Today marks the first day of the school year. These two champs were up early, all ready and raring to go. Grace begins her first year of high school - Year 7. Nathan starts his first year of upper high school - Year 10. After breakfast, we piled into the car and headed to the train station so I could drop everyone off, with hubby choosing to catch the train into the office to accompany Grace on her maiden commute to school. At the station drop off, I watched three backpack-laden figures walk away toward the station entrance. And I was filled with an unexplained wistfulness. It was a moment that held both an ending and a beginning The turning of another page of childhood. The beginning of a new chapter.

I have a few special rituals I share with my babies.  Some of them have been set aside over the years as they change and grow.  This ritual, for lack of a better name, I will call school holiday Fridays.  During the school term, I aim to spend my Fridays off on doing things for myself, such as lunch dates with hubby, coffee catch ups with friends, reading, watching classic films or just lazing around. Sometimes household d chores, paperwork and errands creep in. But I try my best to keep those Fridays off sacred for myself.  During the school holidays though, when my babies are home, I try to do something with just the two of them when hubby is in a work meeting or at the office.  I can't remember exactly how this ritual started, but it would usually always start with stopping by Asian bakery Breadtop (probably because hubby is not a fan of bread but we three love any kind of bread). We enjoyed taking our time to choose an item or two from the display of Asian b...

Yesterday was a momentous occasion. My second and last baby officially graduated from primary school. It was yet another threshold to cross over in the journey leaving childhood behind. During the ceremony, I naturally became emotional at certain moments. But the most unexpected moment was not just at the bit with Grace (which of course I did very much so... she was still my baby girl after all).  There was a part of the ceremony when the Year 6 special needs students went up on stage, and there was one boy in particular with baby face features that somehow reminded me a little of Nathan's chubby cheeks as a baby.  I watched this boy's mother accompany him up onto the stage, patiently guiding his wobbly steps up the steps and gently nudging his attention to make eye contact with the principal handing him his certificate. They read out his reflections and aspirations on the big screen above the stage. "I will miss being with my teachers and friends at school... my proudest ...

Yesterday I found myself sitting next to my lanky 14 year old son at the radiologist while he filled out a medical form. "Mum, what's my Medicare number? And who do I put as my next of kin?" His right pinkie had taken a serious hit during a volleyball game yesterday at school. The joint was all swollen and bruised, so the doctor advised an X-ray to check for a possible fracture. The radiologist called us in. She was a sweet Japanese woman slightly older than me. As she adjusted the equipment, she recognised Nathan's school uniform and remarked that her son used to attend the same school. "He's at university now studying Electrical Engineering" , she said proudly. Afterwards as we headed out of the radiologist clinic, a little boy scurried past us on the stairwell, his mum behind calling out for him to slow down. I felt a wave of nostalgia as I saw myself sandwiched between the images of these two mothers. For a moment I was transported into that same sce...

For Grace... Today is the 15th of October 2025. It felt like it was only just days ago when you said goodnight that we shared a cuddle with your trademark "mmmn!" at the end. It was so important to get the tone just right. Sometimes you would make me repeat it several times before it would pass. Then we would finish off with a kiss and say goodnight. I might laugh or even seem slightly exasperated at how many takes we'd need to get our goodnight ritual perfectly right. But that was you. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing right. And I know how important it was to get every goodnight exactly right. Since that last time, I've felt a shift. It may seem like such a small thing. A little goodnight cuddle with the "mmmmn!" at the end. But it feels so big to me right now. Like the axis of my entire world has shifted. And that small tender sweetness between us is gone. Just like that. Without warning. The rug pulled from under me. Perhaps because you...

Sometime last term each of my children had some not so positive encounters with a teacher at school. This past year, there has been a bit of a revolving door situation with math teachers at Nathan's school. And the latest math teacher (who was supposedly the head of department) seemed to be picking things up several steps back from where the previous teacher last left off. Unfortunately instead of reflecting on why her students seem bored and disengaged, this teacher interpreted certain students' disengagement (including Nathan's) as having an attitude problem. For now Nathan has requested that I not intervene. He reminded me that we don't have to 'like' every teacher (or person) that we encounter. Some people are just destined to be thorns. He will manage. Grace had a new Indonesian teacher at school this year. One word to describe her would be 'finicky'. And that's putting it nicely. At the end of the semester, we were puzzled that Grace had a rece...

The clock of life keeps ticking. Quiet announcements from friends and peers appear from time to time about the passing of fathers, mothers, grandparents, uncles, aunts. I note the passing of each member of that generation as it comes. In the wise words of Mufasa, this is simply the circle of life. Earlier this week, I saw a post of one of a very close friend from my youth, sharing the news of her father’s passing. And the emotions hit me like a wave. Tears. Sadness. Of course, the depth of my own feelings was nothing compared to the ocean of grief my dear friend must be going through. To be honest, I was not close to her father and did not know him well. So at first, I puzzled over why the news struck me so deeply. I later surmised that this news hit much closer to home because of the link to my childhood I shared with this friend. I'm aware of life's impermanence, the edges of time we are all bound to, and what it means for my own parents. But moments like this bring the inevi...

"What would you like to do for Mother's Day?" hubby asked. Easy. Just us four. A lazy afternoon at the park. Sausages sizzling on the BBQ, kids running around, and me with a cup of tea that I might actually get to drink while it's still hot. As the years inch by, my babies have outgrown the playground. But they still love a good romp and game, inventing new ways to nearly knock each other out with a ball. Leaning back in my camp chair, I slowly sip my tea and watch them toss a ball back and forth... laughing loudly as they test out increasingly ridiculous ways to throw the ball. It’s part dodgeball, part interpretive dance. This is my slice of joy I savour today. In a few short years, I don’t know if they’ll still play like this. But for now, just like this, they can still be my babies for a little while longer.

In the years to come, long after my nearest and dearest are gone, I imagine I’ll still make a pilgrimage to my little hometown in the Land Below the Wind, just to indulge in a plate of one of these lovelies: |  Tuaran Mee | Beaufort Mee | Sandakan Mee | They say noodles represent long life. I'm quite content to live the average human lifespan, but if things are going well, I wouldn’t mind lingering a little longer before taking my final leave. So if a plate of noodles holds the secret elixir to to an extra moment or two, I’ll gladly eat up a bowl.

No matter how few times we have blinked the years away, the majestic sight of crisp, paper-thin, sugar-encrusted  roti tisu,  drizzled with sweetened condensed milk and towering over us, never ceases to amaze. | December 2017, 4 & 7 years old | July 2022, 8 & 11 years old | January 2025, 11 & 14 years old | What if we fast-forward a couple more years? Will Salim's roti tisu  still stand just as tall, still taste just as perfect? Or will we be simply reaching for the memory of what it tasted like before? Perhaps the taste is merely a vessel for a cherished moment with someone we love . Maybe that's what all comfort foods truly are.