Special moments with the boy

When I was very young, I enjoyed many special moments with Mom and Dad. I remembered when Dad was working as a legal secretary at the Goodwood group of hotels, Mum used to take me to the Goodwood Park Hotel for a swim in the evenings while waiting for Dad to knock off work. I also remembered the wonderful holidays filled with lots of swimming, fishing, and eating at the chalets at East Coast Park or the holiday bungalows at Changi.

Naturally as a mother of an 18 year old going 28, I cherish every memorable moment with Joel.

He is on vacation these few months, waiting for classes to start at the Polytechnic in April. With time in his hands, he sometimes wake up extra early to accompany me to the office and join me for breakfast in the vicinity. Sometimes, we'll pay a visit to places of interest we never knew existed, like Bukit Chandu, which is a museum chronicalling the struggle between the Malayan and British forces with the Japanese troops during the occupation. And sometimes, we'd just go for long walks at the Botanic Gardens.

These moments of pure juvenile "clowning about" are so precious to me, and I hope to him as well.

Even David got in on the action. He usually wouldn't touch a local breakfast of soft boiled eggs, sweetened coffee and toasts with Kaya and butter. However, in the spirit of familial bonding, he orders a coke and strawberry jam on toasts. I am so glad that neighbourhood coffee shop had the good sense to expand their menu to penetrate the market beyond the local Singaporeans.