snippets, I wonder what are the dynamics of MSKS.

Christ-centred marriage. M and I know that Christ is the centre of a marriage. Cynics may call us naive and don’t get us wrong – we are not ‘holy’ or ‘religious’. But real-life statistics have shown that failed marriages around us often lack the intervention of Christ. To us, we need a third party to make a marriage work and it’s none other than Christ. When passion runs dry after honeymoon years (I’m sure there are exceptions) – can a couple still live happily ever after? When arguments get over heated, how do we reconcile and move on? When mistakes are made, how does one forgive their spouse? When temptation arises, how does one overcome?  When financial problems hit, how do we cope? We believe He has all the answers.

Grace parenting.  No condemnation. Guilt free parenting. No condemnation does not mean no disciplining, but letting S know that she is loved no matter what. Jesus, mommy and daddy loves her not on her performance. We advocate praise and encouragement. We want to make her feel secure and significant. We don’t allow vocabulary such as ‘shame shame’, ‘naughty’ or any negative labelling at home. Of course we are not perfect yet and we DO lose our cool. The importance is to know that we are still righteous and continue to bring grace back.  This is our ideal way of parenting and we are learning bit by bit everyday. Even if all else fails, we hope the least she gets is “Jesus loves me”.

Work -life balance.  I don’t belong to the 9 to 5 group and my hours can be erratic at times. But as much as I can, I strive to put family first. M and I made a pact 5 years ago before I accepted the current job that we would remind each other when one of us is ‘consumed’ by work or lose focus on family. I guess it has worked out well all these years. I’m thankful that M can easily hold the fort and take on the hats of daddy & mommy when work requires me be away. I like my job, 80% of the time. So until I find something better (in my eyes), I will continue to do what I’m doing…

Group hug .  Our daily MUST-do.

Drip in abundance

Our alternate Sundays are usually long from 9am to 5pm in church - serving and service, which leaves us enough time for dinner and to wind down. This Sunday, we took an impromptu excursion to the beach. It was a compressed fun-filled 1 hour with lots of laughter and sand! We were home by 7.30pm, still had time to cook a sumptuous dinner, got some office work done followed by our bed-time ritual. Surprisingly I am still wide-awake with energy to blog!  Perfect testimony of how our time is blessed in abundance even as we sow in His ministry!

And of course, the day wouldn’t have been complete without this picture!

 

Psalm 65:11 :- “You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.

All by myself

My life is full. Family, job and church. It is contented. But recently, I realised that I leave very little space for “ME” time, which may be the cause of my close-to-burn-out snippy attitude of late.  

Today as I pampered myself with a two-hour pedi/manicure session, it dawned on me the importance of having time to MYSELF. No work, no thoughts, no worries, no plans, no conversation (small talk is allowed), no pressure, no obligation, no baby, no husband, no friends.  Just ME.  Guilt-free ME time…

While daddy M’s ME time could be his one-hour daily TV routine, it looks like mine needs a bit more planning and may cost more (wink).

I’m thinking along the lines of a hair spa (oh how much I miss this!), full pedi/manicure instead of a 20minute express service, full body scrub and massage in a spa instead of having the masseur over to our home, facial, yoga, staring at the sea, listen to the waves, go for a swim, candles and music in the shower…

Yeah, I shall do this. Once a week, at the minimum.