Felix vomitted on Sunday after lunch and was not quite his usual self the rest of the day. He was having runny-nose on the day itself but he was his bubbly self before the food-spewing incident. We took his temperature and found him to be slightly feverish. It meant that he was not going to play-school the next day.
Since I was officially having my holidays (makes me feel like a student!) from Monday, I took on the task of caring for him, just as any parent who could afford to do so, on Monday. After sending Yen and Rachel off, I returned home to find Felix watching television programmes on Disney Channel in the licing room with Kayleen. He ran to embrace me, a pitiful look on his face.
I decided to take him downstairs for a walk. He was excited. I did not have to change him as he was found to have wet his bed slightly earlier and had been changed out of his pyjamas. We put on our shoes and wandered aimlessly around the neighbourhood. It was in my mind that he should get a little bit of exercise and not get cropped up at home. We came to a playground and he was enthralled about playing there.
I let his hand go. Watching Felix run off to the playground was a relief to me, seeing his off-colour form before. He played, though not too confidently, merrily. Felix did not throw tantrums when I told him we were moving off. I was thinking of exploring the neighbouring estates a little and told him we were looking for more playgrounds.
"We play at new playground?" the angelic-faced boy asked, not bothering to try contain his excitement. I nodded. How could I refuse him in that state and time?
We played at a few and I called the shots for time to have breakfast. At the coffeeshop, his less-enthusiastic self returned. Only a glass of milo made him feel a little better.
We got home, bathed, did colouring together on a much unused colouring book. Felix was so happy and proud that we finished colouring a page together, as a team. I was tired and told him that daddy want to take a nap. "I sleep here," he pointed and lay beside me. He did not need much coaxing and fell asleep beside me shortly. We woke to my mother returning with Kayleen from the supermarket and had lunch.
My younger two children watched a little bit more of Playhouse Disney after the late lunch and we went to fetch Yen and Rachel. Felix repeated a couple of times proudly that we had coloured a page and he was going to show his mother when they returned home later. I smiled behind the wheel.
This was a happy day I had. One that I had probably left the ministry for when I parted ways with them in June. A life of less stress, less worries, less answering for to other children's parents which mostly I had no idea of was happening. One that I can be more involved in with my own children. I definitely do not want to look back ten / twenty years later and lament that I should have been there with them.
My wife sees me more too. Though I work daily (with the exception of public and school holidays), I can definitely be more involved in our children's lives and on the weekends. Though I do not work on weekends previously, I still had to plan and prepare for the next week's lessons for school. Now, I leave marking mostly for time when our children are in play-school on weekdays. I am finding more space to breathe and time for myself, possibly to pick up on a few peeves. I think I have made the right-choice of leaving the ministry, for the sake of my family. =)
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