Time With The Children...

...is among the most precious and meaningful moments of my life.

Sometimes I tend to be selfish and become too engrossed with my own things that I get annoyed when my boys come to me and ask me to do this and that with them. Then when my maternal senses hit back at me, I realise that nothing beats the joy of sincerely and whole heartedly hanging out with them.

The past school holidays allowed some free time for mommy while the boys chilled with their grandfolks in Klang. But much of it was at home with school projects, chess camp and a getaway to The Lost World Of Tambun.

3 boys, 3 different individuals, 3 different characteristics, 3 different needs, 3 different approaches. It seriously does get very demanding, but well, I'd already decided to deal with that when I decided to have them. Right? :) And it becomes more challenging as they grow, as their stripes become more distinct and bold.

Esfahan has terabytes of stuff in his CPU which he needs to continually download, and it really does take a lot of energy to continually listen to him pour out his knowledge and findings of the day. But Esfahan needs a lot of pushing, for him to actually remain focused and keep to his program, else he will digress and branch out into so many other things, most times straying out of context. Once he gets something done, he'll just be okay about it, and will proceed to other things that interest him at that time; he'll just be on his way, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Damascus is very demanding. He knows exactly what he wants and will go to great lengths to get it. Most of the time he'd want to have it done his way, but he's open to suggestions, as long as he gets it. That was how he got his asymmetrical origami cranes to evolve into perfectly structured crafts overnight; piece after piece of origami paper until the wee hours of the night. He won't stop until he gets it, and he would insist that we stand there by him to help him get it right. And when he does achieve his goal, he would give us the biggest and warmest hug and the sloppiest kiss any child could give.

Marrakesh is still the baby. Going on 5, but still the little bear in the family. And his 2 older brothers baby him too. Marrakesh would imitate everything that Damascus does, and tries to measure up, but he will never ask for help from Damascus, he will always go to his Abang Long for that. But Marrakesh is fierce, very fierce, cross him and he'll morph into a tiger, even bigger than the great Siberian! And he'll take his own time to cool down, after which he'll give you the sweetest smile :)

But all in all, they're growing up very fast and they really need more space to expand. I try to bring them out as much as I can, and take them to my parent's place in Klang whenever we have the time. In Klang, they not only have ample space to move, but they are also therapy for my folks, who thrive on their 6 grandchildren.

At the end of the day, I always remind myself that however demanding, stressful or frustrating it may seem, I must always try to give my children my best attention. They don't ask for much, just my time, and lots and lots of milk!

Having a go at TokAbah's RC planes and helis...