My Empathetic Little Girl

Of late more so than ever, we have noticed Kieona to be one of the most sensitive girl with stronger reasoning powers than we have ever known of kids this age. At three, she is able to reason out consequential events and arrive at her own conclusion. While it has been very tough for Mommy to explain to her why certain things happen and to calm her down when she gets affected by situations beyond our control, Mommy is very proud that she is turning out this way.

For example, she is now very easily affected by how we feel. When Kierra cries, she comforts her, talks to her and wipes her tears. When watching something simple on television or even the "Tong Hua" MTV where the lady in the short video "dies", she will start crying quietly. Just yesterday while Mommy was busy working at the laptop late at night, Mommy saw her sobbing and asked her why. She just started to burst out crying but refused to tell me why. When I realised that she had been watching the "Tong Hua" MTV on the home pc, I asked if it's because of the story in the MTV where the lady died. She nodded her head and cried even louder and told me she is sad. Oh, my heart really went out to her.

The experts say that being empathatic is a good trait and I'm happy that she is sensitive to the needs of the people around her. However at this juncture, we will just have to brace ourselves to deal with this on a frequent basis and explain to her that sometimes there will be things in life that are beyond our control. While we cannot change these events, we can definitely change the way we react to them. Instead of moaning our losses or licking our wounds, we can find ways to improve those situations that we can, or leave those we can't behind and pick ourselves up again.

Concert: Little Tree and Little Dwarf

Proud is Daddy, Mommy, Ah Gong, Gu Gu, Uncle Damian and Bibik Maria when we waited with anticipation in the audience for our little darlings performance last Saturday. Mommy like last year, had to help out with the ushering of the guests so we all went early. The theme for this year's Skoolhouse in the Spring concert was Fairytale (or something like that) and Mommy was dressed up as a fairy in white flowy long dress complete with fairy wings together with another Mommy volunteer from the school. Mommy spotted Kieona an Kierra going to the holding area and tried to hide in case Kierra starts bawling when she sees me. Ahh, that was such a non-event as they seemed to absorbed by the surrounding to even notice me.

Everything went well, and Kierra was dressed in a red dwarf costume. She looked really cute and really lost. She's one of the dwarves in Snow White & The Seven Dwarves. Throughout the entire segment, she just stared blankly most of the time. We all wondered what was on her mind. But of course, this did not stop her from the audience commenting that that kid in red is so cute as she was just staring.....

Kieona was all another story. This year she was not at all afraid. Being tasked to be a tree for Sleeping Beauty (yeah, she's part of the forest), she was cheeky right from the start. As Ms Sonia moved her postion (she was too near to Ravshaan, who was the other tree) by holding her up by her arms, she just lifted up both legs and giggled with the audience also smiling at that action. Although the tree didn't have to move very much except the "growing" action much like stretching, Kieona seemed to have lots of fun in her green costume. Well, of course most of the other times, she was just talking on stage with Ravshaan, which prompted Gu Gu from asking is that was her best friend. :) Honestly, we do not know.

Below are some pictures we've taken at the concert. Enjoy. :)

The sexy little tree....
Little blur dwarf

Fairy usher....

One for the album.....

Decisions: Right or Wrong

Stella Kor-po forwarded Mommy an email which touched Mommy a lot. It came in timely as it gives Mommy (borrowing words from the serenity prayer) the serenity to accept the things we cannot change and the courage the change the things we can. Kieona, Kierra, we're going through change everyday, sometimes we get support from people we love, sometimes we don't.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track. The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make................

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, I thought the same way initially because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

Morale of the story? What's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.

Mommy is sharing this story in the hope that someday you will read it and be enlightened, and have the courage to follow what you believe, even if it's not a popular choice and even if many people don't stand with you. Afterall, many successful people are not those who follow the conventional path. Whatever you do, please remember that Mommy will always stand beside you, to give you strength to carry on when your legs get tired, to lend you a listening ear when you need to talk, to lend you a shoulder to cry on when you feel sad, and to help you pick yourself up when you fall down.