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| My Neighbour Totoro by Hayao Miyazake *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro |
Schools Out!
You say "School Holidays!" and I think "Sunny blue sky, white clouds, days of doing nothing, with a dash of excitement thrown in. There is an anticipation that something magical will happen (if you ever catch the anime "My Neighbour Totoro", you'll see how the show captures this imagery perfectly).
The magical moment for me this school holiday? One afternoon with Caleb and Jonah down at the beach. I eagerly pointed out to them this little cuttlefish attacking a school of fish - how it made itself torpedo-shaped and flashed a different colour each time it shot forward toward its prey. I was enthralled until Jonah said "Can we go now? I'm getting sea sick!".
So what's with skiing in Hokkaido this year? It seems like every other person I spoke to this year was going to Hokkaido for a ski holiday. Did I want to bring my family to Hokkaido too? Sure, I did but for two reasons. One, it would be unwise to bring a 7 week old baby on such a trip. Two, even if I could have done that, I don't think financially it would have been wise to do so. Frankly as the provider of the family, I sort of felt bad that I wasn't able to afford such a trip.
Holiday Success...Memories
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| Sentosa 2000 |
So I don't know if this is a defensive mechanism or not but I want to argue that the success of a vacation does not depend on how far or exotic a place you go to for holiday. Success is whether the holiday created for your children or yourself memories that will last a life time.
Why are these memories important? A pastor once said "We all begin childhood with the belief that happiness is possible ..."; and along the way ... well, you and I know what happened along the way. I believe this happened because we forget to take time to create these memories as reminders that hope and joy are possible in the grind of our daily lives. How often have we met people who seem just weary of their lives? Time to take a break!
This is so important that God commands it. If your company has asked of you to take mandatory leave, this still cannot compare to the seriousness God sees in taking time from work to issue it as a commandment. In Exodus 20:8 - 11 God tells us to ...“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
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| Sentosa 2004 |
Childhood Memories
Thanks to my parents, my childhood memories are made up of beach holidays - anticipating the smell of the sea as we arrive, white sandy beaches, coloured seashells, the salty taste of sea-water, catching sea creatures, breakfasts of sunny side-ups and marmalade on toast by the sea, being roasted by the sun to a crisp while Mum nagged us (to no effect) on applying sunblock; and Dad who made us squint into the sun every time he took a photo ( the age of non-digital cameras).
So now that I am a Dad to 4 boys, I try to create these magical moments for them too. More often than not we ended up having a beach holiday. Over the years, we seemed to gravitate back to Rasa Sentosa. This time with a seven week old baby, it was helpful to be back in familiar territory and it was nice to hear a cheery 'Welcome back!' from the front desk. At the end of this year's 3 days, 2 nights stay, I am pleased to say that magical moments were created. A buffet lunch, our first night cable car ride, running after the last bus back to the hotel, zooming downhill on the Luge, kayaking and of course that little cuttlefish. So maybe I needn't feel bad that the family didn't get to go to Hokkaido.
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| Sentosa 2011 |
On our way back from Sentosa, we made a detour to Vivo City (a large shopping mall) as all 'good' Singaporeans are apt to do (what's a holiday without shopping right ?). At the car park, Jonah said 'Hey Pa Pa, this is where we had our adventure!'. Two or three years ago, Jonah and I had gone to a toy shop at Vivo at night, only to find all access to the car park blocked at that late hour. We were getting increasingly anxious till we finally found a way to the car. He remembers the relief when we finally got back home safe and sound. To this day, he still brings it up regularly as 'our adventure'. I would like to believe that in time to come, when he meets road blocks and barriers in his life, this memory will give him strength to press on, believing there is a way home to safety.
So how was your holidays?
