Since I work in Singapore, I realised how hard it is for Singaporean mothers to stay at home taking care of their kids. There are always forums on the TV highlighting this issue too. Of course there are many factors which keep modern moms away from home: high living expenses, personal ambitions etc.

If it is 20 years ago, life could be so much easier. Back then, it is almost ‘normal’ to have moms staying at home taking care of the kids. If you tell others that you work, they would probably think you are the worst mom in the world.

I was very blessed to have my mom taking care of us 24/7 when we were young. Till now, I still remember our daily activities. We used to paint and draw, playing barbie dolls and cooking game together etc. Mom also put up a small white board in the room where my sister and I used to sit quietly on the bed (with air-con) learning our ABC. Then my mom had Q&A sessions. I always wanted to go to school since I was 3. You know, back at my time we didn’t have nursery. The earliest schooling year was 5 years old. So my mom did home schooling everyday.

The best thing of being a stay-at-home mom is, you won’t miss any memorable moment with your kid. My mom can tell me every moment about me in the past, when I spoke my first word and etc. She told me that I had a small pink colour bag that kept my pencils and ABC book when I was 10 months old. Every night about 10p.m, I dragged my bag to her and put my ABC book in front of her (Yes, I walked already!). Then she went through from A to Z while I sat quietly listening to her. And that was how I knew my ABC when I was 1 year old. Most of our relatives did not believe it and they often tested me by pointing at some random alphabets on the street. When they knew I can recognise them, they thought my mom forced me to learn. Well, my mom never force me to study or do my homework since I started schooling. She is the most understanding mom.

After my sister was born, we had even more fun! I remember helping my mom put cherries and raisins on cup cakes, feeding my ducklings and chicks, folding handkerchiefs, combing dolls’ hair and etc. Sometimes my mom set up a inflatable pool at the garden in the afternoon and we loved it so much. How I hope I can fit into the pool now. OOh, we also had a inflatable mickey house.:)

Sometimes when my mom hand washed our clothing, both my sis and I love to sit and watch her because we wanted to be asked to help. Mom will let us twisting some handkerchiefs. When she was in ‘crazy mode’, she covered us with the super dripping wet clothing on both of us out of a sudden. Then we both screamed and were soaking wet.

I think I have grown up too fast. I miss the fun so much! I hope I can give my kids the same childhood as my mom did. I wouldn’t want to miss any moment watching them grow. And if I can turn back time, what I wish to have is a video camera. Those footage will be absolutely priceless! Luckily we do have a good collection of pictures because my mom loved to take photos of us….

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