Late Night Musings of a Dad of 4

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Reading about deaths and human mortality on my smartphone in bed late last night, prompted me to look back and think hard about my own life for the past 10 years. What exactly have I achieved? Besides the only promotion and the usual salary increments, my career was nothing spectacular despite feeling that I could have been better rewarded for my efforts. I mean, who doesn’t feel that way most of the time? But I am not complaining since it also gave me the means to enjoy the bigger things in life, and I enjoyed it, colleagues and all.

I have also lost a couple of friends and family members over the last decade. Some met their early demise and were gone forever. Surely miss them. While some others probably decided that our relationships were less important than money, or anything else for that matter. I lost friends who took loans from me and also lost family members from whom I tried seeking monetary assistance when I needed most. Thank you for the memories and life lessons taught. I wish you all the best too.

Damn! I lost a fair bit of money doing what I thought was preserving wealth. Bought shares at their highest prices because I just got my bonus then. Bought gold at the highest point because I thought the rare metal could fight off inflation. Bought silver units as a form of saving because it was easy to do and supposedly gave a better return. Needless to say, it was also good as gone too. I am by far, the worst investor (if I could even call myself one) in the world. ANYONE would have actually made money just by doing exactly the opposite of what I did. In fact, the old currency notes I kept in my safe probably would have done me more good!

My four musketeers, Steffi, Leroy, Stacci and Louie!

Not all dark and gloomy though for we have 4 kids in the past decade too! The kids, despite being unruly and having a knack at doing exactly what I didn't want them to do, added much sparkle to my otherwise (boring?) life. My life just don't belong to me anymore and I cannot explain exactly or describe fully how it felt but I know that at times I would just like to escape it all too. Imagine a long hard day at work and yet still needing to come back home to face 4 kids who never comprehend the command "stop"? They will go on and on with their incessant questions and whys despite my very best effort to answer them. Or just go about irritating each other, and then start complaining about one another, despite my pleas for some peace and quiet in the house. Sibei stress lor!

BUT yet when I needed to be away from the kids, something magical happens and I start to think about them. What would they be doing now? Have they taken their meals? Is anyone keeping them company? Even the silence would be deafening sometimes. They have stolen my heart, each and every one of them. How and whether it's in part or whole, I never really know, but steal they did. My last decade was full of ups and downs, highs and lows. From the lows of both me and my wife trying so hard to conceive and losing our first child through a miscarriage when we finally did, to the highs of having 4 rambunctious kids running about in the house and adding much joy and laughter in my life, our lives.  



Four kids may sound stressful to cope for some, but it sure is rewarding too! 

There ain't that many decades in anyone's life. I stop now and take count of my blessings. It has indeed been a good past decade of my life. Ok, make that past 3.5 decades. As much as I hope to look forward to a few more good decades with the family, some things in life are simply beyond our control. To have lived, loved and fathered, that's simply amazing! But there are definitely other things in life that you can have a say. Starting a family can be full of uncertainty, anxiety and even stressful at times but the rewards are very real and totally worth it. You would want to make sure that your loved ones are protected right from the start, even while still in the womb. Find out how you can do just that with AXA Family Advantage.

And for those of you who want a break from the household chores or to run away from the stress brought about by your kids, just follow the instructions below. 

(p.s. I wouldn't know how I would react to their singing but my helper would appreciate some work done and I am surely looking forward to a babycation (whatever that is)!