Our 2018

2018 is the most balanced and fulfilling year to date. 

My days of constant flying are over. Work travels for me and Ken were reduced drastically and for the first time ever, we spent so much time with the kids and it was epic.

Megan’s confidence and happiness index soared as she opened up to new experiences and tried her best at what was given to her. 2018 marked plenty of play dates, breakfasts, library books, screen time restriction (hahaha!!).

Morgan on the other hand, still believed he could get away with all mischiefs with his smiles and hugs. Could not keep still and wailed at whatever he did not want to do (which is everything). This boy is going to have a hard time in school but that we will worry about later. 

2018, he made good progress in his speech and let’s hope he will be able to communicate like kids his age soon.

A new chapter of my work life opened up in the field of elderly care. I never cared to know anything about this topic before this year but having immersed myself in medical conferences, discussions on sustainable facilitates for the aged, listening to designers talk about which tables and chairs are suitable for the elderly and unlike hotels, how little the industry knows which model is the best approach, I feel much needed to be done.

While many countries are still asking the question - who to pay for the elderly, I am very heartened to know that years ago, Singapore had already taken steps to restructured our health care system, thought of ways to create a dementia friendly city and experiment with different medical, lifestyle models to prolong the elderly pre-frail stage in their extended lifespan. This is no easy feat considering the complexity of the solution needed. And yes for the first time in 40 years, I am impressed with Singapore’s foresight and planning process to problem solving (having witnessed this  process myself).

The shift in perspective from hotel (which I still love) to elderly facilities is timely because if I want to dictate the environment I want to live in years down the road, this is the time to start. My mum, in-laws and relatives are also smack right in the middle of this silver tsunami and this can be a sensitive and fearful topic for the unprepared.

But we will all grow old so our attitudes towards how to live our last 20 years become important.

Kudos to my mum for learning to drink wine, eat cheese, cycle and hike in the rain in Bulgaria, Czech, Albania, Romania, Hungry, Moldova, Slovakia and Croatia etc. She traveled to more places with her gang of buddies than her daughter, which is totally impressive. 

Hearing cousins share stories on how our parents gossip family news via morning walks, getting drunk like giggling teenagers during family gatherings makes for a good laugh. All the more meaningful now that I learnt more about preparation for old age. May I be like them one day. 

Half the time I have no idea where you are travelling

Climb the mountains and explore the oceans Mimi! Me too! Hence have to stay healthy and fit. 

 My hilarious first 10km

 Many celebrations of friendships

 Cousins gatherings

Bangkok for our big 40s

 Chengdu Chongqing and memorable "massage" experience

Relaxing Taipei

Doing my part not to take earth for granted and reduce unnecessary waste. In this year alone, I have rejected an estimated 700+ single use plastic bags simply by bringing my own bag. And I have not even made any real effort to make much change in our lifestyle. Happy with my progress. Will do more in 2019. 

2018 has been good to us. We cannot ask for a better-balanced year. Met people new and old, all of them made an impact. Some showed me a different way, some served as a mirror to look at myself and others came into my life to remind myself never to be become one like them. So fortunate our family are, we are filled with gratitude.

Now welcome 2019!