A Singaporean In Australia

Early this week, I staggered to room after dinner and dived right into my bed. Awhile later, Jen's face popped out at the doorway and quipped, "Sleep ah?'

"Resting my bad back," I groaned, waving her away and she disappeared, likely to have rejoined Albany at the dining table. 

Little Albany's consumption seem to have reached  a plateau. It seems like yesterday when she was always hungry, going for bigger portions by the week. Her 1 year old brother is almost eating as much as her these days. That being said, her appetite is good and rarely reject food. She eats slowly nowadays. Like any kid of her age, she has the tendency to be distracted during meals. She will be chatting with us or monkeying around with her young brother, who is capable of mimicking her by now. Fortunately, that is about all about her table manners that needs to be improved. She rarely leave the table before she finishes her table, except to get some drinking water. We have kept things like that firmly in check. Over the years,

"I wan tissue," has become, "Can you pass me the tissue please?"

Leaving the table in tears has become bringing her finished plate to the kitchen bench.

"I want to eat that!" has become asking the chef what utensils is needed for the meal, setting the table for the family and get seated for the upcoming meal.

We have came a long way....

After a few minutes of shut eye, I heard something interesting Albany said, "Mummy, I want to wash the plates for the family." I raised an eyebrow and struggled slightly to get up, the back pain was much lesser in intensity by then. I should be fully recovered by the coming weekend. I wouldn't want to miss a thing.

I sneaked up to Albany and placed my face near hers like what I always do to tease her and whispered, "You can wash plates ah?"

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Albany whined in a girly protest as if to say, "Dad, you're annoying!"

"Ok, ok. Let me help you," I offered, patting her on her shoulder.

"I need you to switch on the tap for me because I cannot reach it," she replied.

Just like that, I stood there watching the entire process of my new semi-automated dishwasher at work. It's a surprisingly proficient model for its size and power. Its water usage wasn't as high as I initially thought too. The only drawback was it didn't come with a automatic water flushing system so I had to do that manually. However, the amazing thing was that the dishwasher was a intelligent model that could learn and improve. I am waiting patiently for a positive evolution.

After the wash, Albany went over to help pick up the mess Anthony created on the floor, the aftermath of his first lesson eating by himself with a spoon. Hard times rebooted but it is necessary stage for him to gain the independence of feeding.

The main reason why I was happy with this incident wasn't because Albany was capable of doing housework but her willingness to, with helping the family in mind. I can tell you 101 tips in training a child how to work but have absolutely no clue how to instill the correct mentality. In that sense, I felt lucky that Albany has a sensible head on her shoulders. If she can use the same spirit in her learning, and not study for the sake of passing exams, she will turn out better than me for sure. That is something I have to instill in her somehow. I have done it all wrong before. That's one mistake I don't want her to repeat.