No prizes for guessing what was served at Ros' today. I imagined myself home, tucking in to my all-time fav local delight at some dingy Al-Amin joint in Bt Timah.
It was that surreal.
Oh I worship you, O Kitchen Goddess disguised as an accomplished SAHM with 2 kids! *
katow katow katow*
There are so many nice things to say about today's get-together, it's ironic how I'm finding it difficult to put them down to words. But I'll try.
This morning, Cheeks and I took a South West train from Waterloo station to Surrey for a playdate with our Singaporean friends, Ros & her daughters Louisa and Lavigne. Besides us, Ros had also invited another Singaporean mum, Cassandra and her
adorable 4mth old Gabrielle. Ros and Cassandra got to know each other through a thread Ros had created on a Motherhood forum, and they were meeting for the first time today.
Cassandra (or what we can see of her) & her
cherubic little pumpkin, Gabrielle!
I love her pillowy cheeks!
I'll let you read more about our time together
here because Ros has put up such a lovely post.
We really enjoyed ourselves, Cheeks and I. Although it was (only) our 2nd meeting with Ros & family, there was a warm familiarity and I found myself completely at ease with them. Conversations were relaxed and ran smoothly, we chuckled over our children's antics, shared mothering woes and nerve-wrecking episodes. And I found myself in complete awe of the ladies - both mothers with 2 kids, surviving well in a foreign land with no family support. I wondered whether I would have been able to cope if I had had no. 2 here.
enjoying a fried rice lunch with Lavigne
Part of the visit included a trial lesson for Danielle at Lavigne's Music and Dance class. Although it was Cheeks' first experience, I was happy to see her uninhibited and game to try all the moves the teacher demonstrated. I hope to find something similar for her in our area - seeing how she enjoyed the session and all - but I haven't seen anything quite like it, really. And that teacher was brilliant. He really engaged both children and adults alike. I was impressed by how he managed to meld everything so seamlessly. The kids were exposed to all sorts of different sounds and instruments, taught to mimick movement and move to a beat, and sing catchy tunes.
After the entertaining lesson, the 4 of us (
Cass had to tend to a rather unsettled Gabby, unfortunately) went to pick Louisa up from school, then headed back to Ros' for a quick cup of tea and pandan cake. Before long, we were getting our coats and on the train back to London. It's so true how time whizzes by when you're having fun!
Getting Louisa from school. She must've been thrilled so many people came to pick her up!
Louisa & Danielle watching 'The Sound of Music' and snacking on yummy pandan cake
Now besides Cassandra, Ros has also introduced me to Val, who's in the UK with hubby Alan and
very-soon-to-be 3YO, Luke. We first met Val & Luke at Lavigne's party and managed to catch up with them again some 2 weeks back. They ventured to our side of town for a 'exploratory' walkabout so Cheeks and I took them to some of our haunts - the pond where we feed the geese at the Common (
sorry 1 nipped you, Val!), showed them our usual walking routes. We enjoyed a chat over a curry lunch at an Indian eatery nearby, and had a cuppa at Starbucks. They also stopped by our flat to shelter from the blustery winds, and warm up over a cup of tea. I feel blessed knowing another little family - better yet, a Singaporean one - and look forward to calling at Val's soon! (
actually, I will! This Saturday, YAY!)
our day with Val and Luke,
beginning at the Common, feeding the bold & snappy geese!
Val reading Thomas to the kiddos
Some thoughts on Ros...
Her sincere desire to reach out to Singaporean mums here is truly - for lack of a better word - commendable. Being a SAHM herself, she understands how lonely it can sometimes get - how frustrating and lost a woman can feel being away from family and friends - so she takes it upon herself to look out for, and get to know other Singaporean mums living in the UK, then connect them.
Before I knew her, I didn't know of any other SAHM from Singapore. We joined SUKA but even that couldn't connect me to other Singaporean mums in the way Ros has. She has made, all of us who know her, part of a coterie - one that shows promise of meetup sessions, playdates for the kids, and chats with someone who knows
exactly what you mean when you say you miss 'bar chor mee' . Even though we don't know each other all that well yet, just knowing there's someone from our home country who's in the same boat as us, fighting similar battles, experiencing the same joys and fears, is somewhat... comforting.
I am also in constant awe of Ros' boundless energy. Besides caring for her 2 daughters and hubby, she still finds time to blog, read blogs, do digital scrapbooking, and is adept at baking, cooking and gardening. She truly is a rare find.
People like Ros ought to receive awards for being the wonderful, generous people they are. But doing that would somewhat denigrate their efforts, and make it look like they're out for recognition and personal glory. Ros, you are so deserving of a stone-carved plague that expounds your many achievements as wife, mother, friend. But I have none to give you. Instead, I offer you my friendship and hope it blesses your life as much as yours has blessed mine.
Have a safe and fruitful trip back to SGP! See you when you get back. Steamboat!
+++++
Ohoh, and another thing! It's my gorgeous girl, Mabes' bday today. And Pekpek's too! Happy Birthday to you both! Muack muack muack!
The Beautiful and the beautiful
McHoratio recruits yet another defenseless spawn
for his crime-fighing pursuits!
a time for old friends...
... and some new ones.
Danielle, a new che-che, holding Zach's hand
