2020

2020 was tough. No doubt about it. Parenting in 2020 was tough. Work in 2020 was tough. Life in 2020 was tough.

But you know what ? While it was tough, we also had really good times. We spent 2 months quarantined at home with nothing but each other (and lotsa shows). We stayed healthy. All our family and friends stayed healthy. And by and large life in Singapore has gone 75% back to normal I would say.

Things I discovered in 2020.

1. Toy rentals. How I never knew about it. I don’t know. But we ended up renting a play structure for our balcony. And spent hours just sitting around the balcony passing time. It’s amazing. Highly recommend as a way to try new toys/to get age appropriate toys (because it doesn’t last long as we all know).

2. Educational games on the iPad. Aside from shows, I have found some educational games that J enjoys. Will share a list soon.

3. Bubble machine. We got a cheap automatic bubble blower off the internet for like $10. It takes lots of bubble solution (which was surprisingly hard to find during circuit breaker days) but you know what. My 3 year old spent an hour chasing bubbles everyday. Just running. So I highly recommend.

4. Online bookstores. Aside from book depository (which takes a while to deliver, particularly so during CB), many other stores started delivering online. We ended up buying almost a hundred books just to past the time. And I learnt that 3 year olds can do activity book and reference books for kids are a great way to teach topics.

5. Take time for yourself where you need to. I’m an introvert. I don’t like to talk all the time. I don’t feel the need for a lot of social interaction. My son on the other hand is very sociable and loves to talk. And when there are only the three of us at home. Clearly we’re going to need to entertain him. It nearly drove me nuts. I learnt to take breaks for myself. Even if it meant just sitting on the bath tub for half an hour. It just reset my energy and gave me more patience to deal. Mad props to my husband for being able to deal with the both of us during all the mess.

Maybe I’ll continue the list another time. But you know what. 2021 seems to be getting better. Things in Singapore have kinda stabilised. Vaccines are available. The global situation is…. Well. We’ll see. Hopefully some day soon we can take a plane somewhere and see the world again?