The Gifts From Within

I almost felt sorry that Sophie missed her graduation ceremony and a chance to be the Emcee of the school's year end concert because she skipped K2 and did P1 work this year. But I know it's really alright and there will be many other significant occasions she will miss from now on. We won't be in  the P1 orientation frenzy for starters. I admit I do feel a little lost without people telling me what to do, when to do it and how exactly to do it. I guess all of us have something to learn.

These are the 'milestones' we artificially created and learnt to accept as some of the essential norms and experiences of our life. They are the 'feel goods' for busy parents to feel involved in their children's lives and 'profitable' opportunities for institutions to milk the parents. Every year, the graduation ceremony becomes more and more remarkably prestigious. It's the little ones' first lesson about elitism  and glam. Definitely it is an impressive mini society we have created for them to get the training they need for the 'real world' later on. Of course, they aren't all bad. Such 'milestones' are like rituals that mark and initiate the children into their stage of life. They get to bid farewell to their younger self and prepare themselves for the road ahead. But seriously, are these really necessary?

Cherrybrook's annual Tea & Treats (like Dinner & Dance) is not cheap but it's not 'atas'. The money goes to the school fund. They are actually a non-profit kindergarten and all the school fees are spent on teachers' salary and school materials. They didn't tell parents to buy costumes or accessories. We all made do with what we could find.

Even the photographers and musicians are either parents or friends of the school. Papa was one of the photographers and a band member as well. Papa practised always daily for the past month or two and I'm sure the rest of them did exactly that as well.

The moment we reached NUSS Guild House, we 'deposited' the kids in the dressing room and went on socialising with the rest of the Cherrybrook parents and staff. It's funny how they thought I looked so different… every year. Maybe it's time I pay a bit more attention to my appearance in school.

The kids love to watch their papa perform. And I think its Papa's dream to form a band with the kids some day. Meanwhile, they will just have to play the audience. I didn't manage to record all the 10 songs the band played. Here's my favourite, especially with the montage…

The children were very well behaved and they waited very patiently for their turn to perform. I was worried that Alfee might go a little out of control because of sleep deprivation but he didn't. I was so proud of my kids. It was hard for both of them to do this, each facing their own unique challenges, yet they finally completed their tasks.

I would very much love to post CK's performance and Sophie's dance, but YouTube is not allowing them to be uploaded because of the songs and blogger is not letting me upload. So frustrating. Until I can figure out what to do… Here is Alfee in motion!