What Is The Hardest Part About Motherhood?

I was asked this question many times, by different people, and I find it difficult to come out with an answer every single time. 

Surely every different stage of motherhood has its own difficulties, so I struggled to find my answer to this frequently asked question. 

Not until recently, when we realized that we have a few days before Alex officially attends kindergarten. I remember feeling excited when we registered for him last year, but as of this month onwards, that excitement had turned into sadness. I know. So weird right?

Something is wrong with me. But is there really? 

I teared up (in office) when I received a message from his principal (last week I think) - informing me about an orientation for all parents and then it really hit me hard. Then a few days later, I received another text message, asking for Alex's name in Chinese character and I almost lost it. Heh. 

Then, I realized that the hardest part of motherhood for me is letting go, over and over again. It does not matter how big or small the 'letting go' is, it is still as hard.

I know of the importance of letting go. You know so that he gets the chance to grow his own set of wings. Knowing that and actually needing to do it are two completely different things. 

It is by far, the hardest thing I had to do. Childbirth is a peanut in comparison to letting go. 

I also know that this is just me letting him go to school to learn Mandarin (mainly hah) and to get a social life among his peers and all that kid's stuff. But it is also the fact that I am letting him go to an unfamiliar place where he has to handle things on his own. Don't get me wrong - I want him to be independent and all but I have so many what-ifs. 

What if he "forgot" to pee and accidentally peed in his pants, and his peers started to laugh at him? 
What if he gets bullied? He is quite small in size for his age. 
What if no one wants to be his friend? 
What if he needs to cry but I am not there to comfort him?
What if the teacher is being mean to him and he doesn't know how to tell us?
What if he gets scared because he doesn't know anyone there?

What if he doesn't understand the teacher? (his class in Mandarin based)

These what-ifs are enough to make me want to keep him "safe" at home for another year, and another year. Of course, we are not going to do that. But what I am saying here is, the worries are endless. The moment we decided to get pregnant, we already know that the worries are here to stay till they are old and wrinkly and when it is time for us to meet with our Creator. 

But I was not aware that these worries can be overwhelming. That they can make you make stupid decisions. Yes, I have actually thought of postponing another year before sending him to school. Adrian talked sense to me of course heh. 

But now, I need to remind myself that for the rest of my life, I need to learn to "enjoy" letting go, over and over again - because that would be the best gift I can give to him. I cannot "protect" him forever and not allow him to go out there and make lemonades when he gets thrown lemons hah. Or limes, since he is more obsessed with limes than lemons, but you get the point. 

Wow, motherhood is one crazy ride. It comes with tonnes and tonnes of endless emotions. 

I acknowledge that Alex is a much more sensitive person, and I feel the need to protect him more than Sofia, and if I am not careful, that over-protective is going to cause him more harm than good. 

So yes, I finally got my answer. 

The hardest part of motherhood is having to let go, over and over again, and enduring these tiny little heartbreaks. 

"Today is your first day of school and I know that you will have fun and learn so many things out there, Alex. I just know it. I love you, and I always will, for as long as I still breathe. Thank you for kickstarting me in these motherhood things. It's been a ride! Letting you go today to go figure some fun kids-life things on your own heh. Have fun, baby boy, and remember to eat your packed snacks and go to the toilet when your pee-pee wants to come out already not after it comes out okay!"

Till next time, bye now. 

2D1N Angsana Teluk Bahang, Penang.

 Ever since Angsana Teluk Bahang Hotel, Penang opens up, I have always wanted to have a staycation there, but the price was a bit too high for my staycations budget. Heh. 

There is no budget actually, but unlike me, the husband is way more careful with spending money, especially on staycations. He would rather use the same amount of money to go elsewhere for a real holiday. 

But since staycation is the closest thing to a "safe" holiday now, let's just do some staycations, can? Heh. 

We usually just never consider Angsana Teluk Bahang because to pay at least RM500 per night, we just somehow cannot. Hah. 

Then one day, we got invited to a wedding dinner - guess where? 

Yes, Angsana Teluk Bahang.  If you didn't manage to guess that, then please keep up okay. Hah. 

So, immediately I wanted to know if there are any special rates for wedding attendees but turns out not much of a difference, so we swept those thoughts aside and moved on with life. Hah. 

To cut the story short (because I am not feeling very wordy today), we managed to book 2 connecting rooms (Superior and Deluxe) for my parents and ourselves for the wedding weekend. 

I was super happy because that means I don't have to be away from my children after the wedding ends, and I still get to snuggle with them on their huge (so so huge) King sized bed. 

All rooms at Angsana Teluk Bahang face the sea, so your view will be 100% best. That is probably why they can charge higher than normal hotels I guess.

I love the rooms! Both the Superior and Deluxe ones. The Superior Room comes with a daybed so actually can stay 3 adults. We requested extra blankets and pillows. The Deluxe Room is huge! It comes with a small kitchen area, dining area, and living area. The bed faces the sea, and that was the winning point for me. I love it so much. I lied down on the bed and stared out to the sea for the longest time - just daydreaming and all. 

Oh, Deluxe Room also comes with a balcony! I love having a balcony (and a bathtub - which also got) during staycations. But let's just say we didn't get the chance to use the bathtub (the kids did though) because we had a wedding to attend that night and we all (*ahem* Adrian) obviously drank a bit too much to do anything after the party. Heh. 

Their breakfast spread is average. They didn't taste bad, but not super great also, so for us it's okay-okay. We thought that it was very expensive though. It's about RM64 per adult, a 50% discount for children aged 5 and above. 

Adrian thinks that the hotel itself doesn't give off that nice staycations' feel. Our rooms are quite a walking distance to the main lobby and pool. Their beach is quite dirty, as compared to the hotels along Batu Feringghi. We didn't even want to spend more than 10-minutes on the beach. 

Their kids' pool (although got slides and all) still somehow feels like it is missing some family staycations vibe. I don't know how to actually word it out here. 

But overall, it is highly likely that we will not go back there unless we get a really good offer again. Hah. Or if given free then, of course, we will take it! 

I did not take any photos of the rooms, because after taking videos, I forgot about it and jumped on the bed. It was so nice! 

But yeah, enjoy these videos on Youtube, by yours truly. 

The wedding dinner was held in one of the big ballrooms, and there were like 20 round tables, with only 6 persons per table. The food portion was catered to just 6 persons of course (not sure how they charge per table though) and the food quality was just averagely okay for us. Then again, it is quite tough to find really good and yummy wedding dinners, right? 

I remembered loving the 8-course dinner at G-Hotel during our Food Tasting, but we heard from our guests that the food was pretty bad. I guess when you need to cook for 400 people, things go wrong somewhere. Oh, wells. 

It was still a very fun wedding dinner. I bumped into a lot of friends whom I thought I have forgotten, but good times. We ate, laughed, drank, and laughed some more. It was really a great night out (in) since we stayed in the same hotel. Hah. 

So yeah, another weekend in January came and left. 

Till next staycations, you guys, bye now, 

Highlight of 2021 - Joining Talent Trust.

First post of the new year. Here it is. 

I have not shared about this, not like officially here because the past few months have been like a dream. 

I resigned from Holiday Tours Penang as a Corporate Sales Executive to become a full-time mom, but 2 months later into that full-time role, I tendered my resignation - to myself. Heh. Two months were enough to make me realize that being a stay-at-home mom is not my cup of tea. 

To cut the story short, I joined Talent Trust in August this year, and it has been a wow journey so far. 

If I can choose only one highlight of 2021, for me it would be being a part of this TT Family. I don't think it is because I am the newest baby in this company, and everything still feels nice and warm and all, but let me tell you a little bit about Talent Trust. 

Talent Trust is run as a business, but at our core, we are a ministry that cares for our members. We are established based on the principles of the good stewardship found in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30). 

We partner with Aetna International (one of the world's leading international insurers) to give missionaries the physical, mental, and financial care and support so that they can thrive as long as needed in their calling. 

I remembered going through a few series of interviews and at the end of each call, I would pray and ask God to give me this job. Hah. I even prayed for a desk that has a sea view. I know right. Haven't got the job yet, but praying for a nice sea view desk all d. Hah. Being positive at its best. 

Anyways, after many long phone calls and video calls, I got offered as a Customer Success Associate, and my desk was right next to the window - with a sea view! Kid you not. Now, changed to pantry view because SOP so must sit far away from each other a bit, but I don't mind it cos the pantry also very nice view. Heh. Actually, the whole office is very nicely designed okay. Even our working desk is also the wooden, modern type looking - super best. Heh. 

I was working from home for a few months since it was during MCO when I got the job, but it was not difficult because my teacher, Gladys did such a great job in training me during the onboarding phase. When it was finally time to go back to the office, it was a bitter-sweet thing. But it was mostly good things because we finally got to meet with everyone in person and of course, it is a lot nicer working in an office together. Heh. 

Please go see our team bios thank you - Talent Trust Family as of January 2022 :) 

Anyways, I found THE job, or the job found me. Hah. I align with their mission, and I am so happy and glad that I am (in a way) serving God by taking care of His missionaries worldwide. 

When I got the offer, the first few things that came to my mind were, "What would Ps Heok Cheow say?". I miss this man, a lot. In many ways, he was like a spiritual dad to me. Don't know if you get it, but yeah. There is a part of me that wants to make him proud. I remember his face when I resigned as his PA and to no longer work in the church. I cried like a baby because there was a hint of guilt in me, but I knew very well that I needed to do that. I remembered him comforting me in our church pantry during lunchtime, although it was really hard for him to accept my resignation that time. But he did, and he continued cheering me on. Ah, miss you, Pastor! 

But now, I think he would be proud of me because I finally found something that I can align with - my purpose and my desire to serve. I finally found it, can I say that? I will say that. 

Oh, and I finally got to take professional photos that made me look like a legit working professional person - with a blazer and all. It was fun working with Matt Brandon (Penang Headshots). We were asked to choose 3 top favorites and then pick just 1 to put on the main website. I couldn't choose. I had to ask my family and friends to choose for me. The chosen one was a crowd favorite so win. 

So yeah, that was fun! 

And so... my highlight of 2021 is Talent Trust. 

I am only 4-months old here, but I already feel like I have been with them for years. The people here worked so well together, like a family, and like in any family dynamics, there will be moments when you don't see eye-to-eye, but you don't keep it and be bitter. You talk it out, and you get better. You built that relationship, and that is something I appreciate here. 

I am beyond thankful for everyone in TT, that is for sure. Thank you Nathan and Pansy for believing in this newbie girl. To more adventures and noisy, loud lunch talks together :) 

Oh, and we had our company's retreat not too long ago, at The Prestige Hotel, Penang and it was so much fun! Most of them could not stay 2-nights but it was still such a great time to connect and bond with each other, and the Prestige Hotel is probably one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed at. I love their rooms' designs and stuff. So so cantik. 

Anyways, here are some photos from the retreat. 

Thank you Jesus for this family :) 

Reminder to myself for the Year 2022 - to be more thankful. 

Till next time, bye now.