Elections Fever

Elections fever had been raging for the past 9 days, and it had never been a more exciting and breathtaking time in Singapore politics. For the first time, I am seriously torn with my choices (I never was!), and until now, am still ruminating over many questions. What do I want for my future as a Singaporean? What should we be thinking about when choosing our government? How can our national identity be solidified further? How sustainable is Singapore in the long term, and who can help us forge ahead? What defines happiness? Simplicity, contentment, being surrounded by the people you love? Or economic growth, stable jobs, high incomes? Do we want Singapore to be run like an enterprise? Or do we want the kampong spirit to be back, albeit in a simpler, less stressful Singapore? 

For those of us with a deep love for our country, we need to truly think about what we want as a future Singapore...and really analyse options from many different perspectives and parties. We had achieved immense growth as a country in the past 50 years and no one can disagree with that. Moving forward, are there more avenues of growth as our country matures? What defines future happiness? Future successes? Future growth? Are there other ways of analysing successes other than material growth or increasing GDP? What about the emotional health of Singaporeans?

On Cooling-Off Day, I had been reflecting about how enlivening this whole GE2015 journey had been. It is an awakening of sorts for Singaporeans, where we are able to immerse in open dialogue, liberal thrashing of different candidates and parties and mass rally gatherings. Most amusingly, such discussions are probably the root of many split party opinions within families and friends!

But I view all these as highly positive signs - that we are able to debate openly, sometimes irrationally, sometimes persuasively, but mostly vehemently. And by us doing so, it merely proves that all of us deeply love our country, that we care about where Singapore is heading, that we harbour hopes for the future of Singapore. And most importantly, that we all feel we can create change and have the liberty to choose. And the amazing thing is that all these rigorous debates were conducted in full respect of peace and harmony, with no violence, physical fights or acts of terrorism that had been so commonly linked to election seasons in many countries.

So I am truly thankful for this journey, allowing us to truly ruminate and reflect in the face of intense, spirited and energetic debates. Never have I felt so much like a Singaporean, even at the cusp of possible changes and possibilities. Never have I felt so gratified that I live in this country, witnessing the subtle ripples of changes that - hopefully - will create a better Singapore for our children, where open dialogue, intelligent discourse and a unified love for our country, exists. Whatever the results are tomorrow, we know that we have groups of passionate individuals who dearly love Singapore and who wants to help the country ride to better heights, however you define those heights. Majulah Singapura! 

"I am not a brave man, but I love Singapore and I love Singaporeans." ~ Chiam See Tong

Finality...and Continuity

Last week had been unabashedly emotional and exhaustingly heavy-hearted - almost surreal in so many ways. Surreal in the sense that I shared this sense of forlorn bereavement with a whole country. A country whose people had always been criticised to be emotionless, passive and expressionless - just because we may not be understood in the same cultural context or measured in similar hues of socially agreeable behaviour as other cultures.

I had been thinking a lot about that feeling of emptiness when I woke up every morning last week. Those bursts of sentimentality and tears which are so rare for me, the constant appreciation and gratitude when I looked at everything around me - and even guilt for all those times I had taken Singapore and the lives we built up here for granted.

And even till today, I reflect back in wonderment - how, even in his death, Lee Kuan Yew managed to inspire a nation to stand up on our feet - literally - in order to bid farewell to him in so many ways. But seriously, how do we say goodbye to a great visionary? Granted, he was not the only architect of Singapore, that there was a team of brilliant strategists alongside him. But what makes a great leader indeed? He is truly the embodiment of a real leader - ruthless when the time called for it, and prophetic in uncanny ways. There is plenty for modern Singaporeans like us to emulate from him - to stand up for ourselves against supposed giants with different ideologies, to fight for our rights as Singaporeans, and to reinforce our very unique identity in a world where larger nations constantly fight for cultural hegemony.

So, it had been hard to bid farewell to this giant of giants, not because we will miss him as a person, but because it is like saying goodbye to what he represents, and the slow dawning of trepidation for the future of Singapore without these values.

Which is why last week would be indelible in my memory forever because we came together as a nation to mourn a great man and what he stands for - resilience, perseverance, determination, pride and unity. Regardless of inconsequential demographics like race, religion, language or socio-economical strata. And I hope these values continue to feature significantly in our future.

I think the deep-seated emotions that many of us felt last week were reflections of the pride we harboured as Singaporeans and what our little nation stands for - despite a barrage of criticisms and pressures from other nations. Many times, our perspectives towards nation building had evolved through the many stages in our lives. But for many of us who hailed from low-income families, we are deeply gratified for this system of meritocracy which provided us with umpteen opportunities and which helped us break through the cycles of neediness. And this meritocratic education system (which is evolving in dangerous ways these days, unfortunately) is something that I am personally very thankful for, because it changed the life of my family.

Much had been written about the unity of Singaporeans, the deep-seated emotions and pride harboured by many of us in our country - as well as the potential to finally be a gracious society. Yet, I constantly worry if our children would understand and grasp the frailty of our so-called success and security. Will they be resilient enough to continue this fight? To stand up for themselves as Singaporeans in future? To continually sustain a country without any natural resources? To carve out a stronger national identity and culture for themselves?

Yet, the glimpse of our Singapore spirit last week was a hope for a future where Singaporeans can fight on and keep our identity burning strong. This hope of unity, this seed of gratitude and the belief that we should stand up for our little island nation and all that we represent...these laid the foundation for much of my broiling emotions last week. There are many imperfections in our country, I do acknowledge that, and yet there is so much raw potential. We definitely have much to do and to work towards. More importantly, there is never a time when the words Majulah Singapura meant so much for many of us. Let us not forget and continue fighting on! And indeed, to let our children realise the importance of fighting on as well.

It was uncanny how the heavens poured with the march of the funeral procession on that unforgettable Sunday. And how the skies miraculously cleared after that...giving way to a beautiful, tangerine-tinged sunset. And maybe even creating rainbows with the inevitable blend of retreating raindrops and shy, emerging sunrays. An era is over, and it is up to us to write the chapters for the next era. Like Lee Kuan Yew once said, "...look at the horizon, find that rainbow, go ride it." Will we be able to spot the many rainbows over Singapore, or better yet, help create one, and continue the legacy of Singapore from now on? It is all entirely up to us, this much I know.

A Reluctant Good-bye To A Fabulous Year

2014 had been a really rewarding and fulfilling year for us. It was filled with unexpectedly pleasant surprises and lots of learning experiences. It was a year of milestones for the girls - with Big Bee ending the fundamental primary school chapter in her life, and Little Bee walking an inch closer to being an upper primary girl (can you imagine my little baby heading towards upper primary?!).

I guess the biggest "hurdle" had been Big Bee's PSLE experience, but we started last year with the philosophy that the PSLE is just another exam, and that we should not compromise on anything in our lives for this exam. And I was glad we lived up to that. There was minimal stress and life still went on in terms of overseas vacations, weekend outings, gatherings with friends, extracurricular activities in school, etc.

Last year was a year that I witnessed tremendous maturity and growth in Big Bee. She grew from an angsty tween to a wonderful teenager-to-be who shared lots of gossips with me. It came with a price though. This year was the year that I fed myself on loads of young adult fiction, lingo, social media and movies, just so I could keep up with her friends and her. But it helped that we read and watched their stuff, because that opened up so many conversations and it felt kind of wonderful when her friends called me a "cool mum"!

Despite the PSLE, Big Bee got into the school netball team with loads of practices. I encouraged that because I think extracurriculars are what make well-rounded, healthy and well-adjusted tweens. For the first 7 months of the PSLE year, she was practising in school 3 times a week, only coming home at 6pm in the evenings. For the first quarter of the year, she was also loaded with piano and ballet practices - all of which helped her to destress and deviate her mind from academic work, she admitted to me. She also went on a research trip with her classmates and teachers to Hong Kong, and it really enriched her perspectives on social values.

One of the best things that we did was to prepare her DSA personal statements. That helped her reflect on her life and past experiences, and we were able to talk a lot about these past experiences and what she looks forward to in future. She also switched her goals from a typical top school offering the A-levels to her current dream school with a different, more analytical form of education. We are constantly thankful for what she had been blessed with and from now on, her future endeavours would be up to her to craft and shape.

As for Little Bee, primary 2 had been fun and leisurely for her, as always. We were extremely lucky to be blessed with an excellent form teacher for Little Bee, who was also her form teacher in primary 1. She is a caring, committed and warm teacher, and all the students (and parents!) love her so much! I believe this teacher is a great inspiration to Little Bee, who had done surprisingly well in her school work last year, despite her highly playful nature.

I am really happy that Little Bee - being her happy-go-lucky self - loves school and treats school as one gigantic playground. Being a highly gregarious and sociable girl, she also had lots of good friends whom she bonded with. Last year, she began to devote herself more to her dance CCA in school, and was delighted to be part of a huge charity concert on the last day of school. She had also completed her swim course and is now swimming well.

The Bees' reading adventures had been colourful this year. Big Bee read a total of 100+ books last year (yes, the OCD her kept a record of the books she read), and is very into young adult, dystopian series like The Hunger Games, Divergent series, etc. As for Little Bee, she is full on into Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, having completed all of Roald Dahl's children fiction and Enid Blyton's Enchanted Woods and Malory Towers series. She had started on the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series, but still prefers Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl for now!

2014 had been fun and beautiful for the Bees - let's hope 2015 will bring lots of equally enriching experiences too!

Our Thankful Journals

A good friend of mine, J, started listing 3 things she is thankful for - on a daily basis. It is amazing to read her gratitude reflections on Facebook at the end of each day. This concept is so simple yet brilliantly beautiful - encouraging us to remember the delightful things of the day, and in the reflection process, try to forget about the unpleasant events that happened. It is very rejuvenating and detoxifying. In doing so, I think we become happier and more optimistic souls, with a stronger ability to see the good in everything...and hopefully, becoming more resilient human beings in the process.

Inspired by J, I started gratitude journals for the Bees and myself - encouraging ourselves to see the silver linings in the billowing clouds of our lives.

We were not able to write daily journals in the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Singapore, although the girls try their best to do so whenever I encourage them to. But on vacations, we would write daily reflections, and the process is so therapeutic because we get to reflect on the affairs of the day. Memories also become more indelible in our minds.

The Bees rolling down a lush hill slope in a Tasmanian winery! 

I am pulling out a couple of pages from the Bees' thankful journals. Enjoy!

Big Bee
20 Dec 2013
Things I am thankful for:

1) Going to Churchill Island!
We took a bus to Phillip Island and our first stop of the day was at Churchill Island. There were long grasses everywhere and even a farm with many different kinds of animals! We saw chickens, ducks, turkeys, cows, dogs, rabbits and even fed and petted a horse whose name was Sophie!

2) Going to the Koala Conservation Centre!
There was a koala boardwalk and we saw loads of koalas but most of them were asleep! We still had a lot of fun taking photos of them though! They were really CUTE!

3) Going to the Noobies (weird name, but never mind)
The Noobies was just so spectacularly overwhelming...there were tons of seagulls EVERYWHERE and a huge massive island rising from the ocean! Also, I heard that there are sharks in the ocean! *screams*

4) Penguin Parade
We saw cute little penguins waddling in to their burrows from the ocean. It was extremely cold there and we all had to wear thick jackets to keep ourselves warm! However, I think we frightened away one penguin from its burrow cuz we were sitting too near it. Still, it was a wonderful experience.

Little Bee
24 December 2013
3 things I love about today:
1) Eating delicious food. So yummy!
2) Taking a very, very good walk. It was so fun.
3) I love the Park Explorer tour! I put my legs near the lake beside Cradle Mountain!

I love today because it is fun!

{Thankful For}...A Brand New Year

Last week (31st Dec 2012 to 6 January 2013) seemed like a beautifully long week - a week of sparkling new beginnings, a week of radical changes, a week of new chapters and newfound friends, and a week of settling into routines.

I am most thankful for the opportunity to see my little baby, Little Bee, step into a new threshold of her life - primary school. I am also exceedingly thankful for the fact that Big Bee had blossomed into a mature young lady, and is now a buddy to a primary one girl.

Here were some things I was truly thankful for, in the past week:

1) With the blessings of wet weather on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, we could spend lots of cosy family bonding time at home, chilling out, playing board games and having loads of fun conversations. I am also grateful that Big Bee recovered from her short bout of New Year fever in time for the first day of school.

2) Big Bee's very first time watching the countdown television shows with us, staying up way past midnight, giggling secretly, and wishing us Happy New Year as the clock struck 2013.

3) It was also gratifying to see her messaging her good friends on her recently purchased mobile phone - just like a little adult. It is wonderful to see that she has her own circle of close friends, her little tweenhood life, as we parents take a little step back to observe how she manipulates her little vessel in the big ocean of life.

4) Little Bee eased into primary 1 effortlessly, with her signature sunshine beams and chatterbox yaks! She made friends with her classmates without reserve, and started warming up to her teachers immediately. It was heartwarming yet bittersweet to see her going for recess with her buddy, having a little life of her own, trying to swim around in a big kids' school.

5) I made lots of newfound friends and met old friends who are parents of Little Bee's classmates. I am thankful that many of these parents are amicable, enthusiastic and very involved in their children's lives. They will definitely be a marvellous support group for me!

6) 3 days of going to school and home with Little Bee, spending languid hours in school until school ends, bonding so much with Little Bee, and being there with her at the start of a very fundamental chapter in her life. These days were beautiful and memorable, and will forever be etched indelibly in my heart.

7) The discovery of a lovely street filled with quaint cafes and charming restaurants - we have new places to explore and chill in!

8) A lovely alfresco dinner at home on Sunday, as we dined and watched Nature's magnificence wind down to the end of a glorious day.

Let's hope every week this year would be as wondrous as this first week of 2013! Happy New Year!

{Thankful For}...Warm Connections

Inspired by Mum in the Making and my good friend Jeanne, I am trying to start a series of weekly "Thankful Posts", in a bid to reflect on the little blessings and beauties in our lives. And more importantly, to leave a legacy of love, hope and optimism for the Bees when they read through the blog, especially as the world gets more complex.

I will not post photos for these "Thankful Posts" (so I can upload these posts even faster!), and will try to update this series on a weekly basis (every Sunday, if possible!). Thanks, Jus and Jeanne, for the inspiration!

This week, I am thankful for plenty of bonding time with family and friends! The week felt so long, simply because we could spend so many luxurious hours with loved ones, soaking in the love and happiness.

1) 24 Dec (Mon): A thoroughly enjoyable Christmas Eve gathering with the cousins and our nieces with sumptuous food and delightful gifts, where 2 generations of cousins can bond and catch up for the holidays.

2) 25 Dec (Tue): A beautiful walk through densely crowded Orchard Road as a family, chatting and yakking, whilst observing the festivities around us.

3) 26 Dec (Wed): A thrilling day spent in Universal Studios, bonding once again as a little family of 4, taking myriad rides and enjoying each other's presence throughout the day.

4) 27 Dec (Thu): The opportunity for the Bees to spend precious time with their friends, just before the hectic school term starts next week. Big Bee spent a wonderful afternoon with 5 of her friends whom she knew from kindergarten days, and Little Bee had a marvellous afternoon with 6 of her kindergarten friends in Amazonia.

5) 28 Dec (Fri): A delightful afternoon for Little Bee, spent role-playing in different occupations at The City in Liang Court with her buddies, WW, WD and Olivia. Followed by a relaxing dinner in a restaurant with a breathtaking view atop Orchard Road with close friends.

6) 29 Dec (Sat): After the hectic week of non-stop play, we celebrated simplicity and close-knit family time with a restful breakfast at a Parisian-style cafe in Universal Studios, followed by a long-awaited trip to our favourite library where we borrowed lots of books, and then a comforting steamboat dinner at home.

7) 30 Dec (Sat): A warm and cheery lunch with both sets of parents, where the Bees were literally smothered in love and affection by 4 grandparents.

What are you thankful for?