Monday, February 27, 2012

wife and mum extraordinary: Lesson #1 from Grandson - Wife and MUM 05/2012

wife and mum extraordinary: Lesson #1 from Grandson - Wife and MUM 05/2012: Monday 28 February 2012 Our grandson has been with us for a year now. In a week or two from now, Benjamin will be moving to Singapore as hi...

Lesson #1 from Grandson - Wife and MUM 05/2012

Monday 28 February 2012
Our grandson has been with us for a year now. In a week or two from now, Benjamin will be moving to Singapore as his parents are relocating there. Irene will probably be lonely and worried for her grandson when he moves to Singapore. This is what life is about. Life is a cycle of changes. We are born, go to school, get a job, marry and have a family, retire from active career, spoil our grand children, then ... the cycle goes on for the next generation and the next...

I just wrote in my other blog that life is like a journey. We start our life leaving God and ends joining God again. The condition is that we live in accordance to the rules and conditions HE (GOD) had told us. When we submit to Him, He will abide with and in us. He sends His angels to look after us and protects us. Interestingly, this is one of the many lessons Irene learns from her grandson.

Lessons from Benjamin.
# 1.      God protects. Submit to God for His protection. Humans like children are incapable of fending for themselves on many occasions. God in His grace and mercy had often send us angels to guard and protect us.

The above lesson was instilled into Irene on a number of occasions. There were a number of times when Benjamin falls down on the floor. Falling down for a baby is a very normal daily event. However falling down backwards with the possibility of the back of the head knocking against sharp table edges or falling from a height can have dire consequences. On a number of occasions, when Benjamin did fall under such “dangerous” circumstance, there was either a pillow or a pile of newspaper to break his fall or someone nearby to catch him. To Irene this is the grace of God.

Sometimes we would put Benjamin on our bed. He would try to get down and when he does so, his head would face the floor. Often we would place a hand on his back to prevent him from falling off the bed. 
The lesson instilled upon us by our grandson is that 'We humans living our daily lives often do not know and see the danger that lurks behind our every move, action and activity. Just like Irene placing her hands on Benjamin’s back to prevent him falling off the bed, God in His grace and mercy had often placed His hands and diverted us from harm. 
Very often we do not know we had been delivered from harm because we do not see it. YES, the one important lesson taught us by our grandson is “Humans like children are incapable of fending for themselves. On many occasions, God in His grace and mercy had send us angels to guard and protect us”


Cheers.
Hope to see you soon.
Papa Coaching

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Monday, February 20, 2012

wife and mum extraordinary: Wife and MUM 04/2012

wife and mum extraordinary: Wife and MUM 04/2012: Monday 20 February 2012 Let me summarize what I have written to date. Attributes of a great wife: # 1. Knows her mind and not afraid...

Wife and MUM 04/2012

Monday 20 February 2012
Let me summarize what I have written to date.

Attributes of a great wife:
# 1.      Knows her mind and not afraid to be assertive. (20 Jan 2011)
# 2.      Provides Unconditioned Love. (27 Jan 2011)
# 3.      A teacher and coach who nurtures a child in the way she wants him    to be in accordance with   
            her values and beliefs. (27 Jan 2011)
# 4.      Tells Good and Interesting Stories. (3 Feb 2011)
# 5.      Believes in regular maintenance to preserve property and things in their original “goodness” and     
            does not let things deteriorate to    unbearable levels before taking remedial action. (11 Feb 2011)
# 6.      Ability to laugh at herself. (20 Feb 2011)
# 7.      Believes that God is her strength. (23 Feb 2011)
# 8.      Considerate towards one and all. (4 March 2011)
# 9.      Fuss over her husband. (12 March 2011)
# 10.    Paying attention to Details in whatever she does. (20 March 2011)
# 11.     Practice Patience.  (27 March 2011)
# 12.    Cherish the years that went by and live well the years that are left. (24 July 2011)
# 13.    Remember and Cherish you old friends.  (29 Jan 2012)
# 14.    FAMILY is more than just your spouse and children. Family includes the members of your brothers 
            and sisters family. (5 Feb 2012)
# 15.    Plan her work and work her plan. (14 Feb 2012)

It is interesting how writing down one’s thoughts can clarify one’s thinking.
My brother-in-law Mr. Damian Yoong used to quote Francis Bacon "Reading makes a full man; Conference, a ready man; and Writing an exact man." Upon reflection, Irene always pens down her thoughts whenever she needs to occasionally share in church. However, even when she is not called upon to share, she is observed to write down what catch her fancy when she reads her daily papers. That is a probably what helps to acquire the above attributes.

She gains knowledge daily which makes reflects "Reading makes a full man.." She keeps a stack of recipe for her cooking and refers to them whenever she runs out of ideas on what to cook. She may not know everything about food, but she knows where to look for the answers.

Irene likes to exchange ideas and knowledge with others. She listens and learns from them. “Conference, a ready man”.

She is a lady of details. However in my opinion she does not write enough. Nevertheless, she shows potential to be complete as in "Writing, and exact man...".

No 16 attribute of a great lady, wife and mum:  Reads daily, Conference when asked to; write occasionally.

Cheers.
Hope to see you soon.

Papa Coaching
Visit my other blog on life and executive coaching + retiring in bliss
Visit my website www.papacoaching.com.my

Monday, February 13, 2012

Wife and MUM 03/2012


Tuesday 14 February 2012

A week ago, a mutual friend of my wife and me phone me to help him in “time management”. We sat a day to meet up. To me, it his request offers us an opportunity to catch up on what those times that had passed us by.

We met, chat about his family and what he is doing at the moment and some of areas of common interest. He has progressed in his career and is about to take on a new post as manager for logistic in his previous company. He sees this as an honour as his previous employer had invited him to help him. His concern is that his new post would demand more of his time and he is seeking on how he can manage his time more efficiently and effectively.

I took this opportunity to coach him by asking him some questions that challenged him to think about solutions to his predicament. In the process he came to realize that his children are controlling him in that there are no set boundaries of proper behaviour. Much time is spent on nagging, yelling, and bribing them to get up, wash up and prepare for school. The same routine is repeated to get them to bed. With this realization, he can move forward with approaches to handle the issue.

As for Irene – my wife – she has the innate ability/talent/strength that allows her to accomplish many things within the day. At this moment our grandson is staying with us. Irene would get up before her grandson and other member of the family is up. She will wash the cloths, put the water to boil and even make breakfast and sweep the floor some of the time.
Later in the day, she would prepare to bath her grandson while he is in the play pan playing with his toys and watching Astro Baby TV channel. In the afternoon, when her grandson is sleeping she would prepare his food and dinner. Irene’s ability to plan what she wants to do (house work) in alignment with the time available to her makes her efficient and effective.

No 13 attribute of a great wife:  Plan her work and work her plan.

Cheers.
Hope to see you soon.

Papa Coaching
Visit my other blog on life and executive coaching + retiring in bliss
Visit my website www.papacoaching.com.my

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Wife and MUM 02/2012


Sunday 05 February 2012


Today is the 14th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year and the celebrations are ending tomorrow with 15th marking the last day of festivity. What does New Year means to you? I wonder what the New Year means to Irene who is 61 going towards 62?

The Lunar New Year is a time for the family. But then again who is family? Yesterday, Irene invited her brother and sisters together with their own family for a gathering. Everyone brought a dish or two and together everyone had a fellowship. In all there was a plate of roast duck bought from a shop along Pudu Road famous for their roast duck and geese. There was a plate of fish cooked in red tomatoes and onions and … which was pretty tasty. Then there is the roast pork bought in Kuantan, Pahang that was really yummy at least to me. Bundle together with the other dishes the table had hardly any spaces to sit. The solution was having the members of younger generation having their dinner buffet style while the elders sat on the table. In the entire atmosphere was a joyous one where the family members’ chit chats, talk about things of the past and present. It all ended with a family photo for the memory.
 
There was no mah-jong, no karaoke no brandy and whisky but there was a sense of togetherness, of fellowship, of love.

May they have many, many, many more of such gatherings.

No 12 attribute of a great wife:  FAMILY is more than just your spouse and children. Family includes the members of your brothers and sisters family.


Cheers.
Hope to see you soon.


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