Treasuring time together
2/15

How was Lunar New Year for your family? And Valentine's Day?

We had good food for the forme, and conveniently forgot about the latter... except for my daughter who exchanged candy at school.

That's a very busy weekend right? Besides those two holidays it was also the start of school vacation week. There are some vacation week events, see below.

It's also memorable for other reasons... one of my relative's sister passed away from cancer, leaving behind two kids under 6. My heart goes out to the whole family. It's a closely knit large family, full of love for each other. This is a such a huge blow; it has also brought the family closer.

Life's so precious. Day to day with the kids we have screen time fights, negotiate how much to clean up, or a million little things like that. It's easy to forget how lucky we are to have each other, to enjoy each other's laughter and affection and creativity. My son's grown to be a responsible and caring boy. He'd walk his sister to school, taker her to group play dates, and make his own playdates. No wonder he's made new friends this year with some girls from school. He's got a lot of years of practice of dealing with girls close-up.

My daughter too, has grown up to be a delight. I love how she'd put blanket on me as we snuggle, or try to make a comfortable spot for me by her. She's good at taking care of others... and also very creative. She often finds a different way to do something that's new and clever. She often shows me a different way of looking at the world, that's new and unexpected.

I hope I can always remember to treasure this precious time with my kids, especially when I get upset at them for something (usually it's something minor like screen time or not cleaning up). Let me know if you have tips on striking that balance.

I hope the kids of my relative's sister will remember their mom when they're older. How sweet and kind a person she was. And remember the precious time they spent together.