It has been a while since I updated what was going on with us. PSLE of course, what else ya? So very happy that PSLE is finally over!! YEAH!!!
On Post-PSLE…
It has been a quick 9 months since the start of our preparation and now it is awaiting the fruits of labour. Ask me what my thoughts are. I would say having no expectation on the results is keeping our family cool and calm about the whole PSLE thing. In fact, I have totally no idea what Missy will fare. I am only happy that she has done her best and improves by a great leap in her academic understanding. So, what’s next will be carefully choosing a school that is suitable for her. A school that will leave good memories to grow and learn happily.
Choosing a Secondary School at this point is hard as we have no idea on what cut-off point to filter. So, focusing on niche CCA, interest, location, subjects and even Mission statement seem to be the practical thing to do for now.
Life after PSLE has been a relax one for Missy and me. So relax that I hardly focus on Master 10’s revision. I am happy that he was quite independent in his revision while I was away for business trip for 2 weeks. It will be good to leave the responsibility of revision in his own hands with minimal help from me. I am looking forward to see how his solo efforts will work out. It will be an insight into how attentive he is in class. You’ll bet that I will be similarly cool about Master 10’s academic and certainly continue our NO TUITION route. If it works out for Missy, it will work out for every of our children 🙂
Someone new in my company had asked me how did I do it with my insistence on the NO TUITION route since almost everyone around us are sending their kids to tuition. So, I answered her with the below:
No Expectations on marks (even if exam results are in the 50s range)
Believe in raising HAPPY kids
These 2 mottos will guide me through raising our kids happily and having laughters and smiles in our house 🙂
On Away from Kids…
This is my 2nd business trip this year and longest so far. It is still hard for me to leave the kids with their unhappy faces and cries. It made me weep secretly too. I am that emotional. I made it a point to leave after the PSLE Science paper even if it meant to travel solo to a country I have never been to which otherwise I would have company. We celebrated with me waiting outside school and bringing Missy to Mac Donald’s for breakfast. After that, we went home to bake her favourite New York Cheesecake. We went for a Teppanyaki lunch together with the Dad and Master 10 before a Mummy-Daughter shopping trip. We went back home for dinner, cut the Cheesecake before I leave for the 2-week travel. Missy still had her last Higher Chinese paper the next day. I need not have to worry about her needing my help in that. She is probably better than me in answering complicated Comprehension questions. Furthermore, it is not such a core subject and I am just glad that it did not need to compete for attention.
I guess the difference between a Mum’s biz travel and a Dad’s biz travel is that the Mum is expected to face-call daily no matter if she is attending to business halfway or shopping at outlets. I enjoy seeing their happy faces or even crying faces in the background. I felt closer to home and felt at ease knowing that they were fine at home. Still, boys and girls behave differently. My girl was all excited to talk to me while my elder son was cool about it and showed no expression. Maybe it was better for him not to see my face so as to freeze whatever mixed emotions he had. The youngest one was still a bit confused about the number of nights he had to sleep before I was home. Very sweet of them to send night kisses and voice recordings to me. The longer I stayed overseas, the longing for home got stronger. I guess 2 biz trips in a year is enough for me.
Another difference is that Mum will have to plan everything in advance before her trip to ensure things run smoothly at home. That includes writing out a time-table on what time each kid comes back from school, what events happen at what dates, planning on marketing allowance, piano fees, bills to pay in advance, to planning playdates and informing other parents to contact the spouse for special events pick-up and arrangement. Whoa! These are things that the Dad will not know or pay attention to details. I need to ensure minimal disruption to compensate for my absence. Things still need to run at clockwork at home.
On family ties…
A friend of mine shared with me that the family will meet up at the grandparents house every Saturday. The cousins will be there too. Her daughter told me excitedly that she never misses the weekly gathering because it is so much fun to play, chat and catch up with the cousins. Another friend also shared with me that she will meet up with the siblings at the parents’ house even though each of them are married with kids. The only time any of them is absent will be because he or she is out for business trip. How lucky these families are!
While my family meets up with the grandparents and cousins frequently, we do not designate a weekly gathering. It is usually impromptu, or for celebrations. I really wish to plan out a fixed weekend to gather and bond. It may take some conscious coordination since almost all kids have weekend commitments to attend to. But I am sure we can work out something! It is never too late to start one.
On myself…
After PSLE is over, I am dreading what comes next. I will be helperless in November! It has been 3 years of quality time at home and now that I will be back to doing house chores, it will be challenging for me not to let a messy and dirty house affect my mood when I come home from work. That is the biggest challenge. I will certainly update on my blog on these challenges and how we are coping. Wish us luck!!!
So, I am ending October with a happy shout that… PSLE IS FINALLY OVER!!! Back to many relax evenings free of revision and more bonding time with the kids!!! YEAH!!!!
How did your October go?
LOL. My helper is also going back for a month from Mid Nov. So I can totally understand you! Wish us luck this November!
Jia you!! At least she will be back! I don’t know if I will throw in white towel after 1 month LOL!