Parenting on Purpose

On Wednesday night, we found our pet praying mantis lying still, in its cage. It had died, and my younger son and I particularly grieved the loss of our new pet. Then I dropped a bottle of medicine and cut myself while picking up the shards of glass. The visual reminder triggered by the crimson fluid brought to mind that Good Friday was approaching. His blood shed for us by His death on the Cross. Thursday morning, we met with the relevant case managers and were told that the time had come for our baby girl to return to her birth family. This is the baby we have known since she was 2-months-old. She turns 1-year-old next month. We have fought hard for her in the times we felt that others were not doing so; we have played, fed, comforted, giggled with, sang to, bathed, and done all the things parents would do for a young child. We have seen her through the many adjustments and sleepless nights she has had to make in being shuttled from one caregiver to another. During her ...

After 3 hours of driving, we arrived at our final destination for the trip, the capital city of Washington D.C. We were all ready to explore one of the major highlights of the city - the Smithsonian Institution, which in DC alone comprises 17 museums, galleries and a zoo. Entrance to the Institution is free, and we learnt this was because of a generous donation almost 200 years ago by British scientist, James Smithson, who donated his entire estate to create an establishment for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge among men". An amazing collection of natural treasures await us at the Smithsonian. Pictured here is a dinosaur exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History. National Museum of Natural History We left early the next morning. We were so thrilled to be in DC, especially after enjoying a sunset view of the Washington Monument at the horizon the previous day. However, we didn’t realise just how overwhelming the city can be, after almost four weeks in th...

In February, my wife and I went overseas for a short couple retreat. We had a fruitful time as a couple, and we really got to relax and unwind. One of the benefits of being away was that we also got to catch up on reading, something that we don’t always do back home given the busyness of life. I brought along the book  How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk  by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. It was an interesting book as it is based on the authors’ experience as parenting experts. It also uses comics to highlight some of the key concepts, making it an engaging and easy read. What makes a strong family? Our belief is that discipline constitutes an important pillar of parenting. Through discipline kids learn about values and what are appropriate boundaries in life. One of the chapters in the book, titled “Alternatives to Punishment,” was especially relevant for us. We have been facing a challenging situation at home with one of our children, and...

Shenandoah National Park spans almost 200,000 acres (or 800 square kilometres) of land, and it occupies much of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In our short visit of three days, we had fallen in love with this beautiful natural paradise, which is home to many beautiful animals and plants. Besides the Appalachian Trail (which was detailed in the previous post ), we also got to enjoy a number of other experiences in the National Park. Big Meadows We first encountered Shenandoah as we enjoyed a picnic at the Big Meadows Campground, which is located just opposite Big Meadows. Apparently Big Meadows is home to the largest number of species of flora and fauna; some of which are not found anywhere else in the park!  We spend many moments wandering in the luscious wilderness wonderland, with both boys looking for creatures big and small. The Big Meadows Campground was the location for another spectacular encounter. Gentle and docile, wild deer roam freely in the park, and we were blesse...

2019 marks the 5th year of my company, The Social Factor . I am enjoying what I do on a day-to-day basis, and am very thankful that I made my big career transition 5 years ago. The Lim Family 2019. I truly enjoy the time I have with the family. Flexibility in my work hours allows me to enjoy many precious hours with the kids, something I would not have been able to do in my previous position.  Back in 2014, I was employed in a comfortable full-time position, with regular working hours and a fixed income that was sufficient to pay the bills, send our kids for one or two enrichment classes, and allow us to go on regular trips each year. However, I was restless. I had been doing the same thing day after day, year after year. I wasn’t confident that my salary was going to grow significantly even if I continued to work at the same company for the next few years. I felt that I had been working for bosses for more than 10 years of my working life and that I needed a change. This p...

The sun came out in all its glory. We seized the opportunity, and set up a picnic lunch in Shenandoah National Park, a gorgeous natural scenic site overlooking the Shenandoah River and Valley from which it is named. It was surreal to simply enjoy the beauty of the Big Meadows site, a vast area that apparently contains the highest concentration of rare plants in the Park, as well as an abundance of animals not found anywhere else here. After lunch, we attended one of the ranger programmes, which was a guided walk along the Appalachian Trail, the longest hiking-only trail in the world. This is a massive trail which spans some 2,200 miles (about 3,500 kilometres), and cuts across 14 states in the Eastern United States. It runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Ranger Ginny, our guide for the hike. Her fascinating stories provided tremendous insights into why the trail was established and what it would take to embark on such a journey. It was conceiv...

What would you do? You live a fairly comfortable life. You work very hard, and you get to live in a fairly comfortable house. But it does not belong to you. And it never will. That’s the law. It’s been that way, and that’s the way it’ll always be. Then you hear about an opportunity to go away to a distant land. You know it’ll likely be very hard; and you may not live as comfortably as you’re living now. But you know that the land will be yours. For you and your descendants. Forever. When the Irish left for America in the 1700s, that was the dilemma that they faced. And a number of them chose to leave their fairly comfortable life in Ireland in hope of a better life in the newly discovered land of America. Life was hard, and the immigrants had to build their houses from scratch, but if they succeeded, they would be able to live in a place that they could call their own. That was what we learnt from the Frontier Culture Museum, an excellent museum which chronicles the life of early...