Friendship

Boom Snot Twitty This Way That Way.

This is one of the books I brought when my daughter's class went on the field trip to the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens today.

Both Jasmine and I enjoyed the tale about three friends, Boom, Snot and Twitty, each of them having their own thinking as to what's the perfect spot to spend the day. Boom wants to jump and splash. Twitty loves to hike. Snot prefers picnic. That's an immeasurably entertaining story of how authentic friendship blossoms even with different views.

As is usually the case with school field trip, I carry story books and my daughter's backpack is for lunch box (for mine, too). Then not only will her backpack be less heavy than mine, hers will be even lighter on the way back.

In fact, my daughter's lunch box got empty earlier than I'd expected. Far so much earlier. We had prepared spring rolls for lunch this time. It never ceases to amaze me how tasty spring rolls can be. And her classmates too. As my daughter opened her lunch box, she beamed. "Yummy spring rolls. Anyone wants to try?" she exclaimed, pride written all over her face. It's great; everyone said so.

And then - this is the truth - her lunch box was nearly empty within a minute. There was only one spring roll left for herself, and none for me.

Whoops.

In case you're wondering whether my daughter would end up being hungry after a morsel of spring roll only, here's the answer: No. Her friends shared theirs in return.

Diversity

Legend goes that South Korea is at crossroads between traditional symbol such as royal palaces and recent hits like K-pop. As a tourist, you can expect very diverse recommendations on what to pick, betwixt and between. There's an old Korean saying: If you have a horse, send it to Jeju Island; if you have a son, send him to Seoul.

We were exploring Seoul last week, but have neither son nor horse. We were weaving our holiday into one that delights girls as young as six, and up to twelve. To get the best mix for them, my wife picked the Seoul National Science Museum. Families seeking fun for children of varying ages must try this museum. Inside? A toilet bowl at the virus exhibition. Lesson about how high viruses can catapult after flushing toilet uncovered.

If the kids aren't awed by these miniature living things with nucleic acid covered by a protective protein coat, they will be fascinated by the high-tech holographic projection in another hall. If your kids are dinosaur fans, this is a perfect place to say hello to Edmontosaurus and learn how to tell apart a real fossil from a replica.

But then, getting kids to look at (and even touch) the exhibits with meagre English subtitles can't last forever. Sometimes, your kids might just want to have outdoor play. Oh, what a good suggestion. For that, the playground outside the museum is just as much fun. Jasmine simply loves to run and frolic there after an educational afternoon walk.

Dad

Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.

I can't recall who came up with such meaningful words, but I know it's my wife who gives me good chance to be Jasmine's special dad.

This Sunday, my wife lent me her bike so that we could roam on our own. There were only two of us, and not a lot of traffic on the bicycle trail (because that's the Lunar New Year's Eve). That way we were guaranteed a great time. Rapt with joy, my daughter started to feel a readiness with the slope and learned to shift gears when going upslope. And pressing on when downslope, instead of alighting.

If I need any more reason to thank my wife, there is her arranging the ski lesson for us this week in Korea. No, I'm not her coach this time, but I went through the steps with her. Snapping into skis, picking oneself up after fall, braking. Yep, this meant a lot to my six-year-old daughter who'd been rather nervous with the new sports game. There is never a greater moment than being there with the child when she's in need and fear.

Thursday

We have seen buckets of evidence for having family dinner, and that children who eat dinner with families are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs. We all know it. It's about coming together as a family. That's also what I learned from Bruce Feiler after reading The Secrets of Happy Families.

There's just one little thing. Few things are easier than citing the research, and few things are harder than walking the talk.

I worked till late this evening. By the time I was home, my daughter had finished dinner. Too late.

Soon enough, I was happy for real. I was late, but we weren't done yet. It's Thursday and I was just in time to see my six-year-old daughter washing dishes. Jasmine has been learning to do chores. Not every day, but every Thursday. You can't overestimate the satisfaction a kid gets by sticking to a self-directed goal of washing dishes after dinner every Thursday. The most satisfying moments came when I saw my daughter beaming after her "chores." It's that simple.