Simple joys: Many Singaporeans say family is what they look forward to the most at the end of the day

SINGAPORE: Perhaps what makes us happiest is actually within our reach.

When a local Reddit user asked in a recent post what the one thing would be that other people are looking forward to, something they’re excited to do, see, or experience at the end of their workday, the answers were, by and large, really heartwarming.

The post author, u/One_Pressure949, started the ball rolling by explaining that on that gloomy day when they posted, once work ended, they were “getting mala zhong la with scrambled egg at Hot Hideout.”

To the uninitiated, A Hot Hideout is a very popular mala xiang guo (spicy stir-fry) and collagen soup chain in Singapore. The original outlet was founded by students from Nanyang Technological University at the North Hill halls.

The post has since gotten over 150 responses. While some wrote about gaming, their bed, food, or even solitude, for many of the commenters, what they looked forward to each day was seeing their loved ones, both the human and fur kind.

“My children,” one wrote simply.

“My kid. Her widest and happiest smile at pick up. My partner too, spending quality time after a long day of work,” a Reddit user wrote.

One appeared to feel the same way, writing, “Picking up my kid from playgroup. I love it when I pop by the window, and she starts shouting in excitement, and in that moment of chaos, everyone in her playgroup wants to come to high-five through the window hahaha.”

“Picking my toddler up from childcare. Seeing my kid excitedly slap the glass door with both hands and hearing the muffled ‘papa’ through the door,” wrote another, who also added that they look forward to “Talking to my wife about our day over a simple dinner.”

“Picking the kids up and welcoming my husband home! It’s crazy. I just saw them this morning, and I miss them already,” added a commenter.

Another wrote, “Picking up my wife from her office and then going home together. Whether there’s (a traffic) jam or not, we chat in the car and tell each other about our day.”

“Seeing my wife, then we go home and rest in our own house. Ever since I got my own house, I really quite sian of going out for activities,” wrote another.

Then there was an oddly specific Reddit user who wrote, “Ramen dinner with my partner.”

One, however, chimed in with “seeing my dog and partner.”

A commenter agreed, writing, “No partner, but my dog too! Him running towards the door with his tail wagging, and at that moment, the world is right again.”

“Simply the best! Our favourite hello and our hardest goodbye,” another wrote.

One talked about other fur babies, writing that they look forward to “feeding stray cats under my block that always wait for me in the evening.” /TISG

Read also: ‘Money brings happiness’: Singaporeans give YouTuber their honest take on life here