G’day!  How are you doing today? 

We are on holiday now in Perth, Western Australia.  We left our three beautiful boys behind and part of our hearts with them. 

It has been two years since my partner and I have been on holiday on our own.  I felt a tinge of excitement.  I would get a chance to have my own time, and breathing space.  These were such rare commodities ever since I had my babies.

Every day, I would wake up to Brian’s calling, and go to bed at night with his angelic face close to mine.  And during the day, I would bathe my children, feed them and tell them stories before tucking them into bed.  I give them sloppy kisses, and enjoy breathing in their baby smell.  And so here I am, asking myself if I would be able to survive one week without them.   But the other part of me wanted badly to get away from the daily mundane, routine housework. 

And so tickets were bought, and accommodation was arranged.  My spouse and I were only able to pack in the wee hours of the morning when our darling little rascals have all gone to bed.  We took only bare necessities with us, wanting to keep our bags empty to make space for our beloved Australian Cadbury Chocolates and Arnott’s biscuits to bring home. We sneaked out in the morning like thieves in the night to catch a morning flight.  We didn’t want our boys clinging to us and crying for their mummy.  Then I would never be able to leave.

We reached the airport unscathed, alighted with our two traveling bags and were on our way to a real holiday!  I was relaxed, soaking in the busy atmosphere of the check-in terminals lined with travelers. 

The flight was pleasant, and was only 5 hours long.  I was pleased to be able to watch a full movie, Narnia on board at my own leisure. 

Upon arrival, clearing their customs was a nightmare.  Waiting in line to clear them took us at least an hour. Every packet we brought in was scrutinized.  By the way, we had only one packet of anchovies to declare.  And even that was confiscated from us.  The officer apologetically told us that the current new ruling disallows anchovies with heads to be brought into the island.    We smiled a helpless smile, zipped up our near empty suitcase, and headed for the exit. 

Carrying my heavy winter jacket, I expected a cold, gloomy skyline.  Instead, Australia was a burst of sunshine.  The sky was bluer than blue, and the sun was bright.  I loved it!  She gave me a new definition to the winter season, unlike Europe which was dull and dreary.

Without our children, we were able to move around freely and easily. Sometimes we had an itinerary, and other times none.  Many times during the day, we would have this conversation.  My spouse would ask me questions like these;
“Can we go to the post office after this?” or,
“Can we go to Hungry Jacks for lunch?” or,
“Is it all right to walk home from the train station?”

And I would always reply, Why not, we have no children with us.
 
We’d eat lunch at 4pm, and mostly junk food, like Hungry Jacks which strangely, my spouse is so passionate about. We’d walk and then suddenly break into a wild run to catch one of their Cat buses. By the way, these Cat buses that go round the city are free of charge. Try one of these if you are in Perth. They provide very good transport service at no cost. We’d walk for half an hour to get home from the train station in the cold winter twilight with our hands in our jackets to keep warm. It felt good not to have a whiny child with us.

I am thoroughly enjoying this new sense of freedom, and the spontaneous decisions we are able to make. I am a child again, exploring and observing my environment.   I relished the taste of  the succulent beef and bacon served at Hungry Jacks, took time to read their anti-vandalism signboards  at their train stations and feasted my eyes on Perth’s beautiful clear blue skies.

Since I had only myself to care for, I am able to spend a little extra time everyday now cleaning my face with a cleanser followed by dabbing it with a moisturizer. This seems like such a simple act, and yet it made me feel really good.  I felt rejuvenated.  I felt beautiful and desirable once again.

I enjoy waking up when I have finished sleeping.  I enjoy having an unhurried shower.  I enjoy passing through a toy section in the mall without having to deal with pestering children. But most of all, I enjoy having adult conversations and eating together at the dinner table.  There are so many interesting topics being discussed at the dinner table; the recent Olympics, politics, fine cuisine, good wine and so forth.   I didn’t really care what the hot topic of the day was.  I simply love just being able to sit at the table, and not having to get up every five minutes to tend to my children.  I love being able to hold a decent conversation without my children interrupting me every two seconds.  I love being able to listen closely to another adult and asking  intelligent questions.

And of course, our outings were unforgettable.  We always enjoy ourselves when there is the beach, the sun and sand.  Although it is still winter, the skies are absolutely clear and beautiful. We were on a Captain Cook’s Cruise liner for half a day to Fremantle and back.  The dark blue waters fusing with the light blue skies created a masterpiece of nature.  This magnificent sight from the Swan River literally took our breaths away.  We were on deck our little liner, James Stirling chugging along Swan River with views of beautiful beach houses on our left and right.  I loved especially the ones built mostly from fibre glass material.  These look like little sparkling diamonds along the riverbank.  The winds were cold but the sun quickly warmed us up.

Perth’s city skyline emerged as we slowly cruised downstream towards Fremantle.  The high rise of St George, the BankWest icon and Westpac building signified the cosmopolitan city of Perth from afar.  For the first time in a long time, my spouse and I were taking part in a great experience together and enjoying each other’s companionship in comfortable silence.    

The following day we took a ferry from Fremantle to Rottnest Island.  The day was a perfect winter day.  The weather was chilly but sunny with occasional winds. The temperature that day was around 20 degrees celsius.  Blue seems to dominate every time we are outdoors.  We enjoyed blue skies and bluer seas.  Cycling is a popular way to exploring the island.  We wanted to be adventurous, and decided to hire a tandem bicycle which is a two seater bicycle.   This was a rare occasion for us because we were required to work as a team to get the bike going.  In the beginning, we were constantly shouting at each other.  

“Tell me when you have to change gears,” I shouted loud enough for him to hear me.

“Why do I have to do that?” he replied.

And then, he would change gears immediately without informing me. 

“Because I don’t want to fall off the bike!” I said, throwing my voice in the wind while pedaling.
 
And he would change gears again without telling me.   I got so mad.  He just would not listen. 

After some time, we got used to each other’s rhythm and finally began to work as a team.   We pedaled vigorously when going uphill, with each of us screaming at the other to pedal harder.  No one complained when the terrain sloped downhill. 

We stopped at a cliffside. The view was stunning. The sea was at a distant below us, a postcard picture shot. We stood still to take in the vast nothingness of the shimmering blue ocean reflected by the sunrays.  As vast as the ocean was the clear blue sky.  As we stood silent, the only sounds we heard were the sounds of waves rolling in and the occasional cry of a lone seagull.  And of course, we heard the sounds of our ragged breathings. 

The sea was an absolute beauty that day. The Indian ocean reflected so many hues of blues pleasing to the eye. Some parts were greenish blue, other parts were a pretty deep rich blue. I looked closely and a myriad of different shades of blue displayed itself for my viewing pleasure. Oh, what a wonderful spectacle of nature! I breathed in deeply. High above us, a bird was soaring in the wind like a weightless kite. My spirits soared with the bird, my soul rejoiced. And I thought to myself, I could live here.

Being ‘forced’ to be in close proximity on a tandem bicycle created rare friendly conversations between us when we were not screaming at each other.  Maybe it was the relaxed atmosphere or the pleasant quietness of the island, I am not sure but nature created something special for us.  We slowly peeled off our protective false front and started opening up to each other as we pedaled round the island.  We talked of who we secretly adored most amongst our three boys.  My spouse spoke of the difficult person he had to deal with in the office, of the dream of moving to the land of Down Under, of buying the vehicle he had always wanted.   Mostly we talked about our everyday lives, sometimes we would laugh at our silly jokes and other times one just listened to the other while pedaling furiously.  Gradually the shoutings ceased but the conversations continued.  Miraculously our bicycle continued to climb uphill.  We had finally learnt to work as a team!

When we left Rottnest Island that day, we took home with us wonderful memories and our aching body muscles.

We leave for home on Sunday back to our three little boys.  Do I miss my boys?  Surely, you already know the answer to that question.  I miss my boys everyday, but not the housework that comes with them.   I am not complaining though.  This wonderful trip was made possible because of the goodwill of my parents to take care of my children.  Without their help, our Australian holiday could not have come together .

There is so much more to share with you.  Surely, I will when I find more time to write.  In the meantime, I look forward to catch a good movie on the plane.  I don’t know when I will be able to do that when I am with my boys again.

Until we chat again, have a great weekend!  Cheers! 

The boys are on school holidays again. 

Two weeks ago while I was lying in bed trying to rid myself of a pest of a high fever, Daniel and his father were busy planning for a trip during his school holidays. 

My mind was filled with celsius temperature readings and white aspirins when my spouse called from the office. 

“Are you going to Pangkor Island or not?”, he asked.

“What??  I don’t know.  Can’t you see I am sick now?,” I replied, clearly irritated by his lack of compassion.  

All I wanted to do was to get well soon.  The last thing on my mind was embarking on a holiday trip.

My fever finally left me.  And at a timely manner as well, just before the start of the school holidays.  

Before I could say “Let’s go!”, I found out that the arrangements for the trip had already been made. And Daniel had already written his checklists for both himself and James.  

I’ve always suspected that my children were running my life, and now I can officially tell you that I have confirmed my suspicion.  Apparently, going to Pangkor was Daniel’s idea.  And my spouse happily accommodated his eldest son.   

Here are some of the items that Daniel wrote:
1. life sayhe ( Life saver, also known as the swimming tube),
2. swimmg c ( swimming trucks, don’t ask me what does the c stand for),
3. pankul inled bags ( Pangkor Island bags),
4. stoof for cooking ( stove for cooking),
5. staff pag ( I have no idea what this is…).
6. tisue paper box,
7. pejamas and clods ( pajamas and clothes) and some other items. 

We had to take a ferry across to the island.  There were three adults and three children.  And eleven bags. 

I don’t know how we managed to board the ferry, but we did it.  We managed to carry the bags by slinging, sliding and backpacking while screaming at the children to not fall into the water. 

The children enjoyed the ferry ride a lot.  I was busy counting the number of bags we had on board. 

As always, the boys enjoyed the sun and sand and wind. They  never tire of the ocean.  And even when Daniel had a swollen red eye, James got bitten by an unknown specimen on his cheekbone and Brian also got bitten which resulted in an ugly welt on his right leg, they still wanted to play in the water. 

We rented a car to get around the island.  Everything was wrong with the car.  The driver’s car door handle was broken from the inside, the air conditioned didn’t work and there was no power steering. 

But Daniel was so excited because it was a manual car.  He was totally fascinated observing his papa changing gears.  And even though the temperature outside was 32 degrees Celsius, it felt cooler to be outside than to be inside of the car.  But again, the children didn’t complain.  They not only didn’t complain, they fell asleep soundly while we took a trip around the island.  I can learn so much from my little ones.  For starters mummy, stop being such a whiner! 

We boarded the ferry home lighter but not much.  Instead of eleven bags, we had nine.  Even then, it was still a challenge with three boisterous boys to care for. 

And now, we are back home.  But I am in a hurry again.  My spouse and I are going for a short holiday next week.  Just the two of us.  I am sure we won’t have to lug around eleven bags.  And definitely the trip will be less exciting minus our three active running boys.

Till we chat again, have a good week ahead!

Cheers! 

You know, even when I was ill with high fever the whole of last week, I managed to watch some TV.  It seemed like the least stressful activity for a sick person. 

There I was sprawled across my sofa flicking my TV controller for a good movie to watch.  It must have been my lucky day because HBO had just started screening one of my favourite movies. 

“What movie are you watching?” my spouse asked.

“The Mirror Has Two Faces,” I replied.

“What?  You’ve watched it a million times! See what’s on the next channel, ” he replied.

Obligingly I flicked my TV controller again.  There was nothing really worth watching that night.  Not unless if you like violence and death and combat fighting. 

Ignoring the man, I switched back to HBO although I met with some resistance.      

If you have never heard of this movie, it is a Barbra Streisand film.  It is romantic comedy between two lecturers, Gregory Larkin ( Jeff Bridges ) and Rose Morgan (Streisand).  I like it because I could relate to the beautiful campus setting, boring professors, and the everyday life of Rose.  She is a sharp, witty lady who is of plain looks unlike her sister.  She enters into a marriage of convenience with an attractive Math lecturer (Bridges) with the understanding that there won’t be any sex involved to complicate the relationship.

Secretly I would like to be a little like Rose.  She is intelligent, warm, has great communication skills and is able to command the attention of her college students.         

There is this one scene which I like very much.  Rose is giving a lecture to a full house, perhaps a hundred odd students in an auditorium.  She obviously is in charge of her class because her students are attentive and everyone volunteers to participate.  Her voice rings out clearly as she lectures. 

She is lecturing about romantic love and falling in love and why humans do it.   She questions the need for humans to fall in love despite of painful experiences.  Students raise their hands to give their intellectual answers.  Is it because of propagation of the species?  Or being culturally conditioned? 

But Rose is a down to earth English Literature professor who prefers simple answers.  I held my breath as if I was attending her class when she said with passion, “I think it’s because as some of you may already know… “, she pauses for a moment and continues, “ while it does last, it feels fucking great !”

And her students cheers!  And there I was with a spiking temperature of 39 degrees Celsius going Yes! Yes! for the millionth time. 

My man, he just doesn’t catch my euphoria. 

By the way, this movie boasts of a great soundtrack.  My favourite being,  I finally found someone – Barbra Streisand and Bryan Adams.

And now, back to my washing, and cleaning and cooking. 

Have a good week ahead!  

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life.  It goes on. – Robert Frost

A kind friend called and asked how I was doing.  She mentioned that I have not updated my blog for quite some time now.

Yeah, I told her.  I had fallen ill, ill with a fever that had taken permanent residence within my physical being.   This fever seized me with a tight grip for seven days.  I felt helpless during those seven days, being only able to bring down my temperature to a moderate level by swallowing six aspirins daily.   

As I lay dazed between heaven and earth for the first few days, my two young charges came into my room.  They scurried about busily, and asked if I needed a drink of water, or to check my temperature. 

Daniel was a perfect little nurse.  He was most helpful, taking a bottle of Chinese tea for me, and making the room comfortable for a sick mummy.  He would check my temperature to see if I needed another dose of medicine.

James was better.  He quickly learnt the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  When he was taken ill which was not so long ago, mummy insisted that he cleared his nose by stuffing up a nose spray up his nostrils.  He really hated it, but he would still let his mummy do it.  And now that his mummy is sick, he would expect to use the nose spray on her too especially if she had a stuffy nose.  I was too ill to decline the offer, and my little nurse had his turn to spray, instead of being sprayed at.   It really felt horrendous, with a gush of salt water sliding down the back of my throat.   I hated it!  But don’t tell little James. 

Maybe it was the second or the third day of my illness, I cannot be sure, but slowly the scurrying reduced and then, there was silence.  My little maids were gone! 

Nobody came to take my temperature, or to adjust my pillow or to spray my nose.  There lying in the room was just myself and my raging fever.  At that point when I was beaten and down, I was glad for the non disturbance of these little maids.  Only much later when I felt a little better, I crept downstairs to see if my house was still in one piece and to solve the mystery of my missing maids.

And there I found my little maids!  They were watching their favourite programme on TV.  Eating as usual, and scampering about.  And they had all forgotten about their ill patient upstairs.  For the few times they came in after that, it was to ask if they could play with a computer game, or to start the washing machine.  They left as suddenly as they appeared.  They seemed to say, get over the fever mum, that’s old news. 

I did finally get over the fever, after two trips to the doctor, and after gulping down more than a dozen of aspirins plus two boxes of antibiotics.  My recovery is of course hastened with the help of my little maids.

A sure sign that I am on the road to recovery is that I am starting to enjoy my food again. 

Cheers to you and a good weekend.  I know I will have a good one!   And stay healthy!  

Daniel is becoming more and more independent these days.   He takes his own baths.  Occasionally I still bathe him when we are pressed for time or when I want him out of his shower quick.  Like yesterday.

As I lather his body with soap, it suddenly hit me how big he has physically grown.  No longer am I able to cover his whole back with the palm of my hand, but I had to make several broad, bold strokes back and forth to wash his back. 

Little things in our daily lives remind me of him being a big boy now.  He no longer needs to jump to reach for a switch above his head.  Now, he needs only to stretch out his hand.  He can now dine comfortably at an adult sized table without having to sit on two stacked up chairs.  His mouth can now contain a whole tablespoon and has extra space leftover.   And of course, he has outgrown most of his old clothes.      

The sun and wind gave his skin a nice deep brown tan.  His body is lean and strong.  His face is open and sharp pointed, his eyes inquisitive. He is neither plain nor pretty.  Like thousands of children, it is his blend of physical traits and character that make him unique. 

He is afraid of the dark and monsters under the bed.  He loves to watch Peter Pan, tinkerbell and especially lovable Mr Smee.  He hates colouring, enjoys going to the park and loves to play with water.  He is fascinated with cars, car wipers and manual gears.  He is intrigued with washing machines and their moving mechanisms.    He is sensitive, fights easily with his brothers and is fiercely protective of his belongings.   

Even with time, some things never change, like his awkwardness with people. Daniel is still painfully shy.  He prefers to play on his own, instead of mingling with the rest of the children at the park.  He would not warm up to strangers as quickly as his siblings would.  He would not, and could not be easygoing and confident when engaged in a conversation with another person.  I don’t have to be a keen observer to know this.  His facial expression betrays all his insecurities. 

He has an analytical mind and an incredible sense of logic.  His inquisitiveness leads him to ask many questions.  He wants to know if strong winds will be able to blow off a brick house with a rooftop made of straws, or if a long python is able to swallow its own tail and disappear.  When his papa’s car windshield got shattered by a flying rock, he quizzed his papa on the size of the rock to cause such damage.

Every day he asks me many questions that I have not thought of before myself.  What time do streetlights come on every evening?  What happens to water that goes down the drain pipes?  How does a baby come out of his mother, through the belly button, or the bum bum?  

He is an intelligent boy asking intelligent questions that often render his not so intelligent mother speechless.  I might have carried this boy for nine months and given birth to him, but he is so different from I am.  It is obvious that he inherited his intelligent and logical being from his papa.  On the contrary, his mother loves romantic fairy tales, has no interest in cars and gives no thoughts to streetlights.

His joy in life is to work with his hands.  I watched and observed this boy with his set of wooden train tracks the other day.  His two younger brothers waited patiently by the sidelines for him to finish building the tracks. The two other boys were clearly eagerly waiting for Daniel to finish building so that they get on with their play. But for Daniel, it was a chance to create a masterpiece, complete with bridges, and tunnels. 

He is a master in this game of building.  He concentrates deeply, choosing each piece of wooden track carefully.  At his command, he creates a crossroad, a railway line disappearing into a tunnel, and tracks leading uphill. His playground is only limited by his imagination and his creativity. As of his liking, he plants and transplants forests, builds schools and a car park, and constructs an airport terminal next to his railway station. 

“Wait James!  Don’t push your train yet!” his voice boomed. 

He spoke with more authority than in any other given situation.

His brothers await his next order. The meek lamb has transformed into a commanding leader in this game of play.   

Surely this boy will create great things with his hands in time to come, I thought to myself.    
 

Cheers and a good weekend to you!