Hi Leereiner,
My son doesn’t take the octopus salad. He doesn’t like seafood much. Most of the food I give him is already low-sodium/fat so even if he takes some, it’s okay. He won’t eat much anyway. He chewed on some pieces of scallop and spat out. I bought the frozen salad for us adults to enjoy.
I don’t specially prepare food for the kid. He eats what we eat. He will take plain rice if he doesn’t fancy the side dishes. I refuse to make myself eat porridge and bland food because of the boy.
On Retirement,
I think what’s most important is that when I retire, my husband and I still share a strong relationship. Many old couples are comfortably retired but are detached from each other. To me, a close family relationship is most important. If we’re still together and going strong, anywhere/anything is fine (IF we have tonnes of neverending cash).
I feel this way because I saw many old British couples sign up for water-colour painting lessons, lepidopterology classes, watch plays or simply drive through the countryside. They’re nearly 90 and still care for and love each other. They're living on pension with children are away in other towns but make an effort to keep themselves relevant and active.
In Singapore, I see a sad picture of male retirees indulge in coffee-shop lounging, keeping China mistress(es), gambling and whining. As for their wives, they’re largely perceived as nagging, paranoid – main duty is to care for grandchildren, maybe participate in cc events and worried that their husbands fritter their CPF away. Am I very pessimistic?
I have seen many times those stinky ah peks putting their wives down in public (“aiyah you women don’t know anything so don’t say lah!”), seated with arms folded while their wives tag along compliantly. I will NEVER allow myself to be subservient or trivialised and so it's important we keep ourselves employed/self-sufficient/educated.
So, to me, Singapore is a fine place to retire because it’s home. I have my medisave, CPF and will make the best out of our labour. Also don't want to be 3rd class citizens elsewhere (so old, how to protect ourselves?)
The imperative is that we live our lives happily, healthily and not expect everything else to be perfect. Certainly, Canada, NZ etc are alluring places - 4 seasons, slower pace of life, so much places to explore etc. My husband and I may not be able to ‘slow’ down. If we do, we’ll really hibernate and rot.
I sure hope to spend our time leisurely travelling and maybe take up courses to study instead
If I have a choice, I won't retire.
