Dear Aidan,
By now you will know that at the Pereira household, Christmas comes early. The tree goes up early, the party happens early and thoughts of holidays invade our minds early too.
In fact, this year, we are going away for a long, long time come 19 November. We won't be back in Singapore till the 13th of January so you'll be missing a week of school.
As you get older, you understand the concept of holidays more. You actually said you like staying at hotels and yes, you ask about a thousands times whether 'today' is the day we're all going for our trip. Until the day actually arrives. But long before the day did arrive, we were busy 1) decorating and putting up the tree 2) planning our Christmas party with your friends, Lana and Theo as well as their parents.
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| Helping prep the tree |
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| Mr. Cheeks' favourite pose for anything |
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| The finished tree |
I'll admit you did a great job helping us with the tree. You watched Papa attach the stands, fanned out the branches, and handed us baubles. In fact, you even tried your hand at hanging the decor - a tip by the way: it's good to spread them out Honey, instead of putting them all in one corner!
Halfway through the task, you broke into a spontaneous dance. It so happened that Papa had the Alt J CD spinning in the player and a particular song got you to your feet.
We were quite surprised at what a natural dancer you were. Looks like performance is your thing. In fact, looks like we should enroll you in Drama class next year!
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| Everyone's favourite tree-decorating moment |
And as per tradition, after the tree was done, Papa carried you so you could put the star on top. Tea and pineapple tarts followed. Hmm, you ate about 5 out of the 10 on the dish.
A week later, we threw the small Christmas party. There were steaks, soba noodle salad and curried chicken wings plus a salad for the adults. And sweet and sour pork with buttered rice and broccoli for you and your friends. Mama even had special Dora and Chuggington plates brought out for the occasion!
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| The Christmas spread...Praise God! |
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| Mm...wings! |
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| Aunty Kea-Nai and Aunty Glenda talking about babies and work |
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| Always happy with friends around |
Everyone arrived about 7 o'clock. And the house was just full of giggles and silliness. The boyishness really cropped up between Theo and you. Just endless laughter for no reason. Poor Lana had to sit apart a little to avoid the noise.
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| Look, we're boys! |
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| A-hahahahahaha! |
Now, I don't know exactly what happened but you had a meltdown while the highlight of the party unfurled. You see, Mama had bought fluffy reindeer antlers and a Santa Claus costume because Uncle Ian, Uncle Michel and Papa were going to dress up and surprise all you kids after dinner. But when they came out of the room - Uncle Michel being Santa pretended to ride on Uncle Ian and Papa who were the reindeer - you were sullen and didn't want to smile or kiss 'Santa' to get your gift.
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| After-dinner movie! |
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| Uncle Ian: I don't know this fellow! |
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| Someone's sulking on Mama's lap |
I think your unhappiness started to build up early on when Lana and Theo rummaged your toy box when they first arrived and started playing together. I remember you were caught between wanting to share and making sure they didn't just grab your things. You'd want your toy back seconds after allowing them to play with them and that just wasn't right!
I have to admit I was disappointed with you. While I cherished the fact that you were grasping for control, you have always been a kid that shares willingly. This display made me wonder if you were just tired of being the 'good guy' all the time. When we asked you the next morning what had happened, you said you were tired. I gave you the benefit of the doubt but I also told you that it was unacceptable to be rude in front of guests. We then agreed that you'd go to your room next time to calm down if you ever felt overwhelmed by anger.
Aidan, life is all about give and take. Not hoarding. Not who's the fastest, first and most powerful. When you go to your friends' homes, I'm sure they have a tough time learning to let go of their toys too. But remember, when you show a good example, they'll follow soon enough. Don't wait for them to start, you can make the first move. Taking initiative is another one of Life's valuable lessons which will help you out in the future!
