speechless yet confused

My bro in law hosted a BBQ party for us during our visit to Singapore two years ago. Then my bro and he decided to have some beers and chill by the jacuzzi pool right in front of the yard. Xuan is very impressed, perhaps at the chillaxing moments they had and still talks about it even now. I think he secretly wishes he could join them when he is big.

Now, here is the dilemma. Hubby has been telling the boys that drinking is not good for health. But he is also mindful of his words that the kids might misunderstand him and convey wrong messages to people around us like my siblings without our presence. The boys are confused because when the father says drinking is no good, they will argue that their big uncle and Uncle Billy drink too, so do their aunties, Uncle Chee Wen and Wee Lium Koko. Ya, sometimes my parents even siblings joke among ourselves and call each other by name, 酒鬼 jokingly.

Xuan asked the father if drinking beers by that sense is allowed? Hubby cant say no to Xuan so he admits that he too drinks when he is out with his colleagues especially on business trips in Germany because they dont drink plain water.

Parenthood is always a dilemma, leaving the kids and even adults speechless. Yet confused.

During our trip to Eastern Europe last year, we were on a transit in Kosice, Slovakia. It is a beautiful medieval town despite freezing cold weather. The train station somehow was packed. And we saw a lot of gypsie-look people who kept staring at us and coming to us for money.

We were intimidated. So we sat at the waiting room. There was one blond hair lady sitting next to us, working on her laptop. We felt at ease with her, people came and went. A young man came in and asked us for money. He got an earful from this lady, we didn’t exactly understand what she said but from her tone of language, it wasn’t something nice. So the young man left.

We took this opportunity to tell the kids that there is no free lunch in this world and nothing comes free. We must work hard for what we want instead of getting free money. The boys said, I think mei mei will be a beggar when she is big because she has been asking around for things she wants. We must stop her bad habit.

Hubby and I looked at each other, speechless.

We could never relate begging with their poor little sister. But she is very persistent in getting things done in her very own way....