The Caged Tiger

The Caged Tiger
Confined in Space
Doped by Inertia
Placated by Comforts

Lost her appetite for thrills
Lost her ferocious roar
Lost her hunting skills
Gained unsharpened claws

But do not
Make the mistake
And do not
Underestimate

Try to touch her Cubs
Try to take them Away
Her Killer Instincts will Return
And the Perpetrator will Pay

For her Cubs
She will give her Life
A Fight to the End
A Fight till her Death

Teo Yuan Ching

19 March 2011

Copyright © 2011 Teo Yuan Ching

Down but not Out

I had a pretty rough week emotionally.

Faced several issues at home pertaining mostly to the kids and the same old arguments about my inadequacy as a mother surfaced.

So yes, I'll openly admit that I'm not perfect and no matter what I do, I'll always be perceived as irresponsible and negligent.

Why?

Because I refuse to give up my career for my kids.

Because I don't spend enough time with them to ensure that they're academically brilliant.

Because I don't sign them up for the right type of enrichment classes that will help them achieve better academic results.

Because I'm too ill-disciplined to discipline my kids in accordance to military "YES, SIR!" and "YES, M'AM!" standards.

Because I openly shower my kids with hugs and kisses, and by doing so, demonstrate my love and affection to them, allowing them to catch hold of my weakness which they will exploit.

Because I don't know how to care for my girls when they get sick.

Because they're not eating sufficient nutrients and have poor meal-time habits.

Because I'm a terrible cook who can't feed the family with traditional recipes that will cure ailments.

Because my eldest is mildly dyslexic therefore I've tainted THEIR gene pool.

There's more, of course.

In essence, I'm a horrible mother with no redeeming qualities. I'm too soft with my kids and over-protective of them. I'm selfish and ill-disciplined, and I spend too much time in front of the computer playing mind-numbing games and indulging in social media activities.

For all that I've stated, I take full responsibility. I am guilty, as charged. And I await my sentence.

In my defence, I will only have this to say: what I'm doing for my children may be different from the usual practice, and I may not follow the rules religiously, but all's done with my children's best interests at heart. Every child is different so one rule doesn't fit all. Similarly Every mother is different, with different temperament and character and should be allowed to carve out own parenting style.

My thought of the week: "You had your chance to live your life the way you wanted. Now give others a chance to do the same. Please don't impose your views on what you think is right because you may not always be right. Just because others are different doesn't mean they are wrong."

And this is how I'm feeling right now:

The Caged Tiger
Confined in Space
Doped by Inertia
Placated by Comforts

Lost her appetite for thrills
Lost her ferocious roar
Lost her hunting skills
Gained unsharpened claws

But do not
Make the mistake
And do not
Underestimate

Try to touch her Cubs
Try to take them Away
Her Killer Instincts will Return
And the Perpetrator will Pay

For her Cubs
She will give her Life
A Fight to the End
A Fight till her Death

Teo Yuan Ching

19 March 2011

Copyright © 2011 Teo Yuan Ching

Who Dunnit? Chocs, Jelly Beans, Ice Cream or Watermelon?

As a kid, I loved playing Parker Brother's Cluedo (or Clue in USA) and during the school holidays, I'd round up my cousins / neighbours / aunts to play the board game over and over and over again.

While Monopoly was another favourite, we usually got bored after a while 'cos technically there won't be an end to the game unless someone goes bankrupt. And once all the properties are bought, houses and hotels are built, the fun's almost over. So after rounds and rounds of collecting $200, landing in jail, trespassing on another player's property and paying "rent", someone would usually say, "OK. I'm bored. I'm done. Let's play something else!"

But with Cluedo, there's always an exciting end to solve the mysterious murder of Dr. Black. We loved playing detectives and would always race to check the clues, rule out suspects and wait for the opportune time to triumphantly declare "It's Professor Plum, in the Dinning Room, with a Candlestick! or "Colonel Mustard, in the Kitchen, with a Rope!"

It's been close to a decade (or more) since I dusted out the old board game. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I still have it in my possession. It was a Christmas present from one of my aunts when I was 8 or 9 but I'm not sure what happened to it after I got married and moved out of my parents' home.

I'd forgotten all about Cluedo till this evening, when I returned from work today to find little Terrorliza coughing violently, with phlegm stuck in her throat. She managed to get to bed early but woke up again in the middle of the night because she was seized by a coughing fit which became progressively severe.

That was when a whole slew of accusations came hurtling towards my direction because I'd given her a piece of Toblerone chocolate over the weekend despite knowing that she was recovering from a bad throat / cough. My mum had taken the kids out during the day and like most doting grandmothers, she treated them to ice-cream and jelly beans. So she was another suspect.

I rushed Terrorliza to the toilet just in time and she threw up - blobs of phlegm and bits of...watermelon. (According to the wise, watermelon is considered a "cooling" fruit which shouldn't be consumed when one is coughing. Or something like that.)

After cleaning Terrorliza up, giving her some medication, rubbing Mentholatum on her chest, back and throat, my little one finally got to sleep albeit much whining and fussing.

I don't like to playing the finger-pointing game but since I'm now implicated in this whole situation, I'd better do something to solve the problem.

New fact: I wasn't home when Terrorliza had watermelon after dinner. And my mum had already left by then.

So fellow detectives, who or which was the culprit that triggered the return of Terrorliza's big, bad nasty cough?

(a) Mumsy (i.e. me) - because she gave Terrorliza a piece of chocolate on Saturday night

(b) Grandmee (i.e. my mum) - because she gave Terrorliza ice-cream and jelly beans on Wednesday afternoon

(c) Mystery Caregiver - because she/he gave Terrorliza watermelon on Wednesday Evening

(d) All of the above

After much (soul) searching, I've come to the devastating conclusion that in this mystery, facts don't count for nought. So the culprits, by popular consensus, are (a) + (b). Simply because it's more convenient to find fault with others who're always considered to be incompetent, negligent, irresponsible and brainless.

I rest my case.