I’m the kind of parent who doesn’t feel guilty if his child is the last to be picked up at the student care. My needs come FIRST. But today, I decided to pull up my socks and resolutely switched off the TV at 5pm. I reached her school 15 minutes later, armed with two cups of watermelon juice that no one else had wanted at the marking event. As expected, she squealed in delight and waved bye bye to her friends triumphantly. I must have made an impression because she thanked me not once, but twice for coming earlier than usual.

Good to know that even though my days are frightfully mundane, I have the ability to make her day.
——

Before fatherhood, I used to devour movies. There was a season in my life in which companies organised contests and dished out free movie tickets as part of their marketing efforts. Suffice it to say that my superb writing skills garnered me free tickets on a weekly basis.

Then, COVID and fatherhood happened, which led to a sudden and drastic dip in the number of movies I watched. I don’t even feel sad about Golden Village Yishun closing down because I don’t patronise it anymore. But recently, I followed up on the Science Centre’s invitation to watch the Science Film Festival. This evening, having brought home my laptop, I watched a Columbia film about a critically endangered horned lark — with both my children. Those 12 minutes might have been short, but they took me away to a place that was beyond my horizons. It felt good to indulge in my hobby even if I wouldn’t call myself a film fanatic