Babies

Short Notes:

Since last week, there have been many times I have wanted to type out long difficult posts, which are full of discoveries, but I really am too lazy to do that.

For the past month, I had the privilege to see a Robin & Joy's family. They have 3 kids: Ilona, Alethea(Ally-read it like a Malaysian, like Eli), and Latimer(Latty-read it like a Malaysian, like Leti). I don't remember how old they are: Ilona is in kindergarten, Ally is probably 1 or 2 years younger, and Latimer still puts his hand in his mouth.

Not only did I get to see them and play with them a little bit, I got to make sure things like:

1) When Ilona plays with the swing, she doesn't knock Ally over (which always stands behind the swing)

2) Both Ilona and Ally don't fall off the swing when they like to both sit on the swing at the same time

3) Latty doesn't stick his finger into power points after he turned every single one ON

4) Latty doesn't pull the cable which will bring the whole lamp stand down

That is most of the dangerous stuff, besides making sure that Latty don't bang into anything as they run excitedly around. One more! I try really hard to listen to what they are saying: Latty seem to always be trying VERY hard to communicate ideas across in some weird language that only Ally understands.

Latty : Bwaguwan..Ra...La...

Ally   : I think Latty says he wants to go out and play...

Latty drools all the time. When he sits down with me, he gets fascinated by the leg hair, and starts pulling them. After 2 minutes, he starts crying for either daddy or mummy, or something like "i want to go out and play", or whatever...

It really isn't easy taking care of 3 kids. Before you actually think and say

 "Of course, Joel, you born yesterday ah?"

I'm telling you the more I think of it, and experience it, the more I think Joy is from Mars. Any mother of 3 kids or more is from Mars. Don't you ever sit down and think how you actually toilet train a baby?

I know how you train dogs to poop at a certain place. But babies? Don't they just poop whenever they like - and then you have to clean up?

As I see the kids, I am also learning to celebrate things the way they celebrate. Let me illustrate it:

Joel : 

Hi Ally!

Ally : 

(looks at me for a while and thinks) 

Today I went to school with jie jie...

Joel : 

(thinks for a moment... That should be an achievement I think....) 

Wow, how did you find it?

Ally : I didn't cry...

Joel :

(This gotta be something like "I GOT HIGH DISTINCTION")

WOW! THATS GREAT !!!

This whole kid's business is a whole different world to me. I already have issues with talking with people, here I am trying to guess what they are saying, and then trying to relate to them.

Ilona is the eldest around, so it is easier to communicate with her. She always shows me the new things that she is doing in the kindergarten: the new Princess' crown, the Chinese New year Card ( which writes I dad Love you ) among other things.

While I can just take all these things as plain fun, but it has really got me thinking:

How many kids do I want?

Forget about the college and uni fees in the future - in the name of being merciful to myself and my wife. After the once-off of few hours of pain in delivery, there are many years of raising them up.

After long and hard thoughts, I have decided that 2 kids are enough. Why not 1? Why not 3 or more? To me, 3 or more kids is a lot of work for me and my wife. The Bible say it is good to have many sons (and daughters), like a quiver full of arrows... but it doesn't say how many: A small quiver is good, i.e. 2.

I tried handling 3 kids at once. I can't. They were running everywhere also looked like they were going to bang everything down (although they always somehow break in time, I cannot take the stress, Joy can, she's a martian like my mom).

If I have only 1 kid, what if he/she dies in an accident one day? then I will grow old with my wife without any kids!

Therefore, 2 is good. If one of them dies, there is still 1 more to comfort us. If I want more, I would be adopting I guess. It is really something to discuss with my wife. After all, as much as I will be responsible to feed them, she has to give birth to them, and she will be caring for them more of the time than I do.

So as of now, this is the blueprint. I will be changing this idea when something more brilliant pops up, or I'm compelled to subscribe to more plausible arguments.