Petals and petticoats, where did they go?
Turn around, and then you're two,
Turn around and then you're four
Turn around when ou're a young girl
Going out of the door.
Monday, March 23, 2009
She ain't a baby no more
Where are you going, my little one, little one
Petals and petticoats, where did they go?
Turn around, and then you're two,
Turn around and then you're four
Turn around when ou're a young girl
Going out of the door.
Petals and petticoats, where did they go?
Turn around, and then you're two,
Turn around and then you're four
Turn around when ou're a young girl
Going out of the door.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
creativity
my little storyteller is in her most creative phase at the moment,
telling me a new story almost daily. they usually star some girl (most
of the time, her) taking part in a whole myriad of activities, such as
going to the moon on a balloon, cooking up a huge meal for the queen
etc. Her story last night though, took a dark turn. Here goes (i'm quoting verbatim, so pardon the grammar):
"Once
upon a time, there was a ballerina. She loved to dance so much. One
day, she fell down when she danced. And died. The soldiers came and
hang her on the cross.Theytock her hands and tock tock her feet. It was VERY painful!And then a rainbow lorikeet
fly in the sky and sees her. he said, 'oh my goodness!' and fly again.
he didn't rescue her. Then i came and rescued her. I am the goodSamaritan."
Hmmm....yes,
that was my response. I didn't quite know HOW to respond to that and
wondered if it was time to explain the concept of death,cruxifixion.I guess i DO need to broach the topic, albeit somewhat cautiously. I'm waiting for easter and good friday to come and hopefully the toddler class teachers will teach it. hee! hee!
telling me a new story almost daily. they usually star some girl (most
of the time, her) taking part in a whole myriad of activities, such as
going to the moon on a balloon, cooking up a huge meal for the queen
etc. Her story last night though, took a dark turn. Here goes (i'm quoting verbatim, so pardon the grammar):
"Once
upon a time, there was a ballerina. She loved to dance so much. One
day, she fell down when she danced. And died. The soldiers came and
hang her on the cross.Theytock her hands and tock tock her feet. It was VERY painful!And then a rainbow lorikeet
fly in the sky and sees her. he said, 'oh my goodness!' and fly again.
he didn't rescue her. Then i came and rescued her. I am the goodSamaritan."
Hmmm....yes,
that was my response. I didn't quite know HOW to respond to that and
wondered if it was time to explain the concept of death,cruxifixion.I guess i DO need to broach the topic, albeit somewhat cautiously. I'm waiting for easter and good friday to come and hopefully the toddler class teachers will teach it. hee! hee!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
hubby
I take lots for granted. Way too much. It always takes an absence to remind me of that. So while hubby is gone, yet again, to a distant land, his presence is always present. Thank you for
1. Pumping the petrol so that I can drive with a full tank and not worry about pumping
2. Checking my wallet now and again to ensure I've got sufficient cash, and topping it up when it is empty
3. Doing all the bill payments and funds transfers so I don't have to even think about it
4. Making sure there's enough money in the cash card so I don't panic
5. Emptying all the smelly bins because you know I hate that job
6. packing all our ministry stuff into one bag so I don't fret and try to locate all the bits and pieces everytime
7. Rushing home to us even though you've got so much work on your plate, and waking up at 4am so you can complete that work while we sleep.
For all this and so much more, thank you.
1. Pumping the petrol so that I can drive with a full tank and not worry about pumping
2. Checking my wallet now and again to ensure I've got sufficient cash, and topping it up when it is empty
3. Doing all the bill payments and funds transfers so I don't have to even think about it
4. Making sure there's enough money in the cash card so I don't panic
5. Emptying all the smelly bins because you know I hate that job
6. packing all our ministry stuff into one bag so I don't fret and try to locate all the bits and pieces everytime
7. Rushing home to us even though you've got so much work on your plate, and waking up at 4am so you can complete that work while we sleep.
For all this and so much more, thank you.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
school
We've been dithering about sending the little one to school. I really love having her at home and i enjoy the process of teaching her in various ways. In fact, my home looks like a school with charts galore, every piece of furniture labeled, little drawers and containers to put various toys...I guess when it comes down to it, i really like playing school with her. While neither of us cares two hoots about whether she knows her ABCs or how well she counts, we DO care about her social development and while giving her plenty of opportunities to interact with children in church and at playdates help to some degree, it is never quite the same when such interactions are supervised.
In other words, we need her to learn to survive in the playground jungle: how to take turns at the slide, tell a bully off, get reckoned with if SHE is the bully, how to initiate friendship and back off when not wanted...these lessons are hard to learn when she is the only child. So much as i would love to homeschool, we feel it necessary to send her off to kindy.So off to kindy she'll go in 2 weeks and although for a mere 3 hours, I'll miss her. hopelessly. She's already told me she doesn't need me in school with her, but I am to wait at the door of her classroom. I am also allowed to peek in occasionally, but i cannot disrupt her class.Baby Rachel (her doll) and a chubba-chub will accompany her in her standard-issue school bag so she's got all the comfort she needs.
So now I'm taking all the chance to do the stuff I won't be able to with her once she starts school, like going to the beach on a weekday morning, playing with the water fountain at Vivo, taking the MRT willy-nilly, losing ourselves in the library at Pasir Ris. I've also bought her white school shoes and pretty white socks, blue ribbons for her hair and a whole host of little treats she'll discover in her school bag. I'm also going to find ways to customise her school bag and uniform. the non-conformist in me cannot stand the concept of uniformity!
In other words, we need her to learn to survive in the playground jungle: how to take turns at the slide, tell a bully off, get reckoned with if SHE is the bully, how to initiate friendship and back off when not wanted...these lessons are hard to learn when she is the only child. So much as i would love to homeschool, we feel it necessary to send her off to kindy.So off to kindy she'll go in 2 weeks and although for a mere 3 hours, I'll miss her. hopelessly. She's already told me she doesn't need me in school with her, but I am to wait at the door of her classroom. I am also allowed to peek in occasionally, but i cannot disrupt her class.Baby Rachel (her doll) and a chubba-chub will accompany her in her standard-issue school bag so she's got all the comfort she needs.
So now I'm taking all the chance to do the stuff I won't be able to with her once she starts school, like going to the beach on a weekday morning, playing with the water fountain at Vivo, taking the MRT willy-nilly, losing ourselves in the library at Pasir Ris. I've also bought her white school shoes and pretty white socks, blue ribbons for her hair and a whole host of little treats she'll discover in her school bag. I'm also going to find ways to customise her school bag and uniform. the non-conformist in me cannot stand the concept of uniformity!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Last Night. 2am.
I wish I could envelop you in my embrace
Kiss the fears away
Defeat the bad guys (even if the bad guy were me)
Make you smile again.
But I cannot enter the deep, dark crevices of your mind
The secret spaces
Your dreams are yours, and yours alone
I cannot stop the shivering
Ebb the flow of tears
Hold your threshing body as you shout "mummy you dropped me!"
All this with eyes closed, as you cling on desperately in that other world
But I can wrap you up with all of me
Hum your favourite lulluby
Kiss each little tear
As I gently awaken you,your eyes wild, fingers gripping mine tightly
You smile, confused
Your smile, comforting two rapidly beating hearts
You sign for milk, I watch the shadows in the dark
That I can do.
Kiss the fears away
Defeat the bad guys (even if the bad guy were me)
Make you smile again.
But I cannot enter the deep, dark crevices of your mind
The secret spaces
Your dreams are yours, and yours alone
I cannot stop the shivering
Ebb the flow of tears
Hold your threshing body as you shout "mummy you dropped me!"
All this with eyes closed, as you cling on desperately in that other world
But I can wrap you up with all of me
Hum your favourite lulluby
Kiss each little tear
As I gently awaken you,your eyes wild, fingers gripping mine tightly
You smile, confused
Your smile, comforting two rapidly beating hearts
You sign for milk, I watch the shadows in the dark
That I can do.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Why?
the mind of a 2 year old is one of life's great mysteries. sometimes
each thought reaches its eventual conclusion, but mostly, it just loops
about, sometimes orbiting in the grey spaces, sometimes splintering
into 3 separate threads.
A case in point. Morning. the little
one walks about the room, spies a dropped pine nut from her bread,
picks it up, inserts it into right nostril. Thankfully a) she told me
about it; b)it wasn't too deeplylodged, hence, a pressing on the left nostril with a big quick blow saw the pine nut lunge out and hit the wall.
Most
parents of toddlers know that asking a 2 year old "why did you do
that?" is an exercise in futility, but somehow we never seem to learn
and after yet another mysterious infringement, we (okay, I) will always
ask why. the answer is always the same. "Because." Existentialists can
have a field day with that one.
Another case in point. The same day. Afternoon.I brought the little one for lunch out at T3, Popeye's.
Sat her in a normal chair (not a high-chair anymore, she resents those
now) and we settled down to munch on our deep fried, highcholesterol chicken. A littler one walked past and our chicken muncher nonchalantly
sticks out a leg and almost succeeds in tripping the one year old. No
expression. No look of glee or mischief. No look of horror (That came
from me). It was almost a scientific experiment. What happens when I
stick out my leg when someone walks past? It was only when she saw my
face, that she realised the action was definitely NOT COOL. Before I
could start my lecture probably entitled "Evil", the dear one asked,
"that was naughty?"
Grunt.
"I should apologise".
Grunt.
the
little now contrite one climbs down from her chair, goes about 3 tables
away to the almost-tripped baby and, gasp! apologises to the whole
family for tripping their baby!! I watched this 3 tables away as she
pats the baby's hand, elicits forgiveness, then skips back to me, a
heart lightened by forgiveness.
As I said, the mind of a 2 year old is unfathomable.
each thought reaches its eventual conclusion, but mostly, it just loops
about, sometimes orbiting in the grey spaces, sometimes splintering
into 3 separate threads.
A case in point. Morning. the little
one walks about the room, spies a dropped pine nut from her bread,
picks it up, inserts it into right nostril. Thankfully a) she told me
about it; b)it wasn't too deeplylodged, hence, a pressing on the left nostril with a big quick blow saw the pine nut lunge out and hit the wall.
Most
parents of toddlers know that asking a 2 year old "why did you do
that?" is an exercise in futility, but somehow we never seem to learn
and after yet another mysterious infringement, we (okay, I) will always
ask why. the answer is always the same. "Because." Existentialists can
have a field day with that one.
Another case in point. The same day. Afternoon.I brought the little one for lunch out at T3, Popeye's.
Sat her in a normal chair (not a high-chair anymore, she resents those
now) and we settled down to munch on our deep fried, highcholesterol chicken. A littler one walked past and our chicken muncher nonchalantly
sticks out a leg and almost succeeds in tripping the one year old. No
expression. No look of glee or mischief. No look of horror (That came
from me). It was almost a scientific experiment. What happens when I
stick out my leg when someone walks past? It was only when she saw my
face, that she realised the action was definitely NOT COOL. Before I
could start my lecture probably entitled "Evil", the dear one asked,
"that was naughty?"
Grunt.
"I should apologise".
Grunt.
the
little now contrite one climbs down from her chair, goes about 3 tables
away to the almost-tripped baby and, gasp! apologises to the whole
family for tripping their baby!! I watched this 3 tables away as she
pats the baby's hand, elicits forgiveness, then skips back to me, a
heart lightened by forgiveness.
As I said, the mind of a 2 year old is unfathomable.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
discerning the heart of God
Parenthood gives me a peek into the heart of God in a way that I've never seen before but probably hypothesised over a million times. Every time the little one chooses not to do as she's told, even after a few reminders,I see the stark reality of sin and feel the disappointment and knowledge of what is to come. When punishment is meted out and the little one stands alone in the corner, separated by a gulf so wide, filled with pain, hurt and the anxiety of separation on her part, and overwhelming sorrow on mine, i feel God's heart. The times i deliberately hurt and disobey God, i ignore Him when He calls, i choose apathy rather than passion, God has to put me in the corner so that i can reconcile myself with Him eventually. The reality of the cross also becomes starking as i see the little one run across the threshold, straight into my arms, weeping and apologising, reconciling herself to me.That cross on our floor, where Jesus streched Himself out on, so that we can run on, to reconcile ourselves to our Heavenly Father.
Yesterday was particularly trying, when i had to punish 3 times for non compliance, this coupled with an old gastric problem acting up after many years of remission. But there is always the sweetness after where the little one "massaged" my tummy, laid hands on it and prayed for "jesus to make mummy better", after which she planted many little kisses all over me. Like my daughter, I too need to learn how to be sweet and plant little kisses on God after making God sad.
Yesterday was particularly trying, when i had to punish 3 times for non compliance, this coupled with an old gastric problem acting up after many years of remission. But there is always the sweetness after where the little one "massaged" my tummy, laid hands on it and prayed for "jesus to make mummy better", after which she planted many little kisses all over me. Like my daughter, I too need to learn how to be sweet and plant little kisses on God after making God sad.
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