There are days I adore kids and days that I wonder why do we make our lives so difficult by choosing to have kids.

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Today I'm once again overwhelmed with respect for all caregivers for our children.

Dearie called panting over the phone and sounding so weak, saying that he has food poisoning. So I drop all things and board the earliest train back to Zurich. I thought my train ride would feel very panicky as I mentally 'push' the train to go faster so that I can be home with the boys, and relive Dearie from Jon. Dearie, I'm coming soon! You shall rest and recover as soon as I reach home okie?

God also decided to use this crazy 1hr of commuting time to show me yet another lesson...

While I was waiting at the Bern train station (straining my neck all the time, hoping to see the Zurich bound train pull in), a person tapped my arm from the back. I turned around to find a visually impaired lady with 2 young kids in tow (I later learnt from this lady that the boy is 6yr and the girl 3yr) speaking in German. Thankfully she could converse in good English and I found that they needed help to find the Kinderwagen on the train for the kids to play during this 56min commute. So I brought the lady and these 2 kids along. As we walked, we chatted and I praised the kids for being so cooperative and well behaved. The lady said she told them that they had to listen to her if they were to follow her out - and they did.

When we finally boarded the train and after I settled the family of 3 down at the play area in the Kinderwagen, I decided to just sit a few seats down. While I would have liked to sit at a wagon nearer the Zurich exit that would take me home more quickly (and spend my whole commute worrying about Dearie), I felt my heart tug that I should sit near them in case she needed help.

So here I am in my seat on this Zurich-bound train, spending my time thinking about the marvelous effort and heart put in by Dearie to look after Jon full time during our stay in Switzerland. He can't even see the doctor to cure his food poisoning and has to resort to self medication, while he awaits my return before he gets real rest and reprieve. I also couldn't help but have tears welling in my eyes when I sat the family down on the train and took my own place. The wave of guilt that I'm at work and unable to render quick support to Dearie at this difficult time...

Looking at my clock, I'm not even midway in my 56min commuting time. Argh... Teleport me home NOW!

17 Feb 2014: the day, my dearie, junior and myself left Singapore for a journey of our lifetime to live in Zurich, Switzerland for a couple of months. Into the unknowns of a foreign land, all by ourselves, but bounded ever so tightly as a family. :)

We are now halfway in our 6mth stay away from the Little Red Dot.

The experience has been amazing. To be surrounded by God's amazing handiwork in nature, to receive His many blessings, to be moulded as parents handling a toddler at his terrible 2s of exploration and self-expression - no words can fully describe all these emotions and life lessons.

Life on the Red Dot has been stressful. We shuffle around so quickly on a daily basis, trying to juggle demand of work and making every effort to have a proper work life balance so as not to miss out on family moments that cannot come back. But here in Switzerland, we spend so so much more time together as a family. It can be from simple things like doing the groceries, trying to make a meal together (okay, heh, usually Dearie does it becos Junior would clamor for me to play with him), taking a stroll in the neighborhood/by the lake/in some garden, making an evening trip out to somewhere new, having an action-packed weekend day trip etc. Every moment is truly lovely and I would do all these again if we can.

Standing amongst God's handiwork and looking at those mountains (and really, there are more to be seen) is humbling. Our God is indeed an awesome God. He has made the skies and the earth, all creatures on earth with divine intervention. Holding all of these together day after day so that we can witness all His glory.

That said, I also want to thank my Dearie for being there supporting and holding the whole family up. We wouldn't be here if he didn't take no-pay leave from his work. It's not easy for an Asian guy to suddenly be doing all the household tasks, and not to mention that he's alone during the day without help. Having to manage a toddler at a more challenging stage, it's pretty amazing what he has been doing. :) :) :)

Thank you Dearie! Thank you for all the little things you have done for the family. Your sacrifice and love is VERY much appreciated. I'm terribly sorry that I've been more short fused with Junior. I'm trying to find our footing (or my) footing in parenthood. Thank you for being very patient with me. I really don't know how to thank you enough. *muacks!*

Matthew 20:1-16 (parable of the workers in the vineyard)

This parable reminds me of how conceited we can be and how we completely forget the goodness of Christ when we first tasted it. In our everyday lives, especially during work, we complain. I for one, whine a lot. We compare ourselves with our peers and even our previous work circumstances. Times may be tough and things change, not for the better but for the worse. It brings out the worst in me becos I complain; losing sight that it was me who first prayed for open doors. God may give seemingly different rewards, which at times may seem unfair by society's standards, but in all if it, God knows what He's doing! We won't know but God is good! This is a reminder from today's Daily Bread reading.

Quote from Daily Bread: All you need to know to be contented us this - God is good.

What a nice start to the day knowing that God sent a nice lady to tell me not to take the MRT station's lift becos it is unstable. So often that city dwellers like us just move quickly without taking a moment to just be gracious and extend social grace to strangers around us. What that lady said wasn't a big gesture but it really remind me about what a Christian ought to be. :) Have a good day!

Life is precious. And nothing is so real as God's hand and might in the creation of life.

Heard that a dear colleague of mine was told by her gynae that they couldn't detect the heartbeat of her 7wk old fetus.. :( she was told to perform a procedure tomorrow but we are asking her to obtain a second opinion.

If God so decides that they should have a child, I'm sure a miracle can happen! Besides, the gynae could be wrong because there can be times where baby's heartbeat are less readily detected.

My prayers goes out to her and her hubby.. Pls let baby stay! They have been trying hard for it

I hope it will be a slower pace of work life in Switzerland.. This is not sustainable man..

Can't believe I keep seeing packed-like-sardine trains even though the frequency is up. Bleah.. Still waiting to board..

Dearie and I are going to welcome our 3rd wedding anniversary and 7th dating anniversary!! :) :)

We've come a long way to be here. Haha from our dates Haji Lane's Teh Tarik to being parents.

Dearie, thanks for being the love of my life! :)

Glad that I've synced Christian songs onto my phone so that I can listen to them on my commute to and from work.. It's a good reminder to start and end the crazy workday with God.

A mother and daughter pair in front of me this morning on the train reminded me of the challenges and sacrifice of a parent with a special needs child.

The girl is a young adult. Think she has sight, hearing and speech difficulties. Possibly also slightly low on intelligence but more or less quite normal.

So mummy was rubbing daughter's fingers with thick cream because she has bad eczema. Daughter looked at mummy with her smiling eyes and kissed mummy twice on the train, expressing her thanks in the way she knows. When mummy was about to leave the train for work before daughter alighted at a subsequent stop, they conversed in sign language and daughter lovingly nudged mummy to quickly get off the train before the door closed. They then signed to each other again - one still in the train and the other on the platform, oblivious to the wave of busy commuters trying to get on and off the train.

To think that both mummy and daughter were sad to leave each other for a few hours; even if this was probably a daily routine.

So angry with the bosses! I need a life! It's Friday and so let people go have dinner!

Thumbs up for an awesome MIL who made lovely 肉骨茶 for the family and looked after Jon. Even tho I'm finishing up dinner late cos I had to coax Jon to sleep, it's ok cos poor MIL is soo zonked out that she slept after washing the dishes while I was in the room with Jon.

Interesting how my nose stops sneezing and giving me a break when I hit an air con environment on a rainy day.. Weird nose

Spent the last hour of Jon's 18mths birthday flipping through his photos on the phone. Amazing how much a child grows and changes over a short 18mth..

Witness how a simple lady grabbed the opportunity on a packed bus to evangelize. It all started with an empty seat which another passenger moved in to ease standing space on the packed peak-hour bus. Seeing that the lady was seated, this Christian sister picked up a gospel track and used John 3:16 to share God's love to the fellow passenger. The passenger took the gospel track, smiled out of courtesy and took a cursory read on the bus. She then went on to say that the Christian sister must have been leading a fulfilling life with God as her Lord. The Christian sister smiled with her eyes twinkling with the Lord's love and glory, and said "praise God that yes I think I lead a fulfilling life"! :) :) I stood right in front of both ladies, happy to be privileged to witness God at work through His humble servant.

Oh gosh, this man beside me on the train has been picking his nose since the time I boarded. He smears his 'nose findings' on his hands, flicks the bits that drop on his shirt, and spreads his hands over all his face. And he keeps flicking his fingers! Ahhhhh! I have nowhere to run so I'm just keeping my distance.

Up close to a fellow female passenger on the public transport system and I can't help but notice how much her nose seems to have been surgically 'lifted' and 'hard'. It's like her whole face is rock hard and stiff. I'm even wondering if she is actually a 'he' because the whole face is just.. unbelievably strange.

Some people are just not very intelligent and out of touch with the practical world..