My Boy,

THEN …

NOW …

I must confess that my 4 year old is lacking in fairytale nourishment and is not at all fairytale savvy. He doesn’t know his Cinderella nor his Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. I guess I am partly responsible as to start off with, I don’t subscribe to handsome princes, beautiful princesses and happily-ever-after. We all know the truth behind happily-ever-after and the last thing I want, is for him to grow up worrying about not being handsome enough and thinking that a beautiful face is all it takes.

My feeble attempt to interest him was of course in vain when coupled with the fact that he seemed to have a mind of his own when it comes to bedtime stories since he was young. There was a time when bedtime stories were solely Mickey Mouse and Friends from the Disney collection and NOTHING else. We eventually ended up with a full collection, all used , thanks to ebay and garage sales in the States.

Apart from airplanes and rockets, he loves Christopher Robin and his bear of very little brain who always seem to have his way of solving problems. He adores Stuart Little, the cross between a mouse and human which sometimes confuses me. He was smitten by Fern more than the spider in Charlotte’s Web whom I think reminds him more of Mummy dearest with her caring way for Wilbur, the farm pig who has problem coming to term with the cruel reality of farm lives.

He wasn’t so interested in Olivia though, the piglet who wears a tutu, which I thought the illustration by Ian was pretty refreshing. We ended up having a good laugh comparing who-comes-first, his heroes, Wilbur and Orville Wright or the 2 pigs.

Last week from the library, we came back with some easy readers, and I made, yet another attempt, ALL were fairytales. The stories were short and like what they were intended for, easy-to-read. So here’s what happened and some of the lessons learned.

- He hid his face under the blanket when the evil witch tried to cook Hansel and Gretel over a pot of boiling water.

- He dislikes stories with villains and has yet learn how to appreciate scary stories.

- He learned that the Cat who wore Boots managed to get his way by telling lies, not once but many times.

- Wolves are intelligent and cunning and they usually do bad things.

- And if you do run into one and get into serious trouble, your dad can probably save you by cutting up the wolf like what Little Riding Hood’s dad did.

I concluded that we haven’t been missing out much all these while.

and as I jogged passed this each day, I could almost hear it screaming for my camera!

So today, after sending Mal to school,

I lugged my camera,

took a walk to the exact stretch of pathway

and did what I wanted to …

Malcolm loves to eat fish and has an impeccable ability to separate the bones from the fish. During lunch time yesterday, he decided to share with me how he did it.

Malcolm : ‘Mummy, do you know how I eat fish ?’

Mummy : ‘How ?’

Malcolm : ‘I put the fish in my mouth,

roll it with my tongue and bite it with my teeth.

If the fish is lying horizontal,

I use the front teeth to bite

If the fish is lying vertical,

I use my side and back teeth to bite.

Certain teeth are good at certain things.

If I feel a bone, I will separate it with my tongue

and spit out the bone.’

I figured out that my 4 year old is more patient and careful when it comes to eating fish.

In every little child I live

a natural habitat made for me

where I am fed with wonderful things

that are good for my soul and being.

Sight, Sound, Smell and Touch

are some of my favourite food

WHATs, WHYs, WHENs and HOWs

will make very special treats.

I love FUN PLAY

as they are staple for my growth

Lavish and fanciful are not the keys

Sadly these are what some believe.

Just like any other living things

I get sick when fed the wrong things

Worksheets, tests and exams

are STRESSES that kills my passion for things.

Some people believe

I am the creator of Natural Science and Mathematics

for I fuel the passionate desire to understand

to seek the truth in all things.

Every once in a few centuries

a miracle bestowed

often a genius who possesses me

the force behind thirst for knowledge and quest for truth.

Unfortunately, my life in modern education is short lived

for my growth is inadvertently stifled

my sacred existence is undermined

and I may only be heard, when the subconscious of a child speaks.

Note : ‘There is such a thing as a passionate desire to understand, just as there is a passionate love for music. This passion is common with children, but is usually vanishes as they grow up. Without it, there would be no natural science and mathematics’ ~ Albert Einstein

A little background, I am born in the Year of Ox and the month of Bull and I always think of that as the reason for my affinity for cows, YES you heard it right. C-O-W-S! Brown, black, white, furry, hairy, polka dots, I LOVE them ALL ! although Malcolm seemed to have a rather low tolerance for their overpowering methane stench. He could smell them from afar and would scream for us to wind up the car window whenever we were nearing them. It wasn’t long before he was taught the ingenious equation between Cow Dump and Beautiful Place when we made him walked alongside herds of grazing cattle while hiking in Switzerland.

And my recent close encounter with one of them, proves that maybe, this feeling might just be more than one sided.

The persistent virus has been causing my duo runny nose and phlegmy cough for the past week. A dose of antihistamine before bedtime not only numbed the sinus but the anus as well! Malcolm soiled his diaper in the middle of the night without even realizing it. And of course he was delighted when given a day off from school.

We ended up with this from our over flowing junk box. His version of ‘Storm Chaser’ which he decided to give to someone he missed at the library.

We drove an hour or so out of Paris and found a nature wonderland.

A place with hiking trails marked with bright blue paint,

forest floor cushioned with fallen dried twigs

and baby pine cones

Natural mossy green carpet that look like this

An uprooted tree, which made a good train ride

and HUGE boulders with cavities

We tried climbing the really BIG ones

but I think the little ones suit me more

we saw Mr spider enjoying sumptuous lunch

and not-so-smart beetles which often ended up ‘belly up’

We even spotted Mummy’s favourite fruits

and mine too, sprouting here and there.

And before I left, these are some of the goodies I packed with me.

Airport

This event, The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc took place during our recent trip to Chamonix
Thousands of ultra fit athletes from 3 different countries, Switzerland, France and Italy flocked to the town of Chamonix in the Mont Blanc Valley for these races.

Tour du Mont - Blanc - 166km - 9400m vertical ascent - 46 hours max - 2200 competitors
Courmayeur - Champex - Chamonix - 98km - 5600m vertical ascent - 25 hours max - 1500 competitors
La Petite Trotte à Léon - 220km - 17000m vertical ascent - 100 hours max - 150 competitors

The vertical climb they conquer sound almost inhuman, the distance they covered makes a full 42 km marathon pales in comparison.

The athletes took days to run and the amount of endurance these athletes have to complete the race is beyond my imagination.

It makes me sad to compare the state of sports and athleticism in Singapore. Do we have such passionate people? Athletes willing to devote time and commitment to a tough discipline, a sport of immense difficulty.

When we were in Chamonix and Switzerland, the amount of sporting activities were astounding. And NO, they were NOT professionals. Most of them were just hobbyists or amateurs with a passion for something, be it rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering (2000 ppl attempt Mont Blanc every year), mountain biking, paragliding, or just plain running. With little or no real sporting interest whatsoever outside of schools, It is no wonder that we have to "import" foreign talent in order to win a Olympic medal because our psyche can produce none. Even little Switzerland has home grown Olympic medalists. Such is the pathetic state of sports in Singapore…

What do you all think of our "athletes"?

Today is the 7th day of school for Malcolm and things have more or less settled down.

Other than having insomia for the 1st night and waking up an hour earlier on the 2nd day so that he could play with his Lego before leaving for school, the transition has been quite smooth.

On the 3rd day, he came home from school telling me that there were 23 students in his class.
On the 4th day, he let a Japanese girl in his class hold his hand.
On the 5th day he recounted 22 students in his class because the Japanese girl was absent.
On the 6th day he turned down a group of boys to play fighting and chose to play alone instead.

Today, he made 2 new friends and together with the Japanese girl and another boy, they played holding hands and running in circles. It was fun and easy cos he need not speak french playing the game. He also counted 53 Big and Small alphabets from A-Z in his class.

I think instead of listening to the teacher blabbers in French, he is most of the time lost in his own world of counting game.

SO I wasn’t concentrating
I was tired
I was distracted
I was complacent
I lost my queen and bishop to careless move
AND my boy CHECKMATE me today!
I succumbed to his castle, horse and queen after defending my king for the longest time.
It was a shameful and prideful moment
What can I say, I think I just have to be more cautious before making my next move
and stop being such a bimbo when it comes to playing chess!

While browsing around with my new found ‘free time’, I stumbled upon Pink Lemonade Bags and fell head over heels with Caroline’s vibrant coloured and lovely range of self designed and home made boutique diaper bags! How I wish I own one of these when Malcolm was little! Nevertheless this doesn’t stop me from lusting over her gorgeous bags and I am going to try my luck to win one of them!
Hop over to her site if you are thinking of how to win. Contest ends this Friday.

Here are some of my personal favourite from her Etsy store

I am 3 years old today

a little younger than my little master Sim

whom was really the reason behind me

and the source of inspiration ever since.

I was born as a journal

recording my little master’s joy and laughter

milestones and growth

with photos, videos and what have you

I was more than a substitute

the perfect replacement

for written journal in diary book

really meant for days where dinosaurs rule.

There were times when other priorities reign

but I was glad I wasn’t abandoned

for reasons apparent

which you will hear them very soon.

There was a time when I was a good break

from nappy changing and mundane chores

There was a time when I called for disciplinary act to

polish up horrendous grammar left stagnant since elementary school.

During times when distance separates

I helped bridge the gaps

During times when memory fails

I helped fill the holes.

I open the eyes to possibilities

and spread the wings for self exploration

I train the mind for self reflection

and pave the way to self discovery.

And on this very special day

if I have only one wish

I wish to grow side by side with little master Sim

till the day he discover, the goodness that lies in me.