Parenting on Purpose

*A version of this post was intended to be published in April, about a month before I graduated from my postgraduate programme in counselling. But in a twinkling of an eye, 2 months have passed since then. I am re-writing this post as I want to capture the emotions from that period of my life.* The moment I had been waiting for! It has now been just over a month since I gradated from my postgraduate programme. I recall the period before graduation. It was a tough period, and I was finally graduating  after almost 3/1/2 years of juggling between work and studies and family. In most marathon races, the last part is always the most difficult. And while I may not be an athlete, I can identify with the aches and pains associated with that last leg of the journey.  The finishing line is in sight. You have the date of the graduation ceremony at the back of your mind. The tape at the end of the race is fluttering in the breeze.  You have collected your graduation gown a...

Our sons Z and E turned 7 and 5 during the last two weeks. It has been a wonderful time for all of us as we celebrated for a whole week and more, with numerous birthday parties and other festivities. And the boys chose what to do on their special days, with the 5-year-old electing to go MacDonald's for dinner as he only wanted to eat chicken nuggets and French fries. As for the 7-year-old, all he wanted to do was to stay at home to play card games and to enjoy his favourite dish of spaghetti bolognese.  Our little sweethearts on their special day. It brings us such joy to see how much they love each other. Yes they fight often; but they are also inseparable! Outside of the home, it has been a crazy time for me. When someone asks how I have been, I show them my July schedule, which indicates that I have not had a single day of not doing anything; each day in my calendar has been filled either with adjunct teaching or a training workshop or a school consultation or a postgra...

It's been a pretty crazy year, as far as I'm concerned. Since Mark and I set up the training consultancy and the online store over two years ago, what used to be a pretty constant daily schedule with the kids has been thrown to the wind. And to be honest, so has much of our formal homeschooling schedule. (Which also explains why things have been pretty quiet on the blogging front with me - Mark has been doing most of the writing.) I must admit it has not been easy for me to deal with the guilt and tiredness that can come with trying to juggle all our different commitments in work, family and ministry, but looking back on the year I believe we have all grown from this time of unpredictability and change. There's always a bigger picture we can choose to find perspective in, isn't there? We are not only making do, but learning to continue extending roots in whatever season we might be in. I have learnt how much I could actually be stretched while rely...

These past couple of weeks have been crazy for us. First there were the assignments that I had to complete for my postgraduate course, then there were the workshops that we were suddenly asked to conduct, and finally there were the bazaars that we attended to sell our online store items. It was an extremely busy season, and many of our working hours were occupied with meaningful things; that included taking care of our two little boys and managing both their learning and non-academic needs. One morning,  my older son came to me after I had just returned home from an  early class.  "Daddy," he said. "I'm so glad you're home. Can we go to the Gardens by the Bay?" he asked hopefully.  With a sadness in my heart, I replied, "Sorry Z. Daddy has to go back to work later. Maybe after I come back? Oh. Actually Daddy and Mummy have an important meeting tomorrow and we need to prepare. I don't think we can go today. Er.... How about another day?" ...