Happy Birthday Dad!

Dearest Daddy,

Happy 50th Birthday!

By the time you read this, I will probably be in Cologne or Hamburg. This is the first time in my 21 years that I won't be able to spend your birthday with you. Please forgive me! Be assured, however, that my thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Thank you for all your sound advice, your knocks on the head when i get too stubborn, for always being there for me, and for knowing when to step back and let me learn from my mistakes. You've selflessly provided for our family, acceded to my lazy requests to fetch me around Singapore, gone with me on my countless gastronomic haunts to check out the best soon kueh, BBQ seafood, prawn noodles and cheng tng in Singapore, instilled in me a love for the beautiful game, and most importantly, guided me through all my major decisions in life thus far.

When I think back on my childhood and my teenage years, beautiful memories spring to mind. Of running around beaches and stomping on sandcastles, of you falling down while piggy-backing me down snowy mountains, of bouncing around and falling headfirst off the trampoline just outside our campervan, of staying in motels along the highway, of watching and loving Broadway, of eating yummy ribs in the outback, of having traditional english tea facing the English countryside, of driving down Welsh coasts, of us visiting the homeground of our respective football clubs (which are just a 5min drive across town from each other), of us scrutinising maps and trying to navigate our way around confusing foreign cities, and of course, of walks up Bukit Timah Hill and the yummy dinners we go for thereafter.

And you know what I've realised? You, mum and sis are a part of all those treasured memories. Every single one of them. All 3 of you are such a crucial part of my life, and the knowledge that the 3 of you will always be there to guide me, listen to me whine and complain, chastise me when necessary and keep me grounded is a comforting one.

So as much as I am enjoying myself on exchange, I wish everyday that all 3 of you were here, to share in this wonderful experience with me, so that we could add it to the long list of memories we have created together. I miss you guys so, so much, and I cant wait to see all of you next year.

I love this picture of our family, with grandma inside too.

Enjoy your seafood birthday dinner, and eat my share of crabs and prawns for me please!

Can't wait till we webcam on the 10th! :)