Category: parenting

RESERVE ME-TIME. STAY BALANCED.

301 words by Valerie Speth

It’s Monday 2pm, May 11th, 2020.
Blood all over me. My son’s blood. I hurry into the elevator while ordering Grab, the Uber of Singapore.
Destination: next hospital. I haven’t showered yet. The “community stay home order” allows you to focus on work, not beauty.
My two-year-old has fallen on the chin. I can literally see the bone and I am more than confident he’ll need stitches. In the cab, my phone rings. I decline. It’s my next business call to discuss urgent office
topics. My son stares at me, “aua”.
“Sweety, don’t worry. All will be fine.”
Emergency room check-in requires four COVID registration … continue

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Embracing my new Self

301 words by Garance Moulin

I was on track. After a business school diploma, I started my professional life as a financial controller. As I juggled my career and my family, I worked my way up to financial director. I wanted responsibilities and to enjoy my work.
I was the Program Director of a big IT project. More than 100 people. Millions of euros. I was dedicated and not sparing my efforts to make it work. My team was strongly relying on me to lead the way, make decisions, and give them motivation. I was working with the company employees, turning reluctancy into enthusiasm. And at home, I was raising … continue

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DAY ONE

301 words by Maria-Christina Tsitsopoulos

May 22nd 2019, the first day in my new job. My dream job. A job I wished for since I was a young girl. A job I had no idea how it would really be. Would it fulfil my expectations? Was I going to be any good at it? A job I couldn’t quite believe I had landed in the moment that I did. Now those first days blur into one. The feelings of excitement and adrenaline that come with every new beginning. The feeling of anxiety; was I doing things right, was my employer going to like me. I still couldn’t believe the journey … continue

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The Most Important Lesson I Ever Learned

My Mother has the best moral compass of anyone I’ve ever met.
During my childhood I did a lot of foolish things which she was not too pleased about, however there’s sone occasion where she was more disappointed in me than she had ever been.
It was summer and friends stopped by to go out on a bike ride. Leaving the house my Mother said… “You can only go if you promise to wear your helmet” and not wanting to miss out on the fun, I duly agreed.
At that time, I naively and stupidly thought that wearing a helmet wasn’t the ‘cool thing to do’ and as we turned … continue

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Let’s bloom

The shape of the leaves was very similar to the smiling lips on an innocent face, the plant with pale green and ivory leaves arranged as if it were a human face; was my favorite on the window sill. But as life would have it, there are ups and downs, the only thing that works is to be consistent and positive. For a straight line on Electrocardiogram told me loud and clear, the person I loved the most is no longer my dearest dad but just a body.

The harsh winters took away all the leaves of my plant and all I could do was to look at it with … continue

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We do not own our children

They were born in a private Athens clinic in Greece when, at 39 and pregnant, I moved from NYC .There, doctors referred to them as ‘Twin A’ and ‘ Twin B’ on prenatal scans. I soon adopted Alpha and Beta as my unborn babies’ names. August 1st was extremely early for their delivery, but they wouldn’t wait ! Beta, my bright orange- haired daughter, perfectly formed, died as my husband and I dropped tears onto her incubator and spoke of the great love we had for her. A short life; 48 hours only. Alpha, my son, was transferred across to Pedon Childrens’ Hospital where he lived bravely for more than … continue

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Progressive parenting?

We have a little white cardboard box at home marked: Box of bad memories. Do not often open.
Everyone knows where it is, approximately. It is not hidden away or locked up against prying eyes. Occasionally it becomes buried under housed debris; sometimes it disappears, only to be rediscovered with a new entry written inside. Anyone can use it, no questions asked.
My Mum was brought up in a large, hard Scots households, where expressing emotions or expecting empathy was seen as a sure sign of weakness of character and firmly discouraged. To her credit she was determined that the next generation be permitted such luxuries, till overwhelmed, the drawbridge … continue

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