Monday, March 16, 2009

Fabulous

Thump..Thump..THUMP! THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP Wahhhh....!!!!!

A shrill chuckle ensued as I pounced on our baby daughter who is lying on our bed, still giggling.

Hopping back a metre or so with both hands stretched out T-Rex style, I began the exercise all over again, thumping my left foot followed by my right, quickening at very step and finally pouncing on her like an over-aged Barney less the hideous purple dinosaur suit. The anticipation in her eyes coupled with a cheeky smile is absolutely too tempting to do this over and over again.

I peeped into my watch and told myself I should be leaving for work in 15 minutes time, but then again that was what I said exactly 15 minutes ago.

“You know, you love your daughter more than your wife now”, came the occasional tease from the missus.

“No lah, where got?”, I would massage her shoulders and then sped off to work, sneakily.

But its always so hard to let go after a hearty weekend together. Knowing you have to spend most of your time at work and then come home to a sleepy daughter on most weekdays. Perhaps to add oil on fire, its also because its a Monday. Yet another long wait for the weekend to spend your entire time with the family.

Don't get me wrong. I love my work. I do not have the usual Monday blues. I am one of those who like to work their sorry ass off even after the working hours are over. But I still have my Monday blues, largely felt while I am still holding baby Angel when I am supposed to be heading off to work behind the driving wheel.

Which is why weekends have been more precious than ever. Which is why the OTs on weekday nights to make room for Saturdays and Sundays. And also the reason I try to squeeze out every minute I have on these two days.

It had been a great Saturday with much activity going on. We met up with two of my friends and their lovely one and half year old son at Vivocity for Tim Sum. This meet up have long been overdue and I was looking forward to it. Their lovely son named Issac with dimples so deep you simply want to hug has grown so much taller since we saw him. Nevermind the shyness because whenever I approached him he would smile and glance away either saying “Papa there, or Mummy there” even though both of his parents might not necessary be in the direction that he is pointing.

He is just so adorably cute and so shy.

Hui and Willson have been our long time friends since our NAFA(Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts) days. Seeing their friendship blossoming into a courtship is like traveling time through a spaceship. In a snap Issac had been born, and is now a healthy toddler walking on his feet. Time flies, and its true.

Time also passes by swiftly especially when you are enjoying yourselves. We had to bid them goodbye as they had to head back home for Isaac's nap. And promised to meet up again soon.

In an effort to squeeze time dry after the meet up, we met up with another friend of us, Steve, who gamely followed us to our second mission by the order of the missus to bring baby Angel for a swim. Before you ring the “Report The Abusing Parents” helpline to MCYS, please hear me out. Its a controlled environment where you dunk your baby in a water filled tub as opposed to dumping her into the South China Sea swimming with the sharks. Although the swimming float wrapping around Angel's neck does come close to those movies whereby prisoners are dug beneath the mud with only their heads sticking out.

But still it is not a cause for concern. Because Angel's mum is more concern with hygiene issues.

“Did you bring a towel along?” ask an elegantly aged shop assistant, “Here, use this one.” and then produced a dull green color towel with mouldy prints when viewed at certain angles from afar.

“And this is clean?” ask the missus.

“Oh yes, these towels are used only once and then throw away,” came the reply.

Call me cynical, but the towels looks like it's been washed at least 50 times. It looked like it's previous life had been a bright lime green piece of soft fabric. Currently it looks like an SAF(Army) no.4 uniform.

Well, I don't really care because the swimming float around my daughter's neck looks more menacing and may I add, suffocating. Well, what the heck, its a little too late to back out now because the little one is about to dip into the pool.

There could have been a better interior designer to engage, but apparently the shop owner favors the open concept à la “Ding Tai Fung” restaurant style which people can peep through transparent glass from outside to have a kaypoh look at what you are cooking, or rather, doing. I can't help but feel like monkeys in the Zoo because there must have been like more than ten kaypoh sods outside the shop with popcorns in their hands waiting for the next matinée. And when baby Angel is plonked into the basin of water, the oohs and ahs from the crowd followed suit and they immediately rushed forward smacking their faces onto the glass panels.

From where they are standing, they can see our baby Angel's little performance of aqua aerobics. But when they realized this is hardly Michael Phelps or the exotic north polar bear somersaulting in the water ripping off fishes, they left the scene only to be replaced by a newer crowd of kaypohs.

“This is like the Singapore Zoo”, suggested my friend.

“No, its more like The Singapore Night Safari,” I said as it is almost close to 8pm in the night.

Whichever case it was, one thing was clear. Baby Angel was totally immersed in her world of water kicking and tremendously enjoying the dip. An average first time swim usually lasts about ten minutes, but she was soaked in the tub for more than twenty. It also helped that the missus kept on shouting words of encouragement such as “Well Done Angel!!”, and “Keep it Up Angel!!”, and then more “Well Done Angel!!” and “Keep it Up Angel!!”

Seeing my wife going gaga at this for a lengthy twenty minutes, my heart was beaming with warm feelings. The missus is a fully transformed mum, she doesn't care that she looked like a lunatic shouting words of encouragement while the kaypoh crowd watches on. Her mind was focused only on caring for our little girl, and showering her with the best love she can give. I almost wanted to hug her. Well almost, because the shop assistant popped over before I could.

“Some babies can go like this for one full hour.” she said.

Wow. Baby Angel could probably have no problem keeping it up for an hour after the tenth visit. But can the missus do it? Going gaga for one bloody hour? I cannot imagine further.

The last mission was to have a hearty dinner to wind down the day. Now, I must stressed that I am not a cheapskate, but to have two meals paid for in a day is still a welcome gesture under the current economic climate. Steve ended up paying for the dinner, and so did Hui and Willson on the Tim Sum meal. Thank you guys for the meal. We really should meet up more often.

The night ended on a less jovial note after the Japanese dinner. Sleeping in her pram, baby Angel started to wail out of no reason. I had to carry her out of the pram and pacify her with my fatherly skills honed in the past months. It did not worked. The most disadvantaging aspect of a loving father would probably be the fact that he cannot breastfeed. When the milk bottle does not work, and everything else fail, the missus had to be called in.

And in the breast feeding room provided by the mall, away from the crowded noise, I sat beside Angel's mum watching over them. Life had never been better. We could have married later, or learning to party hard like there is no tomorrow, or we could have a kid later. But nothing comes close to this, just the three of us enclaved in the warmth of each other.

One day down, Sunday awaits us. I still have time to treasure this.. before the Monday morning today.

And outside the baby room, a patient friend awaits. It was time to go home.

It had been a fabulous day.


*I would like to dedicate this post to my lovely wife, and all the mothers out there. The baby might have been born. But we(the fathers) have not all forgotten about you, because you are simply fabulous!!

26 comments:

Bengbeng said...

I can just imagine the faces pressed on the glass window. You described it so well :)

Twilight Man said...

You are such an adorable happy father and hubby! I am sure your wife is the proudest mum too. Is Anton your baby's online God Pa? LOL.....

Anonymous said...

I'm not a blogger, but I shall comment on this post since it is dedicated to me. =p
Wah... so sweet and I'm touched. Thank you for all the kind words but excuse me.. who's the lunatic har?
Guess we will both become lunatic when others see how we play with baby Angel. \(^-^)/

Perky said...

You're an awesome dad. Both you and the missus. Baby Angel is so so lucky to have you both as parents :)

said...

cool~ i really love tat u r being such a sweet daddy to my god daughter :)
But remember dun forgot abt ur missus....woman might get jealous soon~ hahaha

foongpc said...

Wow! So happy with your baby! So do you love your wife or your baby more now? Haha!

Btw, thanks for your comment on my blog. What you said scared me a little - regarding my friend not being thoroughly cleansed and bringing something back from our Penang trip. She did act strangely when she came back, but I think she's OK now. I really hope so! Haha!

Anonymous said...

Can Angel crawl?

said...

hey ken, i've changed my blog's link...use this latest one to link to my blog :)

Shionge said...

You captured the essence of fatherhood so well by getting involved in bringing up Angel :)

Yes, bonding with other couples is another great social skill for all the babies :D

Hope to meet you & your wife someday in Singapore :D

A Common Singaporean said...

Beng Beng - The glass panels are clearly well thought of. It is a simple yet direct marketing tool for the shop, isn't it. It also helped that it was fun for Angel to see so many people watching her swim. But the kay poh crowd...

Twilight - Every mum is the proudest mum. Too many kissing requests for the missus and Angel from Anton? hahaha.

Missus - And she finally broke her silence. Since you are so touch you can massage my sore neck tonight lah.. Huh? What Lunatic? Where got? Typo error lah :P :P :P

Perky - When she grow up a rebellious kid I will still whack her backside, let's see if you feel that lucky anymore. hahaha

Leumas - The missus has been peeking at my blog lately. I better write something nice about her!! AND GREAT!! U r back!!

Foong PC - Wah, you want to murder me issit? Asking this kind of question here. Wah.. you are sentencing me to the death row lah. kakaka. Ya, abt your friend. Most people encounter this when they r a little down in their luck, and after that shld be no prob..

Hi Beng Hui - Angel cannot crawl yet. She is still learning to flip over on the bed when she is lying down. I will let you know when she can finally crawl. :)

Shionge - Speaking from your experience of raising 2 daughters :) I have so much more to learn. I am enjoying parenthood, it also makes me appreciate my parents more.

.:: Ant ::. said...

I just love babies. I've been planting so many kisses on my nephew that I've to hide some of them, fearing that my sis-in-law may cringe over the hygiene issue. lolz!

Your posts always warm s my day! Well, another request for kisses to Angel, I guess! hehe

+Ant+

A Common Singaporean said...

Hi Anton - It's difficult not to kiss them right? It's a natural reaction. Don't worry, kiss them more before they grow up a rebellious teenager, really :)

Shionge said...

Yo Ken..when my two babies were little I always quarrelled with hubby over discipine issues....as I grow *ahem* older I realised that never ever argue in front of them and as parents we must always be on the same page.

Having said that...one must be 'hard' the other 'soft' if you know what I mean?

Now, teenagers liao...we have more 'headache' but these are happy problems :)

Have fun!!

Bengbeng said...

great comments u posted on my blog :) ...esp the attributes to a lovely woman

Bengbeng said...

oops ..i forgot to post a smile :) hehe

Tikno said...

very cute baby.

MiChi said...

I love the smell of babies! They are so innocent and cute. It is a wonder that you could divide your time so well.

Bengbeng said...

hope u can find the time to post again soon :)

Nadine said...

What a wonderful post filled with love. Your family is beautiful.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.

foongpc said...

hi, no updates yet?

Thanks for dropping by my blog. You dislike rude teenagers? Better make sure that your baby grows up to be a well mannered teenager then. Haha! : )

foongpc said...

Sorry about the question whether you love your baby or your wife more. Thought your wife does not read your blog? Hehe

.:: Ant ::. said...

WE MISS UR WRITING!

+Ant+

Shionge said...

Don't stop blogging Ken even if it means photo of your baby :D

A Common Singaporean said...

Shionge - Thanks for all your advises and encouragements!!

Beng Beng - This missus saw my comments on your blog, regarding the attritutes of an attractive woman. Her reactions was most interesting :P

Tikno - Thank you for popping by this place. Angel is the joy of our lives now.

Michi - Ho ho, time certainly is scarce for me now. But thats the tiny sacrifice I am willing to trade.

Nardine - OMG! Did I embarass myself with all the grammer and spelling mistakes in front of a book writer? I am waiting for your book to arrive on my desk!

Foong - This is something I worry about too. Angel = Teenager, I cannot imagine!! Guess I have to educate her right!!

ANT!! - And you too do not mind all my grammar and errors?! I am so touched. I hope you can close one eye on those and still enjoy Angel updates ;P I absolutely have to do an update!

Shionge - Thank you again.

Ah Lun said...

MT!!! Angel is simply adorable!!! I so look forward to our next meet up with you guys!!

A Common Singaporean said...

Ah Lun - Hey there! And how are you coping with your newborn. Lots of joy and excitement I guess. I never realize I have a such a weakness for my daughter until now. When the other members of our family put her down, she silently entertained herself with ways the adult cannot even imagine. But the moment I pass by her, she start to wail and open her arms indicating she demand a carry, NOW!! whahahaha.

Yeah, look foward to meeting up :)