My mother-in-law asked if I was worried about my boy’s academic results, to which I responded that 心の強さ (resoluteness of the heart) was more important than results. Now, resoluteness of the heart is an ambiguous phrase as it is so encompassing but I guess one trait I desire is the ability to articulate his likes. Which was something my son demonstrated recently for the dreaded art project. On a side note to preschools, seriously, not every parent fancies spending his precious weekend on his offspring’s (childcare!) homework. But lest I reveal to be the grumpy and grouchy old man that I am, this art project was surprisingly painless BECAUSE HE WAS VERY SURE THAT HE WANTED TO MAKE A HIPPO. You do you, decisive three-year-old! So we coloured the plates and stuck the double-sided tape and even made a watermelon out of a toilet roll. Quite impressive for someone who used to fail his secondary school Art. Also I don’t know why my boy loves hippos so much, but thanks to his undying love for this animal, I have picked up plenty of trivia along the way: 1) the young of a hippo is called a calf; 2) hippos don’t actually swim in water; they walk underwater; 3) they like to stay in water because they need to stay cool under the hot African sun; 4) hippos can hold their breath underwater for as long as 4 minutes. Too bad the structural and behavioural adaptations of hippos are not commonly tested in the Primary School Leaving Examination but well, hippos should occupy a special place in my and my son’s hearts nonetheless. ;)