Grooming a young lady

National Day celebrations in school has always been the annual rummage through the drawer for something red and something white to wear.

Tangentially, we've come to the conclusion that Jordan's school is a very conservative and 'proper' mission girls school. Other mission girls schools allow their younger girls especially, to go to school in PE attire and spend the rest of the day in the same gear till dismissal on PE days. I had naturally assumed that Jordan would be allowed to do the same, only that she isn't. She is expected to change back into her uniform because 'proper' girls don't spend the day in PE clothes.

So it came as no surprise that she was given a long list of guidelines to follow for her National Day attire. And that drove me slightly batty.

1. No spaghetti straps.
2. No singlets (though when she told me, it came across as nothing sleeveless)
3. It had to be RED or WHITE with no other colour prints. 
4. Only stripe and dot derivatives were allowed.
5. Skirts/ shorts and dresses had to reach the knees.
6. If they didn't, leggings had to be worn. Leggings had to be white.
7. Shoes could not have heels or wheels. No slippers either.

As Jordan rattled off the list, I pictured her in something resembling and red and white burqa which I was very certain, her Christian conservative school, would not be able to find funny and I would very quickly get called into the principal's office for.

White and red were bad enough. The white shorts we ended up pulling out were too short. The leggings I paired with it had pale grey stripes on it. Same response to the possible skirt options. The white tops we had were all sleeveless and Jordan vetoed it.

Eventually, the option was to go nekkid or in uniform and while she was happy to go in uniform, I was determined get it right and if possible, use it as a statement of how ridiculous I found some of the guidelines to be.

So this was the eventual ensemble that we put together.

When she pointed out that her top was still sleeveless, I pointed out that the material on the end of the skirt more than made up for it. She also pointed out that her skirt was too long and it would be difficult to go to the washroom if it were wet.

I told her we couldn't always win and she just had to hike up her skirt like any other 7 year old would do. And that way, NO ONE could query her length of skirt.

The little girl who HAD to do it as the rules stipulated was having a lot of cognitive dissonance from a mother who insisted on showing her that there was middle ground.

Incidentally, I had also known that the sleeveless top wasn't going to get her into trouble because the aforementioned rules were Jordan's interpretation of it and not really what the teacher meant.

I think she and her school deserve each other.

I shall also enjoy and treasure these days where she loves the long swishy skirts and where "You mean you're going to go out wearing that?" is not about a battle of how short and revealing her clothes are but how hot she might be.

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Home is where the family is

The coming of the long weekend had JED asking us what we were going to do. We didn't have any plans to go away so we asked them  what they wanted to do.

This was their list.
1. Have their cousin B sleepover.
2. Go swimming at Grandpa and Grandma's club (their club's pool has got slides and water features)
3. Visit and hang out with Uncle B
4. Sleep in our room.

We're half way through the long weekend and this is what we've done.

1. We went to Uncle B's and Evan and Muffin set the record in chicken rice eating. As I watched the two boys polish off 2 containers of chicken rice with full condiments, I was filled with both pride and fear. Before my eyes were just 2 of the many reasons why my children would soon bankrupt me.



2. JED went on their first night adventure trek. Uncle B lives near the beach and outfitted with torchlights, we walked by the river to the beach at dusk. It is filled with mosquitoes, wild chickens, bats, chameleons and strangely a Hansel and Gretel trail of oranges. They loved the walking in the dark with torch lights. Muffin pretended he was a firefly, holding his torchlight on his back.



3. On the way home, we pick up Cousin B and Jordan, Evan and Cousin B gossip all the way back about their favourite cartoon trading views about their favourite characters. For the first time, we realised that they weren't pre-schoolers anymore but little individuals with interests. They continue that conversation while I was trying to tuck them in and the two girls natter away till they fall asleep.

I see for the first time what Jordan is going to be as a teenager.

4. JED spend National Day morning hanging out with Cousin B, climbing door frames, playing hide and seek and eventually settling down to watch My Little Pony where they trade more information and facts with each other.



5. They do make it to Grandma and Grandpa's club with Cousin B in tow and end up with mid morning tan lines, drenching all the adults with water canons and finding different and new ways to go down the water slide and upping each other's attempt.

6. Then there was the National Day staple of watching of the parade. This year, we are informed by Evan that our President is Dr Tony Tan and the planes that are part of the fly past are F15's. We are however, misinformed by him that our National Anthem is One People, One Nation, One Singapore. When we pointed out the actual National Anthem to him as his favourite Chinooks flew the flag past the parade grounds, he claimed Majulah Singapura was just a National Day song and was extremely disappointed at not hearing his idea of the National Anthem. 

As expected, they are exhausted by the last two days as are both Packrat and I. But it has been a nice sort of tired, where we haven't done anything exceptional or expensive but just hung out and spent a great amount of time with those who are part of the family. And it being National Day and all, it seemed very much like the apt thing to do.

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NDP Roof Top Party

We like traditions. We like to do the same thing every year. And JED know it now. They know that one of the things we do is that when National Day rolls by, we go to Packrat's school to watch the fire works.

Every year, the student government at his school organises a roof top party, the music and theatre students set up a band and provide music and entertainment. The atmosphere is buzzing with energy, laughter and much excitement.

We go every year with friends or family. And we let JED go nuts. It's an enclosed area, as long as they don't go near the red tape meant to keep them away from the edge of the building. We did have a mini scare when Muffin ran off, after it had turned dark and we couldn't find him. Eventually, Packrat's search party of students found him near the stage where it was bright.


But it is something we look forward too every year. The picnicking on the roof, the kids going nuts playing with the ready bevy of babysitters that gravitate toward them while waiting for the 3 highlights of the day.

My personal favourite would be the fly past and the bomb bursts. Evan and Jordan loved the fireworks though Muffin was a tad fearful of the noise.

And all three loved the fact that we brought them light sticks and the entrepreneurial students that were also selling light sticks at cut throat prices to raise funds for their year-end service learning trips made a killing with our three. Well, actually with us because they have empty pockets, literally.

Evan has asked for us to go again next year and cannot wait for next year's roof top party. Well, as long as Packrat is staff there, he can be assured of it.
  

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National Day Kids Style

National Day is upon the nation. It becomes a season of mocking and affection. Mocking because of the bad songs, ministers dressing and behaving in ways totally incongruous to their ministerial personas and parade performances with costumes that invite more than raised eyebrows. But there is also affection. The fireworks, the march past and the bomb burst which have been my perennial favourites. But this year, add to that, JED and their excitement.

School does a pretty good job getting them all hyped up. They want the flags. They want to sing the National Anthem and they want to be outfitted in red and white for the weekend. All of which makes it more fun for me as well. Their excitement is contagious.

They return from school singing the first line of every National Day song, mixing them up with hilarious outcomes. "Count Muddy Singapore" was among my favourites. They eat local cuisine in school as part of the National Day party. So they are stuffed with roti prata and fried kway teow.

I take the opportunity to dress the twins in their Dr Seuss Thing 1 and Thing 2 t-shirts. Of course, it once again elicits objections from Evan because he has to wear the Thing 2 t-shirt even though he is BIGGER than Jordan. Even though he does grasp the concept that Jordan is older, he still has a bone to pick with my Ob-gyn for not being able to find him so Jordan was taken out first. It will be one of those things that he will be disgruntled about for life; the sheer fact that the Ob-gyn did not have a GPS to direct him to Evan first, Evan will never be first born even though his size shows otherwise for now.

So, through their eyes, there is no cynicism. There is plain joy and glee at it being a holiday, at it being someone's (Singapore is someone to them) birthday and there is a big party and parade to celebrate it. That and the fact that Mommy and Papa are home and we have friends over for dinner just makes it all the more festive.

I said on Facebook that I would try to bring up the kids to be good Singaporeans and I meant it. The cynicism and the eye ball rolling that comes together with the attempts at trying to rally national spirit is hidden when we talk to them about National Day. And thankfully, when we see it through their eyes, for that little while, we are struck by their wonder, their joy and glee and it is easy to forget our cultivated cynicism. That is, until Love at First Light plays again!


 Technorati Tags: National Day, Singapore, pre-schoolers

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