After all the celebrations we had over the past weekend and yesterday, we settled down today - Faith's actual birthday, a relaxing day with just her, Eve and I. It was a perfect way to celebrate her birthday - just having her to ourselves and she having the full devotion of Eve and myself (I hope she felt that way :)).
In all our birthday celebs for Faith (first the one at Cafe Del Mar with my side of the family, then yesterday at the vegeterian restaurant with Eve's side of the family), we were reminded of how this one year has flown by. Indeed, it doesn't feel like it's been one year. 2008 is indeed significant, come to think of it, because it is Faith's one year, and it is Eve and my 5th year wedding anniversary. Really, time just flies.
This weekend and the past, I think has been a microcosm of the one year with Faith. The past weekends have been busy weekends but they have also been weekends where Eve and I have been reminded constantly of the most important things in our lives.
In the same way, in the past one year, we've had to make a lot of decisions on how to make the best use of our time and money. Over the weekends, we've had to think about where best to do Faith's birthday celebs, ensuring that she gets to spend time with her loved ones (the extended family), and still allow us (her parents) to enjoy time with her, and yet keeping watch (and still feeling the pinch) on our budgets. I myself have had to juggle my time at work and over the weekends, as my projects have been unrelenting in their pace and with critical meetings coming this week, I've had to remind myself not to let these concerns come in the way of spending time with family.
From the time Faith was born, this juggling with time, money - essentially, our resources, has been a constant in our lives. From day one, we have had to decide on the best way to keep the family running - with Eve taking a leave from work, and me becoming the sole bread winner. And each time I get a project, I've had to make decisions on how much travel I should do. And in the past year, I've come to grips with balancing my time as a breadwinner, and a father for which there is no better way to show love, then to spend time with family. Fortunately, life has been good to us in many ways. And Faith's coming of age today has been a reassurance that we've done pretty well as parents. Not to say we have not had struggles in the past - for me for example, I've tried to work only when Faith is asleep over the weekends - and this means working past 10pm or waking up early in the morning on Saturday to work. Yet, I've also had to pull more than my fair share of over-timers - a fact that my employees constantly remind me of considering that I'm supposed to be the Work Life Balance champion in my consultancy group.
I guess the moral of the story really is that as couples and now as parents, we all need to find our way to balance our priorities. And no one apart from ourselves, can tell if we've really struck the right balance or not. No wonder they say that parenthood makes you grow up - because it certainly gives you the confidence that you define what makes you tick as a person. And when one is forced to prioritised, given no luxury in time nor money, there is no way but to be confident about the decisions you take for yourself and your family.
Our only wish for Faith is when she becomes a parent, she will feel that the experience she has is as rewarding as we've had, having her. Happy one year old, Faith from daddy and mummy who will always be there for you!
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