The brothers

Life has definitely changed with a primary school going kid. It's no longer all fun. It's work almost all the time and weekends or school holidays are the only time for fun. I miss the walks at the Botanic Gardens on a weekday. I long to go for a book picnic early in the morning at the nearby Ang Mo Kio Town Garden. I look back and can only reminisce the good old days at the Fire Engine playground. Looking for fun in between busyness seems to be a task I'm entrusted with. And it is an important one, I soon realized. The time invested in building up the boys together is invaluable. As I've learned from parenthood firsthand, boys need the time to interact, play, compete and fight. I've come to accept the nature of boys. Competing and pitting against each other is part of growing up. From punches and scratches on the face to rolling on the ground and wrestling, my boys have come a long way, as they refrain from hurting each other now. The brotherhood between Zech and Nathanael is built up by the time spent together engaging in meaningful play.

My boys need that outlet to play, bond, imagine and dream. Even if it's just a mere 20 min of water play at the Sports Hub after school one day (unfortunately the rain came soon after), my boys were refreshed with pure delight all over their faces.

Though Nath loves disturbing his big brother, he adores Zech and looks up to him a lot. One day, Nath took out the foldable table Zech uses in the morning for work. He quietly sat down and did his writing. He told me he needed to do his work just like Zech. How heartwarming! There was a day we went to the library together. Nath insisted on carrying a similar bag like Zech's.

I treasure the time the 2 boys spend together. Not as much this year but with a little advance planning, it does ensure some quality time.

The 2 boys watched a play together for the first time. It was an hour long but could captivate even Nath's attention.

At Nath's first visit to Kidzania, it dawned on me how precious for the brothers to be playing together. Nath needed the company.

Staying home together means more noise, more fights and more fun too. Lately, they constructed an airport using Lego. One evening after dinner, Nath sat down on the rug and started working on the airport. Love the collaboration between the brothers! It's still sitting nicely in the living room.

Once in a while, I miss having a little girl at home. But I'm so glad Zech and Nath have each other. On their journey to adulthood, they need those pockets of fun to foster, deepen and strengthen their relationship and that's what I'm entrusted with.