As I stand on the cusp of 40, with a half-asleep-half-awake baby nestled in my arms, I ponder about my life.

My gigantic dreams have whittled down to the size of the little red dot. Gone are the days where I agonised about wanderlust and strategised about seeing the world. I swapped learning Thai for changing diapers. Actually, these days, I just want more sleep, darn it.

Still, in dwindling down my options drastically, he has paradoxically made me love life more. Babies wake up full of belly laughter (if they aren’t screaming their heads off, that is) and vigorously kicking limbs. It’s hard not to get caught up in their infectious spirit.

Of course, there is the academic side of things, where I hope my rich experiences in a giddy mix of schools and educational systems will come in handy. But more than anything else, I am waiting with baited breath to have his personality and potential, gifts and flaws, burning desires and pet peeves unravel in front of me. Like a human cabbage - did you know that its central part still keeps growing after being harvested?

I had wanted to write an epic stream-of-consciousness narrative about finding my life purpose but penned a half-coherent ode to parenthood instead. Such is life, I guess. It’s what happens when you are busy making other plans. Haha