Archive | August, 2013

Tough Being a Child

6 Aug

Nowadays I find it tough for my girls for being what they are, children. There is so much expected of them, especially when it comes to school and exams. So much pressure and so much at stake. Is this an Asian thing? I don’t recall, back in the dinosaur era, I was in this situation though.

I went by the school last Friday to meet the teachers and discuss M2’s progress in preparation for her upcoming big (UPSR) exam. Whilst there has been improvements in her capabilities, there is still room for improvement! My goodness. My parents never took to such concern over my welfare when I was in school. And look how I turned out; pretty darn fine I should say.

M1 is no less neglected by us or her teachers. She also has her fair share of Meet-the-Teacher/Parents sessions to discuss class progress. However, it is just the timing of the current school term that required us to meet with M2’s teachers for an update.

While I may enforce sitting at the dining table simply to have an optimum ambience for studying, I don’t sit next to them and breathe down their neck. I used to do it though— being a study police—but find it wasn’t the best approach for both parties; stressed us out instead. Anyway, they are still young and have many more years of schooling to do, they must learn to be independent and manage on their own. After all, we can’t be forever holding their hands, they will never learn.

How else can we help? For one, there’s always the moral support, in person and in spirit! Then there is the love and chocolate that I ply them. If anyone has any other ideas, do share with me. Suggestions are most welcomed!

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I Have Nothing to Do

5 Aug

The school holidays are here again and it gives me mixed feelings. When the children were younger, I used to relish these times as it would mean the family would go away for short holidays, especially to the beach or to visit the grandparents or even an exciting overseas trip.

But as they grow older, trips are lesser as school work becomes more of a priority especially when the year has one of them facing a big exam. Last year, it was M1 facing her PMR exam (Junior High School level) and this year it is M2’s turn, facing her UPSR exam (equivalent to Middle School exam).

So when trips are lesser, complains increase.

“I am bored,” M2 would sigh out loud and constantly announce her state of being during the school holidays whenever we stay put. So much so, I banned her from saying the irritating phrase.

Or more horrifying if the iPod was taken away from her and she’d go, “I have nothing to do…  (Moan…) What can I do? (Groan…)” Hello….. what happened to good old activities like riding a bike, playing with the dog, playing badminton in front of the house or playing with the children next door?

Groan….. even my mother would chastise her for making this statement.

But thankfully, this time, with her facing her big exam, she’d have her revisions to keep her busy. So while M2 continues with the diligent revision during the holidays, M1 is just vegetating, watching the whole series of Friends to pass her time and I can be sure that I will not hear that ‘I have nothing to do’ statement from both of them.

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Mummy’s Coming, Quick… Hide!

2 Aug

The girls love a prank every now and then. It was a typical night when I walked into their room, ready for the nightly ritual before bedtime; M1 was just coming out of the bathroom as I looked at the beds and asked, “Where’s your sister?”

“She’s not there?” said M1. “Maybe she went outside.” I opened the door and called out to the TV room. No reply. Hmm.

I came back into the bedroom and scanned the place again. My first automatic reaction would have my hands reaching out to slide the slightly ajar closet door closed but before it could slide close, M2 popped out from the closet. Thank goodness she didn’t scare the daylights out of me! Phew.

Whatever prank involving the closet both were conspiring pales in comparison to what I did when I was a kid.

I was a mischievous little one. My brother and I were sharing a room then and there were many a night when we would create a ruckus in the room. From pillow fights to heated arguments, this one—done over several nights—tops it all.

Thud… Thud… Muffled giggles… Thud… Thud…

My mother would come and check on us but somehow, we always managed to fool her, pretending to be asleep by the time the room door creaked open. After a quick scan, she’d leave and we would continue. It was so fun!

We were both taking turns repeatedly, climbing onto the top of my closet and jumping off it to land onto my bed, padded with extra pillows to camouflage the thudding sound.

“Geronimo!!!” I would whisper fiercely and leap off horizontally, to land flat on my face (not feet first, mind you!) and then break out in fits of giggles. My brother was equally having a ball. We continued this three feet high Acapulco stunt for several nights until one night, it had to happen.

The landing was not too smooth and there was an unusually loud crack! Oh no. We scrambled for our lives but I think we were not caught.

Weeks passed and we stopped doing this. One day, I was in the room and wanted to open the drawers beneath my bed to take out some things. The drawer just wouldn’t budge. It turned out, a cross bar plank of the bed had snapped right in the middle and had angled into the drawer, preventing it (the drawer) from opening!

I had to feign a very innocent face when my mother wondered how on Earth this could have happened! Heheh…

Subliminally, what I did then could be the reason why the girls have a closet that is built from floor to ceiling and their beds, Tatami-style, so there is no room whatsoever for them to attempt any Acapulco act on me!

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Quote

A milestone!…

1 Aug

A milestone!

Two thousand views so far! Thank you… thank you… keep on viewing.

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Of Birds and Boobs

1 Aug

The girls always enjoyed the theory of how M2 came about. Whenever nostalgia hits, I would tell them that I always thought M2 was going to be a boy, simply because I was having pregnancy symptoms that differed from when I was carrying M1. It was typical to plan for a boy and a girl to complete the ideal Asian family unit.

But throughout the whole 9 months, I was coughing non-stop, it was so taxing on my body. I would shake and vibrate from top to toe when the coughing fits occur. When the day finally came for M2 to arrive, I’d like to believe the force and frequency of the coughing resulted in the little pecker dropping off and we have M2 as what she is instead.

Questions must be going through your minds whether we had scanned and determined the sex of the baby. Probably not…

It’s a bundle of joy nonetheless as I figured teaching two girls subsequently about the facts of life will be so much easier; after all, same sex, one lesson! Piece of cake.

Memory does not serve me well what I taught M1 when she hit puberty; I think I groveled through. As you know, M2 is 12 this year and just hitting puberty. With physical changes coming along, the birds and the bees lesson has to be revisited.

One night, M2 asked, “Mummy, if you have big boobies, they are called boobs, right?”

I nodded and mumbled, “Yep…”

“So I have small ones, do you call them the same?” my innocent child wanted to know.

M1, at the side, said, “No. Like ducks, small duckies are called ducklings, so your small boobies are booblings!”

!!!!!!…. Did I say that????

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