The Grapes of Wrath

Dearest Phoebe,

I have uploaded a collage of black and white photos that you took last Friday. You grabbed our digital camera off the edge of the dining table, turned it on, set its mode to B&W and started shooting away.

Your work of art reminds Daddy of pre-WWII films that enjoy a resurrection of sorts on lazy Sunday afternoons or on ungodly hours on cable TV. One of them that came to mind was "Grapes of Wrath" that was produced in 1940. In one poignant scene, a character played by Henry Fonda said "A feller ain't got a soul of his own, but only a piece of a big soul.". To Daddy, this sentence, loosely interpreted, means that what a person is or will become is largely influenced by who he looks to as role models in his life.

For me, the boy that I was yesterday, the father that I'm today and the grandparent I hope to become in the future are largely influenced by your grandparents and Mummy. Your Mum's quiet, steely grit; Nai-nai's love and dedication to our family. As for Yeye, he is an old-fashioned gentleman with a proper sense of right and wrong.

Last Saturday, as he was leaving our home, you failed to bid him goodbye as you went about your play activities. Earlier, you were also very rude to him. As Yeye shuffled off with his back receding from sight, I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat. I'm not really sure why I felt that way nor why I did not admonish you when you showed discourtesy to Yeye.

Maybe I knew that Yeye would just break into his usual genteel smile and say "It's OK, it's OK!" It's just Yeye's way of showing his love and affection for you. The kind of love that is simple and unconditional.

Be good and smile pretty, Daddy Dearest.

Sweet Child of Mine

Dearest Phoebe,
this week started off with a bang of sorts....we had a false alarm because your childcare centre mistakenly thought that you came down with Hand-Foot-Mouth (HFM) disease. Well, the school administration tended to err on the safe side and asked us to fetch you for a consultation at the doctor's. The doctor gave you a clean bill of health and dispensed some medication for your mouth ulcers (they might be the result of your weekend feast on biscuits and other heaty foodstuff).

You went back to school and Zavier had just joined your class! It was his first day in school and Auntie Michelle said that you actually introduced her as Zavier's Mummy to Teacher Bavani. Guess you wanted to break the ice between them? Well, in a couple of day’s time, you would have crossed the two-month mark for time spent in childcare. It seems like just yesterday that Mummy was fussing and fretting like Mother Hen over your childcare and transportation arrangements.

You settled into your weekday routine somewhat but some things didn't go according to plan. Mummy hoped that you would be toilet trained by the time you went to childcare but you seemed to have clean forgotten what Mummy has taught you. We didn't expect you to pick up Mandarin but you have started to speak in your mother tongue more frequently ever since you attended Li Lao Shi's Chinese classes. It wasn't part of our plans but we were pleasant surprised! Well, both of us have probably a thousand and one plans for you currently and in the future. Some of them are trivial while some are really elaborate and calls for careful strategy and execution.

Well, Daddy is penning this entry in what seems to be the darkest hours for the global financial and investment industries. I can just imagine the dashed plans of early retirement by many investors or employees of the institutions gravely affected by this debacle. Mummy and Daddy often talk about our future plans for you and it never fails to bring a smile to our faces. I guess it's because we have always wished and hoped for the best for you. There's probably no point in discussing our plans in detail with you now but I guess I should leave you with this thought. There are times when we have to plan ahead but sometimes, we have to plan to be surprised!

Be good and smile pretty, Daddy Dearest

A poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage...

Dearest Phoebe,

Last weekend was filled with activities involving theatre performances of differing scales. On Saturday, we watched the play starring the Rainbow Fish and his friends. I can’t recall the title of the play but it was written with the characters from the Rainbow Fish series. We rushed down to Sarkies Road from Beach Road after your Trio class in the morning. We had a hurried breakfast at the Olio café and were ushered to our seats at the last bell.

You were rather distracted during the play and Mummy had a hard time keeping you in your seat. Actually, I do not blame you. I guess you were bored by this insipid interpretation of the tale of the Rainbow Fish and Friends with the theme of sharing. The dialogue was convoluted and its delivery was poor. No wonder you were clamouring to get out.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the play ended and we made our way to Auntie Phoebe’s home at Varsity Park, her home was a spanking new walkup apartment with the idyllic air of a hacienda. In short, Mummy and Daddy would like to stay in a similar housing enclave, if possible.

Daddy did not join you for the home visit but from what I gather from Mummy, you were rather well-behaved and you even drank your milk on the bed of James kor kor’s bed. You were really made yourself very comfortable at Auntie Phoebe’s home. Incidentally, besides sharing the same name as you, Auntie Phoebe has the same birthday as Mummy!!!

On Sunday, we made our way down to Singapore Expo for the staged musical of Thomas & Friends. This performance was more polished as the props used were much more elaborate. There was your favourite Thomas and the other trains starring were Percy and Diesel. The bossy Fat Controller made his presence felt as well. The other supporting characters were the train drivers and the town dwellers. Daddy bought you a Thomas Light Stick as a souvenir which was put to good use in the dark as we dug for your things in the dark during the performance. 8-)

After the performance, we adjourned for some refreshments at a nearby café before we headed back home. Mummy said that you were probably suffering from fatigue at having to attend two performances back to back. We would ease off attending such performances for the time being. Actually, I felt that you didn’t enjoy the Thomas & Friends performance as much as I had expected. Your enthusiasm for Thomas & Friends literature and your liking for their apparel did not come forth during the performance.

Maybe when you are older and more articulate, you can have your say in the family activities we can partake. In the meantime, we can only pray that in the near future, we would have more hits than misses when deciding what’s best and what would interest you most.

Be good and smile pretty,

Daddy Dearest

Tenterfield Saddler

Dearest Phoebe,
this is one of those early mornings where Daddy sits at my laptop with a thousand and one thoughts going thru my mind and they would naturally focus on you.

You had a bad vomiting episode at Ah Ma's home and were bawling your heart out due to the discomfort caused. I guess it interrupted your slumber as you might not have been sleeping well in the afternoons due to the renovation that's ongoing nearby. Mummy was eating her dinner while I tried my best to comfort you. I could feel your weariness as you laid your head on my shoulders. After her hurried dinner, we left for home and you fell into a deep slumber soon.

As a parent, I hope to make you feel important and loved. There are times when I'm strict with you and times when I let you have free rein. No rules in particular that I follow but as I watch you grow up, these things tend to come more naturally. It becomes like a gut feel. Last Saturday, we watched a play or rather a compendium of 5 short plays which were written by primary school children. In the midst of the second play, you asked Mummy to "Go out!" and it was clear that you had no intention to carry on watching the rest of the plays. We quickly left the theatre and headed off to dinner. Mummy and Daddy came to the consensus that it was pointless to force you to watch something that you have no interest. If we had persisted, not only would we have been a public nuisance, it may put you off future plays and other theatrical events.

Well, it's like nurturing and protecting you but at the same time, giving you the freedom that you rightfully deserve. When I was a child, Yeye and Nainai made me feel that I was the most valued person on Earth; hence, I would like you to have the exact warm and fuzzy feeling as you peruse this blog and recollect your childhood.
With this feeling, I hope you will know how important you are to Mummy and Daddy.

Be good and smile pretty,
Daddy Dearest