I started my thanksgiving and shared with them how I was in a huge rush that morning (busy, busy, busy) and I stuffed a whole pancake into my mouth, in my rush to finish up my breakfast. And after a couple of chews, I swallowed the pancake and realised that I was having difficulty getting it down my throat. And the immediate thought that came to me was... My pancake's stuck. I can't get it out and I can't swallow it. I'm choking. So... this is how people can choke on food and die! (I never really understood it, until now...) And so I quickly grabbed some water to try to wash down my pancake and I could feel it moving really, really slowly down my throat. And I was starting to have some difficulty breathing! No kidding! So, I shared with the kids that I was really, really thankful that I managed to wash the pancake down and I would not try that again. And they should not try that too.
So all 3 of them sat there looking really thoughtful as I shared and then this is what they said to me...
Caleb: Mummy, what if you forget and next time you're in a rush and you stuff your breakfast in your mouth and choke again...
Me: Oh, I wouldn't forget that. I've learnt my lesson. There are some lessons that you need lots of reminders before you'll learn it and there are some that you only need to learn once and you'll never forget it again.
Sarah: But Mummy, you're very forgetful. Every time kor kor, me and Sophia ask you to do something, you always forget to do. We have to keep reminding you...
Me: Ohhh..... Is it.....
(Opps.....didn't know how to respond to her on that one. But it was interesting to hear that from her! And it is true that many times there are things that the kids ask me to do and I take a super long time to get them done, coz it's low on my priority list. With 3 kids demanding stuff from me all day, and with limited hours each day, I've got to prioritize what I can do and usually, it's to meet their basic needs, then there's school work, projects, outings... you get the drift, so if their request is what I deem more frivolous like mending a toy or buying something that's not of utmost importance, then it falls lower down on my to-do list and sometimes, when the list gets too full, it gets dropped off
)So, note to self - I should try to be more sensitive to the kids' requests and make an effort to do what they ask me to do even though I don't think it's very important or necessary. Sigh! It's tough being a mum you know!
And then, we moved on to our next thanksgiving. Recently, Caleb has been asking me to let him take up piano lessons. We have a keyboard at home and Caleb has been trying to play songs on his own. Sarah takes KinderBeat lessons as part of her enrichment in school and she loves her lessons and seems to have an aptitude for music. As for Sophia, she's a little too young for us to tell but for now, she loves to sing and listen to music. So me and ND thought that it would be nice for the kids to take up piano lessons so that they can learn to appreciate music and possibly serve in the worship ministry in future.
Cost is definitely a constrain and consideration on our part and so we had prayed for God to provide. And a few days after that, ND came home to tell us that his classmate has a church friend who will be willing to teach our kids piano at a nominal sum, some time next year. We were really happy and excited to hear the news and this is what the kids said when I shared the news with them and told them that learning music can also allow them to serve God during worship sessions.
Sarah: Yeah! Next time I want to be the worship leader! And the guitar leader! And the piano leader! (I was really surprised to hear that from her... considering she doesn't like standing in front of crowds. But then again, you never know what God can do!)
Caleb: Haha! Then you're going to be a one-man band, is it? (I thought he was quite humorous!) I want to be guitar leader.
Sophia: Yeah! I want to be violin leader! Ee-orh, ee-orh (and she pretended that she was playing the violin)
I thought the 3 of them were really funny and told myself I really have to blog this. God has always had a great sense of humour and who knows, maybe one day, my 3 kiddos will really be God's worship leader, piano leader, guitar leader and violin leader as they desire so.
