ATTENTION, H1N1 virus: Thanks to you, I'm being made to look like a lying parent. You, swine (flu), you.
Letme explain. A few months ago, The Supportive Spouse and I planned a trip to Tokyo. It would be our first long-haul family holiday with our three-yearold son, Julian - a feat we wanted to accomplish before our second child arrives in November.
We wanted to take train-mad Julian to a Thomas And Friends railway theme park near Mount Fuji.
For weeks, Julian and I looked forward to visiting Thomas Land in Japan. We found a video of the theme park online, and spent hours watching children board the toy-train rides and roller coasters. Several times a day, he would ask me: 'Are we going to Thomas Land now?'
I explained to him that we had to take a plane there, no small undertaking and one that required us to wait for his Dad to come home from the office.
To that, my inquisitive son asked impatiently: 'Is Papa taking a plane home from work?'
In the end, I showed him the calendar and counted the blank boxes between 'today' and the date of our departure late last month. When he seemed to understand, I gleefully congratulated myself on imparting an important lesson on delayed gratification. Then, the H1N1 flu began spreading in Japan.
The Supportive Spouse and I monitored the news about the outbreak, still harbouring hopes of making our trip. But when the virus surfaced in Tokyo, and friends and family expressed their concerns over our travel plans, we decided to cancel our trip and get a full refund.
The hardest part about our no-go holiday was the thought of letting Julian down. I didn't think a preschooler would quite understand the implications of a pandemic.
Trying to find a substitute for Thomas Land, we bought him his first ez-link card and took him on a journey to nowhere on the MRT. Desperate for him to enjoy himself, I hyped everything up ('Look! People waiting on the platform! Ooh, in-carriage announcement!' were some lame Mummy quips).
The dear child humoured me by checking out everything I pointed at with a happy smile, before falling asleep on my lap 15 minutes later.
If you think three-year-olds are easy to fool, think again. 'Can we pleeease go to Thomas Land?' Julian asked suddenly while I was driving one night.
I silently gripped my husband's hand, willing him to come up with an answer that would let our son down gently. The man, however, muttered something unintelligible.
Finally, I came up with a passable answer: 'Er. We'll have to call the people who run Thomas Land and ask when would be a good time for us to go, okay? Sometimes, the engines get sick, and people are not allowed to visit them. The engines have to get better first before they can see visitors.'
'Oh. Okay,' said Julian in a small voice. His disappointment was all too obvious in the confines of our car.
I doubt Julian will forget about my Thomas Land promises soon. Yet, tasting disappointment is important for him. As parents, we all want to protect our kids from unpleasant things and frustration. But childcare experts believe that such overzealous shielding may ultimately inhibit kids' ability to cope with rejection.
Dealing with these temporary setbacks will let my son grow emotionally, allowing him to acquire the grace and maturity to accept the things he cannot change, and the determination to change what he can.
So, please, H1N1 virus, I am praying that you will be eradicated soon. Because I have a promise to keep and a special place to get to, eventually.
