So far so good. How about you?
At home, we have agreed to maintain a free fleeting kind of relationship. We dislike friction. We despise arguments (the bad kind). We are never at ease when we know that there is a can of worms open that needs to be cleaned up. This goes for the three of us. Myself, Judy and Jakjak.
There will always be a bit of fighting and irking here and there, we are dealing with a toddler after all. But these things are a given, and due space should be reserved for disciplining and righting wrongs. In fact, we often end up arguing with raised voices over a couple of pre-defined reasons: meals with Jakjak, baths with Jakjak, studying with Jakjak and cleaning up the mess with Jakjak. Other than that, we feel that we're on top of things. Sort of.
To keep a balance between the stresses of everyday life and the serene calm of relaxation with a taste of mint on the side, we like to keep ourselves occupied with different things. There are days that we dine out. There are days that we pig out. There are days that we shop and empty our pockets (yes, it happens). There are even days that we simply decide to let the day go by, being as lazy as a hamster at home. One thing that we never forget to do, is laugh and have fun. One minute or one hour or more. Laughter cures our blues.
Jakjak, for the most part, is a very sociable person. He can walk up to just about anybody and start a conversation with them. And these are not just mundane conversations (to him, at least).
Today he was wading in a pond, walked up to two girls, and started talking about tsunamis. Other times he would just say "Hi" to total strangers out of the blue. And if they happen to say "Hi" back, then he starts talking to them. Of course, we don't encourage him to do this kind of thing often. And we do ask him not to do this when Mum and Dad are not around either. So far it's been a pretty good experience for him. More positive reactions than negative ones.
At the rate he is going, he might make public office at an early age. Which may or may not be good for his future, but then again, it's too early to tell. After all, leaders are not made, they are born.
After quite a long time, we finally had time to revisit Jurong Bird Park. Reason being, Jakjak's grandparents are here again. Living on the other end of the island, it was not really practical to be going to the park often. That, and the tourist biased prices had been keeping us away from going.
The first time we were here was with Jakjak's cousin Andrae and his parents. While we did enjoy our time at the park, it was more because we were like aliens that were seeing things for the first time. We were in awe when we visited back then.
This time it was different. We already knew what to expect, plus, Jakjak's lolo is not really at his best walking (he had a stroke several years back). So we had to take things slow, which was actually how the park should be taken. If you do your best to reach the next live show, you miss out on actually observing how these birds live. You miss out on their songs, you miss out on their colors, you miss out on their poop. And honestly, it was less stressful this way. Of course, we only say this because we don't really mind not seeing everything the park has to offer in one go. It may be different if you are an actual tourist (case in point, our first visit).
Jakjak also really enjoyed himself this time around. Because we were not running around from one stage show to the next, we were able to look at things in a different light. We looked at eggs, and fossils, we listened to bird calls, we looked at pigeons up close and we smelled bird poop. And that was just half a day's worth of tripping. While I'm sure we could have done more if we had the whole day to spend, I reckon we would have been too tired to enjoy the other half of the trip. All in all, it was good. It was a good trip for everybody.
We took Jakjak to watch Disney on Ice over the weekend. We were lucky enough to get early bird tickets to the show which gave us a considerable discount and pretty good seats as well. It had been a decade and a half since I last watched an ice skating performance, and it wasn't even a Disney production back then.
As expected, having the Disney name at title means that this will be a kiddie event (evident by kids outnumbering the adults). Surprisingly, even as my 5 year old watched in awe, his dad was happily snapping away and enjoying the show with mum as well. It is a well designed family affair. It is typical Disney, music, dancing, and a production worthy of a Tony. Everything about the production was a fantastic display of lights, art and music.
What was most memorable for me and Judy, was Jakjak's overall reaction and reception of the show as a whole. It ran for two hours with a short break in between. And while there were parts that bored Jakjak, it's safe to say that he loved it. I mean, seeing Cars (you know, Lightning McQueen, Mater and Sally) characters come alive make it all worth it, and that's just the first 15 minutes. From Jakjak's point of view, Tinkerbell and the Lion King really made an impact as well. So much so that we have been singing Hakuna Matata for three days now.
Jakjak had always been one who can adapt to his surroundings at a whim (most of the time anyway). When relatives come to visit, he is either on them like a hawk, or with us (mum and dad) like sticky tape.
But even when he decides to spend most of his time playing with who he is comfortable with at the time, at the end of the day, he still comes to cuddle beside us.
Right now he is always talking about his uncle who is playing with him most of the time. He also talks about his teacher and classmates, and even makes cards for them like he used to do for us. We don't let it hinder our relationships. We are confident that he can manage himself, and he knows that we're always there when he needs us. That trust is a bond that we built up through the years, and we're confident that that trust will keep things together for a long time to come.
One of the things that Jakjak loves to take, are our boxes. Boxes from his toys, boxes from my toys, boxes from furniture and just about any kind of box. Among other things, he also collects plastic bottles, bottle caps, aluminum cans, leaves, sticks and rocks. He says that all of these are for his art.
And while most of the time he just forgets about all of his art materials (like the stick I accidentally threw away), he surprises us sometimes in the simple, yet amazing ways that he makes use of the things around him. Where else would you use a leaf for a sail?
One night, we bought him a new set of markers because his old set had run dry. He immediately set to work. He asked permission if he could have one of my moving boxes and I gave it to him. So he slid inside the box and started scribbling all the while talking to himself like how mad scientists talk to themselves at the verge of discovering something that will put the world at their feet (insert megalomanic laughter here). So, "this is this and that is that" and a few minutes later he was driving his car that was engineered from a cardboard box, some string, sticky tape and a few markers.
It's amazing what kids can do. And it comes back to me in bits and pieces the way that I used to do it when I was Jakjak's age. All these new toys that transform from a car to a robot, cars that can launch and do a loop the loop, helicopters operated by remote, all of these ... did not exist way back when (or if they did, they were attainable only to the few). I remember having a whole army of Autobots that I crafted out of cardboard back then. And I had my box as well, except mine was engineered to be a jet fighter.
When a child uses his imagination, it is the time that we must embrace it and nurture it. (Though admittedly I sometimes forget myself) We must let them explore the world as they would see it. They would grow up and learn the reality of the world in time, so why should we forfeit them the chance to enjoy the world as they want to see and not how we see it as adults. In fact, I am at my happiest when I think like a kid and play with Jakjak.
Alright! My Omnitrix has finished re-charging! Later!
