Sunday, August 20, 2017

My little life coach

Time flies. My son is nearly 7 months old now and personally, it feels like I've had him for like 7 years. They say that the day passes slowly, but the years spin by fast. I totally agree. Each day leads to night and the night merges into day again, so while you're doing your routine and trying to get by each day, you'll realise that months or years had gone by without you noticing.


Now that the 'honey moon' period for being a first time father had died down, it's all about the daily grind. I think I spend a lot of time with him, but it's always not nearly enough. From a needy and helpless baby, my son has grown to become opinionated. If the milk is not nearly warm enough, or if you didn't hug him in a way that he is accustomed to, he will make his displeasure known to all within a 500 m radius. He is getting harder to take care, because he is less like a rag doll and more like a human now. When the day is bad, I'll remind myself this: would I rather a listless, unresponsive child for me to assert my will onto, or a cacophonous crying baby that is alive? Easy choice there.


He is getting heavier with all the tonnes and gallons of breast milk, expressed so painstakingly and patiently by his mother, and sucked through his tiny toothless mouth. My arms and back muscles are also getting stronger in order to carry him for longer and longer periods of time. The journey thus far might be difficult, but I always remind myself that my son will not be a baby forever. One day, he will grow out of hugging his not-so-cool parents and not wishing for one more kiss or one more bed time story. Everything has his own time and season, so dance in the rain while it's raining.


On reflection, I think everything about having a kid is antithesis to being financially free. Here's a list of things:

1. I get to work lesser hours because I need to spend more time on family. Less work less pay less savings. You can compound the lost savings @ 5% over 30 yrs and see how much you actually 'lost'.

2. My electricity and water bills rose up faster than STI over this year. It used to be about $100 to $120 per month, but now it's dangerously hovering around the range of $180 per month. That's like a 50% increase.

3. I'm such a shopper these days that I qualified for GOLD member for qoo10 for several months now. To qualify for a GOLD member, you need to spend certain amount and consistently. And that cost money. Babies consume a lot of disposables. I'm sure all the diaper, wipes and milk formula companies are smiling all day because they are earning money while my son eats, poops and sleeps all day.


The 'baby monster'

But these things no longer concern me. Loving and nurturing my son concerns me. I think if you're thinking about me, me and me, you're not ready for a kid. It's nature's way of doing a filtering and selection process for parents, sussing out those that are not ideal to take care of the helpless, pinkish little humans. Only crazy irrational people who don't mind delaying their financial freedom plans by sacrificing their income and ramping up their expenses will want a kid. And most importantly, those same irrational human being must have a spirit of self sacrifice for something other than yourself (you can argue that your kid is but a vicarious extension of yourself, of course, but that's a different fight for a different day). But now and then, nature screwed up and let certain people slip through the cracks, to the detriment of their child, and perhaps their parents as well.


If you can survive the financial bombs that are sure to hit in your general direction, and also survive the daily grinds of taking care of the kid, you get to taste the sweet fruits. You get to see the world in the eyes of the child again, but this time, with a matured and hopefully reflective mind. You will join your child to giggle at ordinary things viewed with extraordinary innocence. Every sunrise marks a brand new exciting day of discovery and adventure, shortened only by sun set. You'll see the really important things in life - a heart to love, a hand to hold and a warm megawatt smile. Those simple things will take you all the way up the highest mountain and down the deepest sea and back.


Come to think of it, I think it's a fair trade. I feed, shelter and nuture my son, and he in turn teaches me life lessons.


14 comments :

Sillyinvestor said...

Yup, LP

The kid is totally worth it. It's fun seeing yourself and realise how "weird"
U are. Lol. Also a lot of joy.

Dun worry about the money. The bomb only comes when he goes nursery or kindergarten. Children go university twice I singapore

Createwealth8888 said...

From primary to govt sec and JC is affordable

fuzzyview said...

I'm surprised you are not VIP yet... My girl was born in 2013, that was the heyday of Amazon FSSG then, and I was receiving parcels almost every week! LOL

la papillion said...

Hi SI,

Haha, I totally agree.. I'm not worried about the expenses, I'm sure I can make it through. I'm more worried if I have the energy to handle a growing and curious boy haha

I think so, conventional pri/sch/jc are very cheap. It's those off schools enrichment that are crazy.

la papillion said...

Hi bro8888,

Totally agree. Esp now when the exams fees are also waived off for singaporean citizens.

la papillion said...

Hi fuzzyview,

No no no, I try not to be VIP haha! Must have limits! lol

Kate said...

Having a kid brings so much joy to your life and agree that it does consume quite a bit of resources - both in terms of energy and financially. But they are all worth it!

Singapore Man of Leisure said...

LP,

Since I find it hard to poke you, I'll do the next best thing...

Just wait until Huang Rong comes to you rubbing her tummy, "Jing ge ge, I think we did it again..."


LOL!


la papillion said...

Hi Kate,

I agree...it's all worth it :)

la papillion said...

Hi SMOL,

LOL!

JUSTIN FINANCE said...

To whom it may concern,

We Offer Personal, Commercial and business Loans with very Minimal annual Interest Rates as Low as 3% within 1 year to 50 years repayment duration period to any part of the world. We give out loans within the range of $10,000 to $100,000,000 USD. Our loans are well insured for maximum security is our priority.

Interested Persons should contact me via E-mail

Lender's Name: Justine Williams
Lender's Email: unique2aal@gmail.com

BORROWERS INFORMATION

NAME:
LOAN AMOUNT:
DURATION:
PHONE#:
COUNTRY:

Note: all emails are to be forwarded to our email at unique2aal@gmail.com for more info.

Rolf Suey said...

Hi LP,

It's been awhile. My boy is 6 months plus and already more than 9kg. Children are blessings.

May ur boy be blessed.

Loanoffer said...

Do you need Personal Finance?
Business Cash Finance?
Unsecured Finance
Fast and Simple Finance?
Quick Application Process?
Finance. Services Rendered include,
*Debt Consolidation Finance
*Business Finance Services
*Personal Finance services Help
Please write back if interested with our interest rate
Contact Us housingfinance22@gmail.com
Contact us on whatspp +447513195409

Phone Dressup said...

glad to know u and momoeagle are already fathers