The last time I caught up over lunch with this little young’un was nearly a year and a half ago.  That’s pretty much half her lifetime.  Though I’ve seen her since then, namely during her Godma’s wedding and prep, it’s a long over due lunch date :p

She’s a little girl who’s a big sister now.  Just about 2 weeks ago, she welcomed her baby sister Mikayla into this great big world.  I love little sister pairing.  Guess I’m kinda bias because I’m one half of a sister pair.  Back to the Belle.  She may look like her Dad but she’s definitely got her aunt/Godma’s gene strong in her too.

Over lunch, her Godma and my dear friend, Gen said to me, “It’s like I gave birth to her.” I totally get it, this pseudo parenting that is slowly but surely getting more and more popular.  We don’t actually carry the babies and don’t fully adopt them but the love and connection is just as strong.  Here’s when I realise the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, makes so much sense.  Nothing replaces the bond a parent has with their child, it gives every child the fundamentals that they need and why good parenting is so damn important.  Aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents, teachers, mentors, adult friends, they all play different roles that fill these children’s wells with more love, support, life lessons, guidance, direction and examples that they can reach into when life gets tough.  And life will get tough but they’ll keep learning from us.  Just like how we’re better from our parents’ generation, they will be better than us.

There is much hope for the world so have a happy Monday everyone as I take another shower to cool off from this humid heat in Singapore.