My father's dream

 And so I ended up selling the plot of land my dear Daddy had bought for me 30 years ago, to secure my future. He had always dreamed that our family would settle down in that colony - being close to him and my Mom in their old age. It is a lovely colony with a lake, jogging track and like-minded neighbours. For  a very long time N and I planned our retirement there. But life has its own plans for us. 

Daddy did so much to help develop the colony - when i told our neighbour today I had sold the plot, she said Daddy was like a father figure for the colony. 

Am sorry dear Daddy, I could not fulfill your dream. I've made Mummy also sad by moving so far away to the USA. I hope and pray that you will still be happy with my decision - the money from sale of the land will go a long way in securing our family's future in the USA and giving me the peace of mind and courage to make such a big move - going into a completely new work place and starting life again in a new country, at the age of 48. I think, you would be happy that you could give me this stability and even if I didn't end up living in that colony, it has helped me to secure a permanent base for our family. I hope and pray dear Mummy comes and lives with us. I miss you dear Daddy. I know you would have been so proud to tell everyone that your daughter is now Director in a Bank in New York. 

As we leave Singapore

 And so the time has come to bid adieu to Singapore. And it's not easy. So many significant moments and milestones have passed by here

-S finished her high school and got into the college of her dreams

-A finished her GCSEs and looks forward to completing her high school in the USA

- I got my career traction back and move as Director to New York

-N struggled through 2.5 years to and fro Delhi to secure a good base for us to invest in the USA greencard

-Darling Fido joined us in 2019

I've made good friends in office and a wonderful team, with supportive bosses. Will be moving to a completely new world with new colleagues. I hope I succeed. 

Children have become adults. They have so little time for us now. Have to reconcile to a new state of being. 

Leaving Singapore is also like leaving India again. The convenience of Bangalore being a short flight away - able to jump in and go and see Mum. I counted and I've done average 4 trips to Bangalore in 2024 & 2025 and 3 in 2026. I will miss that so much. Hopefully Mum will come and stay on extended visits with us in New York.

Life was also easy in Singapore - help at home, excellent transport and infrastructure, Indian restaurants and Little India with temples and flowers/decorations for Puja, Diwali celebrations. Comfortable weather to just walk out in shorts and sandals. No judgy colleagues. 

Will be a completely new ball game in the USA. God and Master give our family the strength, wisdom, courage and patience to stay safe, healthy, happy in the USA and to succeed in our ambitions. May we be close as a family. 

A Strange New Year Celebration

 Twas the first New Year's Eve spent without S. She had gone for a party and returned at 1 am. The hubby, A and I watched 'The Prestige' on Apple TV, ordered dinner from Guzman & Shake Shack and valiantly stayed awake till midnight to wish each other. And then till 1 am to wish S.

Thought about dear Ajji spending her second New Year's Eve without Ajja. Last year we were all together at my aunt's place for NYE. This time Mom was alone. They never had a bash for NYE or anything, but would still imagine them watching TV together and recollecting the highlights of the year. My Dad who would be up for any party or activity. 

Felt strange to have S away from us for the NYE. She is only 17, I thought I had a few more years before the children became all grown up.

2026 is a very big year for us. Many many life challenges. I pray to God and Master for the courage, strength and grace to face these many changes. Is the year S goes to University. Fingers crossed is the year we move to the USA. A gets into a US school. And the hubby or I, at least one of us should get a job in the USA. Where to move in the USA? How to manage Fido? How to learn to drive again? How will A manage in a completely new school environment? How to give up the simple ease of living in a country like Singapore and go make a complete new start in a  vast country like USA, at this age and stage of life. 

God and Master, give us the strength to manage this big transition. And wish our family a wonderful New Year, with the best coming to us in this new year.

Happy Father's Day

 Dearest Daddy

Miss you so much on Father's Day. Even though we haven't been able to spend it together in a while, it was always special, marked by flowers send by me, cake sent by my brother and the call wishing you Happy Fathers Day.

You would play Bridge and proudly show the bridge players the flowers I had sent. And share the cake my brother had sent. The small joys of life. 

On this day i remember all the special things we did together and the things we never got around to doing. 

-Going for the first Jurassic Park in Chanakya cinema

-Teaching me driving and then getting me an instructor when i was too nervous

-Going for concerts together in the Ram Navami mandal

-Playing tennis in Dulwich park

-Watching movies together

I never got around to learning how to play bridge from you. Though i was always fascinated that you would  play for hours together on Sunday with your friends. 

I never got to get career tips from you on how to navigate the politics at work. You had a much much more stressful and difficult job in the Police, and the decisions you made and the people you spoke to as a Diplomat are much more difficult and life changing than the small decisions and problems I face in banking. Still would have loved to get some advice on the struggles i face.

Am happy though that I got to sit with you and work on your autobiography- that way i learnt so many interesting things about your career and your life- such a colourful and fulfilling life you had dear Daddy, not only working hard, but maintaining relationships with your friends, promoting the arts & music in Singapore and India, looking out for all of us. 

Love you Daddy. Please bless us as always. 

Happy Birthday

 A different kind of birthday where I learn to be grateful for the things I have and yearn for the things gone by

Grateful to spend the birthday with my family and touched by the special things they did. Hubby tried to bake two cakes which collapsed miserably and finally ordered my favourite variety - strawberry shortcake

The girls made lovely birthday cards

Manju bought me flowers

We had a lovely dinner in a Greek restauarant

Went to Sreenivas Perumal temple, which coincidentally was the first temple I went to at 40 days old

Missed my Daddy's call. Always the first to wish. Super enthusiastic and full of greetings. Miss you Daddy.

Apple of my eye

 My heart is heavy. I have not grieved enough. My beloved father passed away in September'24. Though his last few years were not exactly what he would have wanted for himself, or what we would have wished for him, it is still a great loss to have my darling father, my personal cheerleader pass away. 

I was always the 'Apple of his eyes', his darling daughter who could do no wrong. He was proud of all my successes however small they were. When I was working in Citibank he would proudly proclaim, my daughter, Vice President in Citibank. When i was a homemaker in Zurich, he would say, my daughter who brings up two lovely children, drives on the cold snowy roads and runs a house by herself. And most recently when i got back to work at DB he would again say my daughter, VP at DB. 

He supported me immensely in my studies and my career. With my Mum he would land up in Zurich, in London, look after the children, be at home, while i pursued one job after another, struggling to get back to full time work and climb the career ladder. He would gladly take on the most strange requests - I'm worried my nanny cannot drive the two screaming girls alone in the car- can you go with her for the first week to make sure she's driving the car confidently. Or, girls are getting bored, go walking with Mummy to the swimming pool and oversee their swimming lessons. 

Daddy would happily wait to watch Chota Bheem or Karadi Tales with the girls, and then later in the night some Hind or English move with me. If i was coming come late at night in Bangalore, he would be waiting till I reached home. 

Any trouble I had in my studies my Dad could solve. I don't like law college, am coming back to Delhi - no problem go do Maths in Stephens. Maths is so tough I'm going to fail, no problem, will find a tutor for you. Of course I was totally pampered but that's ok because once I got married I was not pampered even for a minute. So in life's overall balance i think it makes up.

What do I regret most, that I didn't spend more time with my Dad in the last few years. Work was just too all consuming and if not working then looking after the kids. Am glad I was able to help Dad write his autobiography but I never got the chance to learn bridge from him, speak to him about his police days, go for some concerts with him or watch some last few English movies with him. 

Miss you dear Daddy.  Keep looking out for us as you always do. 

As Time goes by

 How time flies, the days are long but the years are short. In the blink of an eye S is now 16 and A is 14. They are teenagers with a mind of their own. I cherish the time I got to spend with them over the years especially the years in Switzerland where I wasn’t working for the first few years and then had a simple part time job for the last few years. At that time I was filled with a yearning to have a more fulfilling and interesting job, but now I understand and am grateful for that opportunity to spend time with the children in the most beautiful place in the world.

S is fiercely independent, smart, outspoken in her views, yet kind and gentle. She’s emotional like me and gets stressed quickly but can plan well and find her way out of a situation.

A still the baby of the family, jolly and lively, always a pleasure to be around, Creative and bright, she brings a smile on everyone’s face.

Wish you girls all the best. In 2 years S would be off to college. I wish we could be in the same country or city as her, but if not, at least have equipped her with life lessons and habits to be happy, safe and self sufficient in the outside world.

Summer holidays 2024

 This year, after the usual trip home to Bangalore ( where I’m working) we are doing a 3 week trip to Boston. S is doing a two week course at Harvard so we are accompanying her and chilling out while she works hard. 

To minimise mine and Nip’s leave while maximising kids holidays and long travel to USA we are doing me and  the girls for first two weeks, then N join for two weeks. So N and I have one week in common and girls get 3 weeks here. 

It’s Avery long journey from Singapore to Boston - 7 hours flight to Dubai and then 13 hours flight to Boston. Quite exhausted by the time we got here .the frist evening just went in picking up dinner and supplies from whole foods.

Saturday we went walking past MIT to city centre - Brandy Melville for the girls and then some nice Mexican lunch at Lolita.s followed by. Ooziest from Levains bakery. In the evening we went to Faneuil market hall - some Jewelry shopping and walking around,

Sunday S started her course - poor thing she got cough and chest congestion from me- touch wood she recovers soon, 

Monday A and I went for a 4 hour whale watching cruise - saw a shark, hump back whale and Mimi whales. Nice trip but very long.after cit was back to Faneuil market for some shopping and lunch, then we had to buy a fan and supplies for S and managed to met her for a little while in the evening,

Still getting over jet lag - slept at 7:30 on Friday, 8:30 on Saturday, 9:30 on Sunday and 10 on Monday. Still gett ing up fairly early each morning

Weather has been gorgeous so far but today looks like a rainy day. A and I did a one hour walk along the Charles River and then went to meet S for lunch near her college.

Wednesday A was under the weather but we managed a 45 mins walk to Museum of Fine Arts where they had a lovely collection of Impressionist paintings, Egyptian mummies, Greek statues etc. after a relaxing siesta in the afternoon we headed out to Olive Garden in the evening for some yummy pasta.

Thursday has been a relaxed day, 1 hour walk along the Charles river, then some cooking and relaxing in the room. S joined us in the afternoon to unwind and we caught some Olympic stuff on the TV. 

Tomorrow we leave for NYC to meet my cousin D who is flying down from SFO to spend the weekend with us. Can’t wait. 

Skiing holidays

 One thing we have been doing regularly and as a family is skiing holidays. Having started the practice in Switzerland here is the run down over the years

2012-2016 : Very regular trips to Hoch YBrig, St. Moritz, Davos

2017 February : Davos and St Mortitz with various families (T, S, I)

2018 February : St Moritz

2019 February : Niseko (Japan)

2020 January : St Moritx

2021 December: Lake Tahoe with various families

2023 February  : St Moritz

2024 February : St Mortitz

Girls are now better than N. N is pretty decent. Am getting slower and more nervous (especially after bike accident and surgery) and come slowly down the blue slopes. But still there with them, taking in the scenery and going at it at my own pace. Love the family holidays in the snow together!

The last few years

I've been out of touch updating this blog and I'll try to be more regular. Its been a strange last few years. We were stuck in Singapore from February'20 to Dec'21 due to Covid and unable to travel out. Really missed seeing Ajja and Ajji. When we finally made it to the USA in Dec'21 we got Covid the day before flying out and got another 2 weeks in San Jose. Looking back now, it was stressful the first few days, moving into a service appartment, waiting for A to recover, trying to figure out a way home. But we also enjoyed those days together as a family - cooking together, watching Jeapordy, going for long walks along the river and playing board games. 

After returning to Singapore our next trip was to Bangalore in July'22. Thereafter we tried to go every 3-4 months for a week to Bangalore. But there was a big change in the girls between Aug'19 and July'22  - they had suddenly grown up and were not the little girls that Ajji and Ajja used to know. And Ajja's health has deterioriated rapidly and I worry the bond between Ajji and the girls is also not the same as it used to be. This last year we have only been able to travel to Bangalore once - we went in August'23 and due to S exams (she's in 10th can you imagine) we did not travel in December or April. We are going to Bangalore for two weeks in June-July. Have been urging Ajji to visit us in Singapore but she doesn't want to leave Ajja in his current situation by himself. 

Sadly Ajja's mental health has deteriorated quite rapidly and he struggles with day to day tasks. I hope Ajji is able to find mental peace being with Ajja at home. I feel sad that the girls are growing up without seeing their grandparents regularly. 

In other news, N left his job of 24.5 years and took up a role in India. That was the only role he could find after a 6 months exhausting search so we are grateful for what we get. He travels between Singapore and Delhi -initially weekly, and now once in 2 weeks (but for 3 days at a time). We'll be spending some time in the summer together as  family in the USA, which will be nice. 

Its time for a break for S as well. Its been a very intense year of iGCSE - 11 subjects, 22 plus papers, mock exams and now final exams over a 1.5 months long period. Its the last two weeks and final 5 papers. Hats off to her, she's studied really hard, and deserves only the best. She'll be doing a summer course in Harvard which should be fun. 

A is in 8th grade, some end of year tests for her. Still very much happy go lucky, though would not call her little anymore, towering over me. She continues to be joyful and sweet, both girls the love of our lives. 

Have made some good progress on the career front. Finally made it to the big Director this March. Its been a long journey with many twists and turns, but grateful to have the support of my parent, N and the girls all the way. It promises to be a long road ahead also (fingers crossed) as I have many responsibilties to keep and miles to go before I sleep....

Growing up - another milestone

 So last week marked another milestone in the girls journey to adulthood and independence

- A took the public bus back home from school on her own. She had camp at school the whole week and I was dropping and picking her up by taxi. Mid week she said can we try coming back by bus so Wed and Thursday i came with her in the public bus and showed her all the landmarks to our place, where to press the button and when to get off. Friday she managed it all on her own. She messaged me from the bus stop, messaged me throughout the bus journey saying where she was, how a strange lady had sat next to her and I was waiting for her at the bus stop when she got off. My little baby, you are growing up so soon!

- S took the taxi home from Sentosa on her own. Her friends have been taking the taxi home for some time but both her and I have been reluctant for her to try it. We figured SG is the best place for her to start, and with a mobile phone and a location we have been multiple times in the past that would be the best time. So yesterday after a friend's birthday party at Sentosa she messaged me about where she was (she was a bit confused but we spoke and we realised she was in the correct location to book a taxi). I was able to book a taxi and share the details with her. This was I could monitor her journey home, have the driver details. I watched the trip on my mobile the whole way and also send her messages every 10 mins. She took the taxi at 5 pm and was home by 5:30, all while it was still bright and sunny outside. So all good!

Sigh, am happy the girls are becoming independent but also slightly sad as they are not my little girls anymore. 

So what did we do in the Summer then

 So the girls agreed (albeit reluctantly) to go for 2 weeks of camp - S did 1 week DT and 1 week football camp and A did 1 week multi-activity and 1 week drama camp.

The hubby and I took a week off and this is what we did  in the one week

- 3 hour boat trip around Sembawan and Pulao Ubin area alongwith visit to fish farm and some fishing. Got more exciting as our boat's engine was damaged halfway through the trip and the driver had to call to tow us back to the fish farm and then he organised a 'bumboat' to take us back to Singapore. I kid you not the name is bum boat. It was high excitement as we were marooned at high sea! Just kidding it was 5 mins and we were 100m from Pulao Ubin shore. 

- Day trip to st John and Lazarus island. Took the 11 am ferry there and the 3 pm ferry back. Super hot and the ferry we took there was very slow (as per S we could have swum there faster). I enjoyed the picnic we had  carried and the 4 hours of no phone/ipad and some family bonding

- Lunch at Changi beach, Had planned to walk around there before lunch but we reached a bit late (after picking up hired car) and the beach wasn't that great, and we had to reach school by 1 pm to drop S for her football camp so we headed straight for a nice lunch at the Bistro there overlooking the sea

- iFly for the girls. A did the intro session and S was brave enought to try the advanced one. Looked super exciting but sadly with my broken arm and hubby's bad back we won;t be trying that anytime soon

-Visits to Sentosa beach and Botanic Gardens with F (our silly dog). He met his cousin in Sentosa beach and was quite happy to be off leash. In Botanic Gardens S went running with her long distance running buddy while I walked with the mum and the hubby and A took F for a walk around his old area. Chilling with F at home, he loves to sunbathe in the balcony!

- Dinners for the hubby and me at Tiffin Room (highly recommended), Sabai Thai, Anand Bhawan (yummy) & at Kazbar (Lebanese food) again yum. Drinks at Lantern Bar. Think I've put on at least 1 kilo after all this extravagance

3 weeks down, 4 and 1/2 to go! S has been meeting friends about twice a week (playdates, trips to WWW and Sentosa) and A might have a pizza party to watch her drama production (Midsummer's night dream where she was Oberon)

Long summer holidays during Covid

 This is the second year we are stuck in Singapore in the summer due to Covid. So far summer holidays have been spent 2 weeks in some location (2017-Japan, 2018-  , 2019-Switzerland) with a month in India with parents. Since the lockdown from March'20 we are not allowed to leave Singapore till who known when.Day to day life has been ok with the kids only spending about 3 months totally doing HBL with the rest of the time back at school, though sports have been severely curtailed. Office has been largely a mix of WFH 3 times a  week and RTO 2 times a week except for when the country goes into lockdown in which time its all WFH.

The problem has been in the vacation time. Last summer we were still enthusiastic, We took 2 weeks off, hired a car and made a daily schedule to go exploring Singapore. The kids did 3 weeks of 1/2 day camps and the long 7.5 weeks holidays went by. This year nobody is feeling the same level of enthusiasm. My worry about when i can go visit parents in India is overshadowing all plans to go explore within Singapore. A boredom and ennui has set in. Cannot visit the Zoo another time. Gardens by the Bay is boring now. No more roller blading. Cycling enough. Hubby and kids are against staycations. Kids are already moaning about the 2 summer camps they are enrolled in at school.

And the unfariness of the situation doesn't help. Their friends who are PRs here have flown away to US/UK etc for the summer. They are allowed to travel out and come back and do the quarantine. Strange isn't it. It seems Covid doesn't impact PRs and citizens only EP holders. 

Have to keep myself and the family cheerful and positive and try to enjoy the holidays. Hubby has taken one week off and im plannign to take 8 days off in two stretches. current restrictions for dining out at 2 per table. So if we go out to eat we will have to sit at different tables. Still waiting for my second vaccine and S first vaccine. Fingers crossed i will have something more cheerful to post next time. 

On the positive side, there is one family member who is enjoying the restrictions fully. And that is Fido. He's happy to have us all home, no holidays where we leave him behind and me and the hubby largely WFH. He's better trained in the new house also with this sleep and potty habits. Need to stop his indiscriminate barking - everyone walking past our gate (young kids, familieis, workers) etc are subject to this and jumping/barking at everyone who comes home.

 

Of broken bones

 Its been a difficult last 2 months. I broke my humerus bone from a fall while cycling on the Green Corridor. It wasn't that i was particularly speeding or trying any stunts (as some have suggested) just a fall which in most people (with stronger bones) would have just been a small injury but in my case led to a 3 part fractured humerus. 

The initial X ray suggested that immoblising with a sling would be sufficient but a friend who is an othopaedic surgeon suggested a CT scan which revealed a breakage in the lower tuberosity for which surgery was recommended. The surgery was a 3 hour ORIF under general anasthesia and I was very apprehensive to go infor that so i looked for a second opinion. The doctor saw the CT scan and suggested that natural healing would be fine, but asked me to take a 2nd CT scan a week later. After the 2nd CT scan he suggested surgery. Either he was a fool who didn't see the first CT scan properly, or worse still a thief who wanted to steal my surgery from th 1st doctor. In any case i had kept in touch with my first doctor and went back to him for the surgery.

I was extremely nervous teh night before the surgery and kept imagining the worst outcomes. Touchwood the surgery went smoothly with my last memory being the anathetist injecting me in the OT and then me waking up in my room. The hubby and A came to visit me and they said i kep asking the same questions for the first 1/2 hour. 

The overnight stay was ok. I was on extremely strong painkillers and manaegd to sleep on and off. The nursese were very helpful and attentive and I ended up wishing for a 2nd day in the hospital for a better recoviery as i knew at home there would be so much going on. 

I took the first 6 days off from work and tried to rest as much as possible. The pain was manageable withe the painkiller which i gradually reducd from 4 a day to 1 a day (by 4 weeks). From the 6th week i am on 1 painkiller once in 3 days. PT staretd the day after surgery with the doctor asking me to do basic arm exercises. PT started after the stitches were removed (2 weeks post surgery) and each session she is pushing me further. The doctor has said that i don't need the sling anymore in the night but I still prefer to wear it - think i've just got used to the security of wearing it. During the day i wear the sling less and less, and mostly only for going out. I do stilll need to lie down every few hours and support my arm while sitting.

N is also recovering from a slip disc and we are both unabel to do much physical stuff with the girls. so its been a couple of months of relaxed weekends at home. The girls haev been back to HBL for last 4 weeks so have asked them to go out adn do one physical activity daily- eitehr swimming (mainly playing in the pool), or roller blading, or running or cycling. But nothing particularly exciting. 

With the restrictions on travel for the last 1.5 years the work week is merging into the weekend and a slow monoty and ennui has set in. My first trip will be to see parents in India but no clue when the situation will allow that. Sometimes i get pretty stressed and feel helpless about the situation we are in but in a way this fracture has helped with that. So much of my tiem goes in PT exercises and i know i can't travel till the bone heals so in a way I've come to terms with the situation. Its also helped me slow down considerably. Otherwise between the girls activities, Kuchipudi dance, cycling, walking with Fido and office work it was non-stop with no breaks or time to sit down and reflect. 

Hopefully by my next post i will be typing a lot faster with my left hand!

Schools and decisions

 S and A have been in international/ private schools their entire life. Since we have moved around so much in the last 11 years, we haven't been able to settle down in any place and adopt the local culture/systems. Keeping this in mind, and having heard so much about the local school system we decided to move S to a local school for secondary. She got into a very prestigious local school through her sports and seemed keen to try it. The hubby was very against it as it meant she would lose a year and move out of the IB syllabus which is more amenable to international postings. I felt the level of studies in her current school was low and she would be among more like minded people in the local school. Also the sports focus was a positive.

S joined the new school first week of 2021. But it didn't go as per our expectation. The level of academics was actually lower than the earlier international school (possibly as she was in the highest band there in the various subjects). The MT in lieu didn't work out as expected, the number of hours spent in school in MT (in which she sat doing Maths/reading a book) was very high while the level of the foreign language outside school (to be done outside school) was very low and we were concerned if she would be able to clear O level in that. On the positive side, the kids in the school were very welcoming and nice and S didn't feel like an outsider at all. She also became more independent, going to and back from school by public transport.

But in the end the negatives outweighed the positives and we decided to move S back to the international system. She starts back at her old school tomorrow. Since her place was given away, she has not been able to go back to all the classes she had. She might grumble and moan that she was in a worse position than when she started. And we have wasted all this money and effort and taken a lot of stress. On the positive side this has been an experience and possibly we can move forward feeling this is the best education we can provide for the girls and they should get the best out of it.

Sadly will have to listen to hubby's I told you so for the foreseeable future!

Of Birthday parties

 So this year we went overboard with the birthday parties to make up for no parties last year (lockdown) and S turning 13.

A had hers first. since she wanted to call only her 3 close friends and her requirements of cake was very simple (just doughnuts) it was not a very complicated affair. We met the kids at Pizza Hut, had a quick lunch and then checked into Wild Wild Wet. I hung around at a table with the bags while the kids went on the slides, lazy river etc. A good 2 hours later (not fun in the hot sun, 35 degrees + even in the shade) we were done. We all got a bubble tea each and took the a cab home. Doughnuts and more play at home and the party wound down at 6:30 pm. The hubby had got air pods for A which turned out to be the perfect present. She listens to songs on her phone with the airpods all the time now. To the extent that i keep calling for her without realising she can't hear. The unintended effect is that she ends up listening to music at the same time that the hubby is doing his 10k run (tries to do every weekend/ public holiday) and they share an apple tunes account so he ends up accidentally listening to the latest Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande numbers!

S had her actual birthday first where i got her Agatha's brownies and the hubby got her Agatha (Christie)'s Poirots. Her favourite pastime is to curl up on her beanbag, or the sofa downstairs with a Poirot in her hand and Fido (sometimes) by her side. She wanted to call 9 friends to her birthday and given current restrictions of 8 max party size she split into 2 parties of 4 and 5. The first one was at Hydrodash - a floating adventure course at Sentosa. We booked a 2 hour session though we thought they would be done in 1.5 hours. Suprisingly they lasted the entire 2 hours though they were exhausted by the end of it. The girls first came home, had pizza lunch, then i escorted them in a mini bus (!!) to Sentosa.  2 hours again in the hot shade and some bubble tea/ ice cream later we returned home. Cake cutting and they left slowly by 6:30. I know parents don;t accompany 13 year olds to parties but i didn;t want the kids alone in the sea in case of any problems. Probably next year i will be redundant. S second party didn;t involve any swimming. The kids wanted to do the luge. I took them there and made myself scarce in a nice AC cafe. 1.5 hours and 4 luge rides and bubble tea later I put them all in a Grab 6 home and found my own way back. 

I had taken two days off from work to organise and be present at these 3 parties. Honestly while i can moan about how tedious and tiring it is, I would not have it any other way. Very soon I won't be asked to organise or attend these, it will just be me and Fido then (speaking of which maybe I should organise a doggie birthday party for him :)

Autumn holidays in the time of Covid

 In the summer holidays we thought by October this craziness maybe over and we can visit Ajja and Ajji in Bangalore in October. But the craziness continues and we were stuck in Singapore for the October break.The hubby took a week off and i had planned to take 2 days off to be with the girls. But work deadlines got in the way and i was only able to take one day off.

The girls were kept entertained as follows

- Singapore Zoo

- Jurong Bird Park

-HeadWave Virtual amusement park

-Rollerblading in ECP

They had a couple of playdates, birthday parties and lots of waking up late to feel recharged. We ate out too much and i had to run 10km on Saturday to recover from the food coma. For some reason i've started feeling really sick whenever i run more than 7-8km. The hubby says i  need to run more often, my solution is to walk more :)

Summer holidays in the time of Covid

 Usually the girls summer holidays comprise 2 weeks holidays somewhere (Switzerland, Japan, USA) and then one month at my parents place where I can usually work from the local office. This year due to Covid we have been restricted to staying in Singapore. The very big downside is that we haven't been able to see my parents (one year + for the girls and last I saw them was in November'19). 

But there have been a couple of unexpected positives. I took two weeks off from work to spend at home with the girls and the hubby took 1 week off. We have been able to catch up on the important stuff we left pending a bit too long. Both girls need glasses now. A has -2.75 power in both eyes, quite high for a 10 year old. S has a different and slightly more worrying eye problem. She has nearly perfect vision from the right eye and -5.5 vision in the left eye. Worrying as if this is left untreated could lead to the left eye becoming a lazy eye. A has got glasses and is getting settled into them. For S we are exploring glasses/lenses/ Ortho K lenses. After a 2.5 hour marathon appointment at the Singapore eye Hospital today we have a 2 hour appointment at the Ortho K clinic tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

S has also got braces. She has a significant overbite and some crooked teeth. A's teeth aren't great either, but since she's still got a lot of milk teeth she doesn't need braces yet.

The other positive is that we have been able to spend time with dear Fido and also explore the many things Singapore has to offer. We've done

-Bedok Reservoir : for roller blading and Forest Adventure for the girls ziplining

- Marina Barage : roller blading

-East Coast Park : roller blading, cycling, wave park surfing for the girls

-Luge at Sentosa

-River Safari

-Faber Park including Henderson Waves

- Hort Park including the canopy walk

- Kent Ridge Park

-Dinner at Boat/Clarke Quay

- Hubby and me : Dinners out and cycling around the place.

Tomorrow we are hitting the Zoo and Saturday we are going to the Sentosa Aqua Park (aqua dash).

Ajji's letter to S

S drama homework involved an older person telling a story of their life. Here is Ajji's beautiful letter to S, which was then spoken out by Ajji and retold by S.. love it

Happy New Year

It’s that time of year where we resolve and try to be better versions of ourselves in the coming year. On my part I’m going to stick to making only 3 resolutions and keeping up to them
- cooking one new dish a week. After moving to SG and getting completely pampered with full time help I’ve nearly stopped going into the kitchen. It’s only Sunday dinners and there I restrict to stuff like pasta or aloo paratha. As a result we are not eating much new stuff at home and the girls are developing a very small palate for diverse food. And it’s about time they learnt to make some food themselves.
- try to be home by 7 pm at least twice a week. This will give some time to have dinner with the kids, take Fido for his walk and relax before the girls bed time instead of always being in a rush
- drink less.
For this years New Years Eve we went to the pool party at the Sea World Resort in the Gold Coast where we were staying. S got tired by 9:15 and A by 10. After putting them in bed the hubby and I tried to stay awake as long as possible but only succeeded till 11 pm. We had seen the fireworks at 8 pm and 8:30 pm and the lure of 12 midnight fireworks didn’t do it for us. We spent some time reminiscing about what we had done on New Years till now and this is the list we came up with
2000 : Naval club with friends in Mumbai
2001: something in Bangalore
2002 : something in Bombay with friends
2003 : Lonavala (near) with friends
2004 : at our place in Mumbai with friends
2005-2007 : something with Mumbai friends
2008 : dinner with S at a hotel in Bangalore
2009: Kashi at friends place
2010: at home in Mumbai
2011: something in Bangalore
2012: in Chicago with Anita, Ravi and Raju families
2013: in Paris near the Eiffel Tower
2014-2016: something in Bangalore
2017: Auckland welcoming the New Year the first!
2018: In Suratkal with in laws and Anita family
2019: asleep in our beds in the GoldCoast

Maybe my resolution should include being able to stay up longer on New Years Eve!