SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim wrote in a social media post that his wife’s birthday celebration last weekend was a simple one, as the family went out for a simple dinner of pizza and pasta.
“But despite the less-than-stellar setting, our daughter loved spending time with us, my wife was delighted, and hence, I was in heaven. We had formed enduring memories that money simply couldn’t buy,” wrote the Sengkang GRC Member of Parliament in a post on Facebook and Instagram on Sunday morning (Mar 26).
He posted photos of himself and his wife, Chilean-American writer Ms Eneida Patricia Alcalde, along with their young daughter. The couple married in 2010 and welcomed their daughter in 2019, the year before Assoc Prof Lim entered politics.
In his post, he wrote that in their busyness, people can “fail to recognize and appreciate how the greatest things in life are often the simplest to achieve.”
He added that he and his wife brought their daughter out on Saturday night to celebrate Ms Alcalde’s birthday, but instead of going to a fancy restaurant, they took their daughter to a pizza place they’d visited before when the little girl was even younger.
“The restaurant itself is by a busy road, across from a construction site. We sat outdoors, exposed to the local elements and buzz of traffic (albeit it was a blessedly cool evening). My wife and I shared a pizza—hardly the stuff of gourmet legend—washed down with beer. Our daughter’s pasta was allá olio, literally dressed with just olive oil because she’s not a fan of… embellishments.”
The simplicity of the celebration appeared to highlight what really matters to the WP MP.
“Thinking back, I’m led to recall all the simple things we have done together that still stick to my mind. The walks we took with a hand-me-down stroller, by the river near our place, after our daughter was born. The joy of catching first moments with our daughter, in our tiny apartment, crowded with her toys in the living room.
I think what we’re all chasing boils down to a few basics. To find peace, doing something we find meaningful, and to be content while we’re doing it. To find happiness with the people we care about, and to treasure those moments when they present themselves. And to look forward to a brighter future.”/TISG
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