The Bub in the Belly

Work continues to do its best to wear me down but I'm not giving in without a fight. I had some heavy-duty work stuff to take care of this week, which I'm glad to say went well.

Apart from that, it's been a week of guests popping in and out of our house.

Richard's dad and Richard's second sister, Mary, flew down to Singapore on Tuesday to see an orthopaedic surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Hospital about a problem that Richard's dad has been having with his spine. It was serious enough for the surgeon to have him book the operation for Thursday, so he stayed with us till then. He'll be staying with us until the follow-up appointment, which will be on next Thursday. Mary flew back on Tuesday night and Richard had dinner with his dad (and Ryan) while I went for the monthly SMH mummies dinner at Coca Steamboat Restaurant at Ngee Ann City. It was a raucous affair, 15 ladies talking all at once, and I think we all enjoyed the break and the adult interaction (although we still talk a lot about children).

The operation was on Thursday evening and, praise God, all went well.




Richard's dad stayed one night in the hospital and was discharged the following morning. Mary flew down again to stay the night with him in his room and keep him company. She flew back to KL the next day. On Saturday, Richard's mum flew down with Richard's first sister Margaret and her three children and stayed one night at our house.

On Saturday, we had breakfast at the Botanic Gardens and after lunch at Suntec City, we popped in at the Singapore Garden Festival at Suntec City. We actually got stuck in a jam on the way to Suntec City on account of all the road closures for the National Day celebration rehearsals, but I am glad that we made it there because the displays were fantastic. I got lots of inspiration for my dream garden... haha.




We took Ryan for his swimming class on Sunday morning. Two weeks back, I was writing about how I felt that the exercises were the "same old, same old" ones, and someone must have heard my voice because this week, the coach introduced some new exercises! Ryan enjoyed himself a lot!

The family left on Sunday evening, after a nice dinner at Long Beach Seafood Restaurant. Richard's dad is still with us, perhaps we'll take him out for a movie before he goes home.



Looking back, I actually think that it was a great week, although Richard's dad had to undergo a spine operation to make it happen. The way that the family came together to deliver support, encouragement and care, without any complaints or bitterness, was truly amazing and I know that Richard's dad was so very touched.

I'm happy that Ryan has a family like that, who will come to his aid without question and who will always make themselves available for him and I hope that being a part of such a family will show Ryan how to himself be a good son and a good brother. Brings to mind the latest tagline of the Singapore National Family Council: "How one generation loves, the next generation learns", which I never seriously thought about until this week. If the tagline is true, then Ryan definitely has a wonderful generation of loving family members to learn from.

Hope your week was just as wonderful.