My five-year-old boy has the dubious honour of being fed at meal times. However, something unusual happened.

He: I finished eating by myself!

I: 你很独立。 (Thought fleetingly of the word “independent” but decided to use Chinese with him instead.)

He: 什么意思？ (What does it mean?)

I: 能自己来。 (Can do it by yourself)

Without any hesitation, he stretched out his hand and shouted “自己来啦”, adeptly using the Singaporean particle, lar, that reaches into the deep recesses of Singaporean souls and generally exhibiting an adorable demeanour. His swift comeback took me by such surprise that I burst out laughing from my belly.

He is a true blue Singaporean!
Children and their unexpected antics have the impact of making jaded adults revert to their less hardened selves and emit hearty laughter.