- - FIN - -

In a few hours, the movers will be here. By the end of today, our things will packed away and sealed in carton boxes.

In the same way, so will our lives in London.

Has it really been two years? Sometimes it feels like we've been here much, much longer yet I remember incidents like they were yesterday. Then I take one look at Cheeks and instantly I'm snapped back to reality...

Time has flown by.

Cheeks, walking down H road,
on her way to her FIRST day @ nursery

I started this blog to jot down bits of our lives here. I wanted to document the trials and tribulations of Motherhood, my struggles at cooking (ha!), my experiences as a first-time SAHM. I wanted to have something to look back on - the good, the bad, the tears, the fears, the joy and laughter. I wanted to remember what we did, no matter how trivial or banal they were, and track Danielle's development and milestones.

I've been thinking how I should end my last posting from London. A summary perhaps? So here goes:

Hi. My name is Saggs. Welcome to my blog.

For the past 2 years, my family and I have been living in Southwest London, in the borough of Wandsworth. Some people call these parts, 'The Nappy Valley' because of the droves of families who live here. Our move from Singapore (where we're from) to the UK signalled my first time as a SAHM. If you didn't already know, that stands for 'Stay At Home Mum'.

When Cheeks first arrived to London, she was a month shy of 2.

This is Danielle then:

the day we arrived at Heathrow

Cheeks today:

at Tooting Bec Common

Well, obviously, she's grown. We all have. Not just older, taller, or wider (guess who? Heh heh.) but as a family. London opened a new chapter for us. It gave us our first glimpse of real family life. Our first taste of solid family bonding and togetherness. Before, family time in Singapore was always confined to the weekends and even those were often marred by Papa's frequent callbacks to the office. But here, with the English guarding their personal/family time, their holidays and weekends so possessively, work-life balance vastly improved for Dee and we had him wholly to ourselves. We relished every moment having him with us, and doing things as a family.

When I think about going back to the hustle and bustle of Singapore life, the long hours Dee has to put in for work, the time he has to spend away from us, I'm filled with immeasurable dread. I don't want to seem like a single mum again (it felt that way before). I want our family to be as it was here. I want the three of us, not just two.

Whether it'll revert back to what it was before is still left to be seen. What lies in store for us?

I don't know.

But I don't want to be afraid. So I pray, and I hope you'll pray for us too...

I should end this soon. The computer needs to be shut down and I need to clear the computer table in preparation for the move tomorrow.

But before I go, I want to thank you all for joining me on this wonderful journey. I've enjoyed spending time updating my blog with UK anecdotes and I look forward to more updates of our lives back in Singapore.

Until then...

Goodbye London, hello Singapore!

+++

It seems a shame my last glimpse of London will be from the plane, at a rather shabby Heathrow terminal.

Perhaps more befitting would've been this view of the city from the summit of Parliament Hill, Hampstead - with woodland all around us, the sun on our faces, the breeze carassing our cheeks.

Scenes of London, I think I'll have plenty. But if asked to choose how I'd best remember the city, this would probably be it. It's the scene dearest to me. The one I want etched in memory, and embedded in my heart... forever.

the street where we lived...