Syahidah on motherhood.

Pithiness is a gift: the ability to capture something of life, in a simple phrase. My wife, Syahidah has a tendency to make pithy remarks. Quite often they are whimsical, too, but not always.

A couple of weeks ago, Syahidah was reflecting on motherhood.

She observed: “The best mummies in the world are guilty mummies – they always feel they don’t do enough.”

I was, struck, at once by two things: the motivational truth of this view – and the fact that, it seemed most clear, to me, that this statement would apply to Syahidah herself (even if she wouldn’t label herself in such a way).

Syahidah is a good mummy. One need only look at her kids for a while to realize this. I think her remark embodied her own motivations. There is, it seems, a guilt within her, driving her to do ever more and be an ever better mummy to her kids. Of course, the sad part about this, is that she most probably never allows herself to believe that she has done enough or done it “right”. She will always believe she could have done better or done more. Yet, I think, that is a more productive attitude, than self-satisfaction – even if it is not so easy on the heart.

Thank you, Syahidah for being the mummy you are to our sons.

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Excited at seeing mummy.

There is something very endearing which Tiarnan, twenty-five months, does. Whenever he sees his mummy, he rushes up to her, often saying excitedly: "Mummy, mummy, mummy!" He is virtually jumping up and down.

I find this touching. It is sweet that the simple sight of his mother, on rising in the morning, or on returning from an outing, can provoke such excitement in him. He is, perhaps, the most emotional of our children (though they all, of course, have their feelings, deep and true).

Tiarnan's mummy is the centre of his world, in a very real way.

One day I entered his room and he rushed over to me with: "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

I felt touched at his attitude of eagerness and obvious welcome.

Then he let drop his toddler sized bombshell: "I want mummy!"

It was funny. Mummy is always on his mind.

He is right, however. His mother should always be on his mind. I can think of no-one better to be in his thoughts, than her.

All I can say, is that he has good taste as to an idol to worship. After all, his choice is the same one I made long ago. It was a good one then - and it is a good one now - for Tiarnan and his daddy.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Tiarnan and the telephone

Yesterday, Tiarnan's mum was out. Tiarnan, twenty-four months, was at home with his brothers and myself.

In fact, mummy was out some time, so Tiarnan began to miss her. However, he had a solution.

Early in the evening, I came into the living room and found Tiarnan on the phone.

He looked up at me, as I gazed down on him and said: "I phoned mummy!"

He seemed most comfortable there on the phone, with it snuggled against his ear. Clearly, it made him feel much better.

"Mummy!" he said, handing me the phone.

I took it from him and set it to my ear. There was nothing but a dial tone.

How sweet. Tiarnan had found comfort from the absence of his mother, by imagining that he had managed to call her on the phone. I knew that this was not possible, however, since Syahidah had just lost her mobile phone: no-one, not even the most resourceful child, could have called her.

I replaced the receiver and sat down beside him, lending my own comforting presence to him - even if I couldn't quite match up to mummy.

It is funny how powerful is the imagination of a young child. Even the image of her, in his mind, and "heard" in his ears, is enough to settle his heart.

Wouldn't it be good if such a thing could work for an adult, too? Sadly, I think, most adults are too stuck in the real world, to take an imagined substitute in its stead. Somewhere along the way, imagination loses much of its power - even in the most imaginative of adults.

The two of us waited for Syahidah to come home. Tiarnan, though, was quite satisfied - after all, he had "spoken" to her, hadn't he?

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Visitors from afar: mother and sister

My mother and sister are in town, here in Singapore, for awhile, to see, among other things their young relatives, Ainan, Fintan and Tiarnan (and their slightly older ones, too).

Tiarnan, of course, is a new face for them, not having drawn breath the last time they saw us.

I would like to welcome them both to Singapore...and hope that they have a good time here.

I won't detail their doings here: just to say that it is good to see them, again, after so long.

Fintan draws mummy and daddy

Yesterday, we gave Fintan, three, a piece of charcoal and a piece of paper to see what he would do. He decided to draw his parents.

First, he drew mummy. He gave her eyes which looked like eyes and a mouth which looked like a mouth. The eyes had lashes and the mouth had teeth. He did not draw a stick figure stereotyped face as most children draw - but actually sought to render what he saw before him. It might have been better if we had given him another medium rather than charcoal for he tended to smudge what he had drawn - but the results were very interesting. He actually produced a recognizably human face.

Daddy's face was less complimentary - but again he followed the "draw what I see" mode and came up with something in a style of his own.

What was particularly interesting was the manner in which he tackled the task. When it came to me, he held the charcoal in his hand and looked at me for a long pause, as he took in what was before him, before he began to draw. He was very much performing as the little artist deciding how to approach his subject. He drew with earnest but with speed and clearly enjoyed what he was doing. Perhaps he will be an artist like his mummy, one day. It would be nice to think so.

We didn't direct him in how to draw, but let him draw as he pleased: that way we had a chance to see how he saw the world - and not how we wanted him to see it. It is better that way, I think. It is more true to the child.