Autumns here!!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Cracked it!
End of the school term. Phew, we are finally done. I would not normally feel this level of elation or relief after a school term. The truth is when we moved back to Singapore 3 months ago, the kids changed school systems. And we were well aware that they lagged behind as per the Singapore system. And with a grade above their usual, it was huge task ahead. Will they fit in? Will they like it? Will they cope? Was the move fair to them? Questions that gnawed at us all the time.
The Dad and I have been helping them and assuring them that scores were afterall numbers and it was ultimately their attitude and hard work that would matter to us. The kids were relentless and helped us and their fabulous teachers help them. From a no homework zone, they quickly adjusted to schools that regularly tested skills. From a super relaxed, take life at your own pace system, they've adapted to a system that expects.
I'm simply thankful that the kids have had the opportunity to experience two hugely different ways of education. They have gained much from both. And as they are growing older, I guess 'expectations' will matter, especially if they have to explore their best.
After attending both parent teacher sessions, I'm a thrilled mom. Yes, they've done great academically but what really did it for me was when their teachers told me how much they loved chatting with them, how nicely they get along with teams and friends and what positive spirits they have!I'm trying to memorise it all and keep it at the top of my mind. Should come handy when I remind myself that for every quarrel at home between the siblings they have surmounted a bigger task outside of home.
Now for some summer fun when hopefully all that positivity will continue.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Karmic Conversations
Shriya has been very bothered by the recent kidnapping in Nigeria. 300 odd girls all gone it a flash. She has been religiously following up on the proceedings and will ask everyday if the girls have been returned to their families.
Its beyond her how anyone would want to do something like this.And then she saw a picture in the newspaper of the person who was behind it all surrounded by the poor girls.
'Amma, if they could take a picture of him, why couldn't they catch him'?
I explained to her that the picture would have been clicked by one of the kidnapper's friends and then sent directly to the media.
' But Amma, does he not know that if he does something as bad as this then he will earn bad Karma'?
To Shriya, everything boils down to Karma. If she wastes some food then her first thought is, ' Did I just pile up the bad Karma'? And then, ' Amma, if I waste the food but you are the one who actually dumps it in the bin, then who gets the bad Karma'?
In many ways these Karmic conversations help me, especially as I sort out the petty fights between the siblings. The brother and sister even out their respective Karmas by 'being the better person' and raise their tallies thus.But they have also put me in sticky situations. The other day we were discussing how we were going to volunteer in Singapore. I told them about some of the charities I've been in touch with and how several of them needed help. Shriya quips' I guess all those people who need help now must have collected lots of bad Karma in their previous generation' (which is what she says for previous birth or janma)!!
I'm sure the kidnapper is not as wise as you are, darling.In the meanwhile, we can only pray for those innocents to return back safely to their parents.
Weekend Wanderings
Its been over 2 years since we left Singapore. Sometimes it feels like a lot has changed and other times, we have to remind ourselves that we have actually been away. With the exams over we are back to devoting our Sundays to rediscovering Singapore.
2 Sundays back it was a visit to the Peranakan museum where we took the non-boring kiddy tour.Fascinating medley of cultures, the Peranakans have such a rich heritage that its difficult to take it all in at one go. Lots to experience, learn and have fun with. All of us had a blast and I was particularly touched that my very outdoorsy family was game to try a museum - of course it being Mother's Day, I had it my way!
Last Sunday started off with a loud thunder storm. But nah, that didn't alter our plans. After braving -30 degrees and enjoying walks through blizzards, a little rain wasn't going to bother us. We headed down to Labrador Nature Park armed with umbrellas and an optimistic picnic basket (in case the weather changed). Lush green forests with a bit of History thrown in (it used to serve as the point where the British stored their ammunition and watched out for enemy ships), Labrador Park was more than what we expected.
Thanks to the incessant rain, we could do but one trail that led us all the way to the beachfront playground complete with a maze. Splashing, scratching (tons of mozzies), smiling we spent a very pleasurable Sunday morning.
Rain or not, more explorations coming your way!
2 Sundays back it was a visit to the Peranakan museum where we took the non-boring kiddy tour.Fascinating medley of cultures, the Peranakans have such a rich heritage that its difficult to take it all in at one go. Lots to experience, learn and have fun with. All of us had a blast and I was particularly touched that my very outdoorsy family was game to try a museum - of course it being Mother's Day, I had it my way!
Last Sunday started off with a loud thunder storm. But nah, that didn't alter our plans. After braving -30 degrees and enjoying walks through blizzards, a little rain wasn't going to bother us. We headed down to Labrador Nature Park armed with umbrellas and an optimistic picnic basket (in case the weather changed). Lush green forests with a bit of History thrown in (it used to serve as the point where the British stored their ammunition and watched out for enemy ships), Labrador Park was more than what we expected.
Rain or not, more explorations coming your way!
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Cricket Crazy
They say that you can take a boy out of India but not India out of the boy!
Vaibhav was not born in India. He has never been to school there. But his passion for cricket can compare with any true blue Indian kid who was born and raised there. And passion here is an understatement. Vaibhav lives, thinks and breathes cricket. All day, everyday.
The best part is that he is good at it. I am always hearing moms, dads, friends come to me and tell me how great his stance is or how wonderful his shots are. Not that I know what a good stance looks like!
And its amazing how a kid's passion can change the parents' basic priorities. Even before we found a home for ourselves in Singapore, we enrolled him at the Singapore Cricket Association and ensured that he was part of the school team too.
We have always known that Vaibhav was athletically inclined and can play most sport decently. So far he's given a good shot at tennis (plays it regularly and has had intensive coaching for the past 3 years now), soccer, squash, badminton and basketball have all been a part of school and weekend fun. He swims like a fish and might I add, occasionally beats his dad (who was a table tennis champ in his younger days)at a game of table tennis. But cricket, of course has changed all that. He has stopped walking. Only runs from one end to another perfecting his fast bowling action. He spouts cricket statistics and prefers to watch old test matches to anything else on television.He reads books on the game and 'The diary of a cricket god' is now his all time favourite!
As a personal brand strategist, speaker and coach, I'm always telling people to follow their passion. Taking a passion to the highest possible level is the greatest possible differentiation there is.
It is so gratifying to see my little boy live what I'm preaching (and that too without the preaching!). He eagerly waits for his coaching every week. He has played a couple of matches against other teams. He is getting all the training and the right opportunities in Singapore. His big dream is to play for either India or Singapore.
Dream on, my boy. We are thoroughly enjoying dreaming along with you!
Vaibhav was not born in India. He has never been to school there. But his passion for cricket can compare with any true blue Indian kid who was born and raised there. And passion here is an understatement. Vaibhav lives, thinks and breathes cricket. All day, everyday.
The best part is that he is good at it. I am always hearing moms, dads, friends come to me and tell me how great his stance is or how wonderful his shots are. Not that I know what a good stance looks like!
And its amazing how a kid's passion can change the parents' basic priorities. Even before we found a home for ourselves in Singapore, we enrolled him at the Singapore Cricket Association and ensured that he was part of the school team too.
We have always known that Vaibhav was athletically inclined and can play most sport decently. So far he's given a good shot at tennis (plays it regularly and has had intensive coaching for the past 3 years now), soccer, squash, badminton and basketball have all been a part of school and weekend fun. He swims like a fish and might I add, occasionally beats his dad (who was a table tennis champ in his younger days)at a game of table tennis. But cricket, of course has changed all that. He has stopped walking. Only runs from one end to another perfecting his fast bowling action. He spouts cricket statistics and prefers to watch old test matches to anything else on television.He reads books on the game and 'The diary of a cricket god' is now his all time favourite!
As a personal brand strategist, speaker and coach, I'm always telling people to follow their passion. Taking a passion to the highest possible level is the greatest possible differentiation there is.
It is so gratifying to see my little boy live what I'm preaching (and that too without the preaching!). He eagerly waits for his coaching every week. He has played a couple of matches against other teams. He is getting all the training and the right opportunities in Singapore. His big dream is to play for either India or Singapore.
Dream on, my boy. We are thoroughly enjoying dreaming along with you!
Let it go lah
Its been one of our best years!All that 'mindful living and relishing the present moment' are my only excuses for not keeping up with jotting down milestones and moments in the
in the kids' lives.
- We've moved back to Singapore from Helsinki
Its been 3 months and what a 3 months it has been! The kids last went to the International School of Helsinki on a Friday when they were fondly bid farewell by the entire school with their experiences summarized into little video snippets projected onto the assembly screen. The following Monday they had started school in the local Singapore system. Touch and go!
New home,new neighbourhood, new class and a higher one at that, new school (atleast for the younger one) new and of course old friends, new school system complete with exams (which was a word they had never heard before). Phew!Add to that work trips back to Europe for the Dad and I when my mom flew in and expertly managed the fort. Its been a very full 3 months, to say the least.
The Dad and I continue to miss Helsinki and a part of me is still there, sometimes physically too! We would frequently check with the kids if they were happy here and if they liked Helsinki more than Singapore. And each time we would get a muffled reply which only convinced me that they were terribly missing their old friends, routine and schools.Then one day, Vaibhav startled me with 'Of course I like Singapore better ,ma. We are here now,right? And this is where I belong now. If tomorrow we move to another country then I will like that country better than Singapore'.
Wise words and a good knock on the head, both much needed for this pining mom. Change is never easy. Holding on to Finland while resisting Singapore was not going to help. Of course Finland was magical for us in every way and we will always carry a bit of Finnishness in us. But I guess all that can only help us recreate a different kind of magic here. Thank you Vaibhav and Shriya- by adapting to and embracing your new lives so wholeheartedly not to forget singing the Frozen song by the hour, everyday, you sure have taught me to 'Let it go lah'.
in the kids' lives.
- We've moved back to Singapore from Helsinki
Its been 3 months and what a 3 months it has been! The kids last went to the International School of Helsinki on a Friday when they were fondly bid farewell by the entire school with their experiences summarized into little video snippets projected onto the assembly screen. The following Monday they had started school in the local Singapore system. Touch and go!
New home,new neighbourhood, new class and a higher one at that, new school (atleast for the younger one) new and of course old friends, new school system complete with exams (which was a word they had never heard before). Phew!Add to that work trips back to Europe for the Dad and I when my mom flew in and expertly managed the fort. Its been a very full 3 months, to say the least.
The Dad and I continue to miss Helsinki and a part of me is still there, sometimes physically too! We would frequently check with the kids if they were happy here and if they liked Helsinki more than Singapore. And each time we would get a muffled reply which only convinced me that they were terribly missing their old friends, routine and schools.Then one day, Vaibhav startled me with 'Of course I like Singapore better ,ma. We are here now,right? And this is where I belong now. If tomorrow we move to another country then I will like that country better than Singapore'.
Wise words and a good knock on the head, both much needed for this pining mom. Change is never easy. Holding on to Finland while resisting Singapore was not going to help. Of course Finland was magical for us in every way and we will always carry a bit of Finnishness in us. But I guess all that can only help us recreate a different kind of magic here. Thank you Vaibhav and Shriya- by adapting to and embracing your new lives so wholeheartedly not to forget singing the Frozen song by the hour, everyday, you sure have taught me to 'Let it go lah'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)