SimonSimple

Hi People

Over the National Day holidays my wife & I were across the causeway conducting a 1.5 day marriage enrichment seminar. We were truly blessed by the 13 couples. Six cars left in a convoy on Sunday morning and six cars returned safely around midnight on Monday. The drivers were armed with walkie-talkies to ensure that the cars kept in touch throughout the trip. The Liverpool war cry - “You’ll Never Walk Alone” hold true for this bunch of happy people. From them I learned what being “family”truly means! Whenever a car somehow got lost or trailed too far behind, everyone swung into action to guide the lost sheep back in line. Hokkien jokes abound through the airwaves and there was light banter poking fun at each other. At meal times, everyone was looking out for the next guy or gal. The driver & wife who picked us up and delivered us safely home at our doorstep deserved special mention. They knew how to make us feel special. In fact the leader and the co-ordinator and almost everyone else were the “perfect hosts”.

We had given the instruction that the “No Kids” rule was to be strictly enforced and lo and behold there was this young couple with a new born baby who surprised us with their dedication. They stayed to 9 pm plus on the first night, then drove back to Singapore to breast feed their infant and double back to the resort at 9 am the next day. They enthused that the seminar was too good to be missed and did not want to miss out any teaching. Indeed, our teaching can be distilled into this one statement, “Children are leasehold properties but your spouse is freehold property”.

At the end of the seminar there were free sharing by the participants. Because they found the instructors very down to earth, human & dared to be vulnerable they felt they could relate to us and were very teachable and ready to learn. Of course there were tears shed. But we felt it was a way to bid farewell to some unhealthy “past practices” and say hello to new mindsets. Some vowed never to address their spouses as “mummy” or “daddy” but darlings & honey from henceforth!

Some confessed to putting their children as their No. 1 instead of their spouse. Some shed tears of relief, I suspect, in knowing that there is better prospect of a happier life if they were to invest more in their relationship with their spouse (instead of their careers or their children) before they enter their empty nests years.

In a similar vein, I spoke at 2 places yesterday. At lunchtime, I spoke to 50 ladies & 5 men on “Speaking your Spouse’s Love Language” and then at 7 pm I had the good fortune to address 80 women from the NTUC affiliate unions. Each time I shared about the Power of 2, there were resounding “Bulls eye!” & “How True!” from the audience. Many of the women wished that their husbands should have been around to listen to such family educational talks.

Yesterday I left the house at 10 am and did not return home until about 10 pm. Being 12 hours away from my wife of 32 years already made me feel I miss her presence. I hope couples who are reading this would also miss their partners when they are occasionally apart while both are alive and kicking and not when one partner has kicked the bucket and both are permanently apart.

I believe in the Power of 2! Catch me in person at the following event in September!

September Movie and Talk

Talk Topic: Romancing for a Lifetime
Speaker: Mr Simon Sim
Movie Screening: The Ugly Truth
Date: 26th September 2009
Venue: Cathay Orchard Cineplex
Time: 1130 - 1500 hrs
Tickets: S$20/pair (Early purchase / Concession)
S$40/pair (Regular price)

http://www.maybebaby.sg
OR contact
janice_quek@mcys.gov.sg.