Lunch BBQ with a boy...

I was invited to a Vietnamese colleague's house this afternoon for a BBQ and some Pho ( Vietnamese beef noodles ). Nguyet's a really warmth host, offering lots of food, drinks and desserts and she's a great cook too.

She lives in a rented house with her family at Changi Village Estate along Loyang Avenue in one of those colonial white and black houses with lots of history that comes along with it. Besides it being a little too faraway and secluded in the sub-urbs, it is a rather cosy place to stay in as it is covered with lots of huge trees and serenity.

Most of us from the Human Resources team turned up for the party except for Audrey Tang and Michelle, who is still recovering from a fever that lasted two days.

A lunch mixed with BBQ meat and Pho surely made Sandy and myself a satisfied meal but the highlight of the afternoon was the presence of a little boy whom many wanted to carry and play with - Samuel ( picture ), Audrey Kuek's precious son who brought us laughter and fun.

I guess almost everyone took turns to carry Samuel, so did I. Jovial and active, Samuel always puts a wide smile across the face and laughing all the time. I have yet to see a boy who hasn't cried or threw tantrums throughout the 3 hours we spent together. Obviously marvelous. If it were me, I would have been a cry baby. What to do? Spoilt brat I always have been.

I found myself being really happy around kids. I have always been anyway. Children bring lots of joy to adults despite how naughty or playful these children are but at the end of the day, a smile always surfaces as you look into the little child's eyes, seeing the innocence it carries.

Very often, I look back and think of myself when I was a kid, playing with my parents, godparents and grandparents and bringing joy to their lives. I guess it is the simplest form of innocence that separates the boys from the men and the girls from the ladies. I also look back at the times when both my brothers were toddlers, it surely brought me lots of fun bullying them. ; )