A Different Side of Her We Never Knew...

Dearest Phoebe,

Today was the second (probably last) Meet-The-Parent Session at your childcare centre since the last one we had six months ago. We met up with your form teacher, Miss Lee who only took over your class early this year. Some observations that Miss Lee made about you really surprised Mummy and Dad. She mentioned that in class, you have been able to show a lot of emotional support to some of your little friends and have been encouraging towards them. You played very well with them, not just with friends in your class but those who are not too. At times, when the kids were not attentive, you would "assist" the teacher by telling them to do so. And you were very polite not just to teachers but friends too. Last but not least, she said you have been very popular among your peers and some parents had even asked her "who is Phoebe Wong?" Hahaha.

Why we found those kinds words from Miss Lee surprising was because being the only child, you tend to be very demanding, and at times, self-centred. Especially at Ah Ma's place, you tend to get away with your tantrums and both Ah Gong and Ah Ma would give in to you. Having said that, Daddy and Mummy do quietly observed that your behaviour have somewhat changed a little over the past few weeks; you can manage your emotions far better than before and mindful of people around you and their feelings.

In terms of intellectual development, Miss Lee commented that you are rather advanced for your age as you are already familiar with the concepts that she taught. But what was heartening to hear is that yo no longer showed signs of being bored in class as compared to last year. You still participated and was "consistently good" regardless of your mood :-)

Your form teacher made the same comment about Mummy and Daddy as what your chinese teacher had said last year. She too, could see that Mummy and Daddy put in lots of effort in nurturing you. Well, we do hope our love and efforts spent in nurturing you would give you strength in character and allow you to excel in whatever you pursue.

As for being the last Meet-the-Parent Session, Mummy is moving you to another school by the end of the year as we are moving to a new home soon. As much as we are excited about the new place, Mummy is rather reluctant to change the school for you given that you have made many friends and familiarise with your current childcare. Nonetheless, we are certain that you will be brave and confident enough to adjust to a new environment very quickly.

Lots of love from Mummy.

The Soldier in Pink

Dearest Phoebe,

Daddy went on a hiatus of sorts and things went by in a whizz! Highlights of our family events was our Mother's Day celebration and our recent visit to the Singapore Zoo.

However, what jolted me out of my slumber was a photo of a US soldier in the full glory of his unofficial battle gear defending his position from enemy attack in Afghanistan. He was jolted out from his slumber by the attack and; I assume, the first thing that crossed his mind was to jump into the thick of action to join his comrade-in-arms in battle, his sleeping attire of pink boxer shorts and flip flops not withstanding.

With such a powerful imagery in mind, it brought back memories of a bout of flu you battled with when you were a toddler, just barely two years old then. Your cough was so severe that it caused you to vomit your half digested milk feed onto Mummy while she was cradling you in her arms. With vomit in her disheveled hair, fighting off her own fatigue in the late of the night and without a nary of complaint, Mummy continued to cradle you in her arms while trying her best to clean you up.

After our best attempts to clean up the mess, Mummy settled you into bed before she proceeded to take a quick shower and was back tending to you in a flash. Perhaps drawing comparison to doing battle in Afghanistan to parenting would be stretching things a little, but Mummy's dedication to her duties of motherhood above self is in the same ranks of that brave US soldier. A selfless, fearless dedication to their duties.

Be good and smile pretty,
Daddy Dearest

My little best friend

Dearest Phoebe,

Here are some photos taken when Uncle Chee Leong and Auntie Sereen came over to our place for a visit a few weeks ago, together with Baby Jonas. Baby Jonas is such a lovable boy! In fact, his alertness and mild cheekiness draw some resemblance to how you were when you were a baby. Even though you don't know really know how to play with him yet, Daddy and I could tell that you enjoy his company, as much as mummy and Daddy. You exemplify much generosity by sharing your toys with him, including the push car you have. This drew a contrast to how you selfishly guarded selected toys when cousin Gabby visited us previously.

Mummy loves this photo, in particular, as it looks as if you were whispering into his ear while little Jonas tried to listen attentively. Silly girl.

Luv you, mummy.

Bollywood Hollywood Redux

Dearest Phoebe,
we visited Bollywood Vegetable Farm on the first weekend of April 2009. The day trippers comprise us, 阿妈, 二姨 and family. We piled into our rented maxicab and headed out for our rustic excursion.

The vegetable farm held some special memories for Daddy as it was the venue of our first excursion together when you were in childcare at Character Montessori. That first outing took place sometime in late July 2008. Our father-daughter bonding wasn't textbook perfect, there were the imperfections that made us perfectly human and fallible.

During the visit, you trundled through the farm and had a bad fall. Your palms were grazed raw but you were up and running in no time. You expected the presence of little animals as you were asking about the goats and ponies. Whilst the flora failed to keep you enthralled, an unexpected find of sea snails in the irrigation drains caught your full attention. You even wanted to take some home as pets!

We adjourned for lunch at the Poison Ivy Bistro and had a sumptuous lunch. You ate a fair bit of rice, a piece of chicken drumette and some fries. The rest of us had curry meats and some wok-fried potato leaves dishes. We capped it off with some sinfully delicious banana cake topped with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and slathered with a rich drizzle of chocolate sauce!

After lunch, we headed back home on the maxicab. With one wrong turn, we chanced upon a car that had skidded into a drain by the road. Our driver was kind enough to give the hapless car owner a lift to get help.

One wrong turn; one good deed done, that probably sums up life in a nutshell, expected the unexpected and not forgetting to help the needy and those in distress!

Be good and smile pretty,
Daddy Dearest

The Pony Ride

Dearest Phoebe,

Six dollars, circa 2009, would have bought you a value meal at McDonalds with an upsized drink and fries. It also bought you a ticket for a Pony ride at the Singapore Zoo two weekends ago.

We brought you to the zoo and at the children's section, we asked if you wanted to take the pony ride. You agreed and we complied. On hindsight, the ride brought a question to mind, "Are we making you grow up too fast?".

As you rode away with the minder in tow, Mummy and Daddy were worried that you would burst into tears. At the end of the ride, your emotionless expression belied the fear and confusion you felt during the ride.

Hence, for Mummy and Daddy, that six dollars bought us a nugget of enlightenment that we should be mindful of pushing you too hard or unnecessarily projecting our childhood dreams, especially those unfulfilled ones, onto you.

Be good and smile pretty,
Daddy Dearest

PS: This is our first family portrait taken at a instant passport photo booth and it coincidentally cost us six dollars too!

Work is Dignity

Dearest Phoebe,

Daddy read this book that was sooooo compelling that I had not stopped reading since lunch.
The author, Michael Gates Gill, wrote about his work and life experiences as a Starbucks barista.

In his book, he shared many personal and intimate anecdotes about him meeting literary greats like Robert Frost and T S Eliot. Those experiences were akin to a groupie meeting his favourite singer or rock band.

He paraphrased F. Scott Fitzgerald and wrote "Work is dignity.". For Michael Gates Gill, in all his pedigree upbringing and social circles, he simply wished he had the chance to spend more time with his father than rubbing shoulders with these literary greats.

Hence, I would like to complement to his paraphrase by saying "Parenthood is an honour". In the worst of it, parenthood would reduce a grown man and woman to tears, but it is always a badge of honour I proudly wear.

Phoebe dearest, the honour is always mine.

Be good and smile pretty,
Daddy Dearest

Stuck in a Moment

Dearest Phoebe,

Chronologically speaking, Daddy should be writing about the two plays you had watched over the past two weekends; however, I had something in mind that's more pressing which I need to
bring to your attention.

Your tantrums recently seemed to have hit a raw nerve with us, especially with Mummy. Most parents would call this the terrible two phase that most toddlers exhibit. Some of the things you said bordered on hurtful to your loved ones. On some occasions, Mummy had to administer corporal punishment and I seconded her actions as you were really driving us up the wall. You were throwing a fit over seemingly mundane things and you actually hit Mummy!

I noticed that you tended to be upset over little things, making a mountain out of a molehill. Let me speak given the years of life experience I have inadvertently built up. Please do not sweat the small things in life because life is just too short and precious. It is just not worth it. As you read this entry, I hope you ruminate over Daddy's words as I got this certainty that you are probably gonna need this mantra in your later years.

PS: Daddy's listening to the latest album (released circa 2009) by one of the greatest rock bands to grace our times, U2. One of their older songs came to mind. Read the excerpted lyrics carefully as they basically sum up what your old man's trying to drive across.

"You've got to get yourself together
You've got stuck in a moment
And now you can't get out of it
Don't say that later will be better
Now you're stuck in a moment
And you can't get out of it"

U2 - Stuck in a Moment

Be good, don't get stuck in a rut and smile pretty.
Daddy Dearest