“You are not the only one whose world shrinks after kids come, and you must say goodbye to risky adventures.” This line stabs me like a dagger plunged into my chest. Half the education fraternity is exploring some part of the globe out there, but I’m very much stuck in sunny Singapore (though the gloomy clouds threaten yet another downpour).

Oh, how I wish I came across this line earlier: “Loving our children is not the same as loving parenting.” It would have alleviated a lot of angst and frustration on my side because people don’t seem to dissociate children from the tedious act of child-rearing. Also, another gem of a line: “the hassles that we experience apropos of our children on a daily basis impact our well-being more than do the major life events.” Oh i am feeling this right now. I have heard so much about children’s incessant questioning, but no one has shared that your kid will keep asking the EXACT SAME question non-stop, no matter how patiently you have answered him. In fact, he is giving me the bullet-train questioning stunt right now. “Why did you pick my sister up before me?” Oh my goodness, this is what I swapped exotic travel adventures for!

Sonja Lyubomirsky recommends that we engage in “emotional disclosure” because “the act of converting intense emotions into a coherent narrative changes the way we structure our distress and integrate it into our life story.” Ooooookkkkay, I am rather skeptical and remain dubious, but I guess time will be the best judge of all. After all, he promises that “after years pass, those dreaded middle-of-the-night feedings metamorphose into treasured, nostalgic memories that offer satisfaction and delight.” We shall see.

Will love to unload more of my reflections on parenting. But I must be on my way, because I have three kids’ projects to do this holiday, the first of which must be submitted NEXT MONDAY.

Suffice it to say that I adored the chapter on parenting n feel sure that I will devour the rest of his book.