Day 15

We’ve started a new routine. I’ve bought a little plant pot (shaped like a cat) and we’ve filled it with some bok choy. If she can keep it alive and water it every morning, I’ll buy her more and she can create a little garden in her room. Stormy wakes, and the first thing she does it water her plant. This is a good start.

She’s kept all her plastic figures in the drawer underneath her plant. We sit down together and play with Superman, Wonder Woman, Pinky Pie and Fluttershy. Fluttershy and Superman have a race. Superman wins, but only just. She tells me that her best friend has said that super heroes & pirates are only for boys. I vehemently correct this. I also explain that princesses and My Little Pony are also for boys and girls — and that some of her My Little Pony toys were mine before we gave them to her. She seems to accept this and we continue to play. I need to speak with her friend’s parents and nip this before it distorts her thinking too much.

We grab breakfast at ToastBox again. From there, it’s straight to the Art Science Museum to their “Future Worlds” exhibit. If you’ve not been, it’s amazing. We spend hours colouring in pictures, scanning them, and having them come to life on the walls and floor. We burn 4 hours of our day there. They even have a small slide, and I teach Stormy to high-five me as she comes down the slide.

I’ve not looked at my phone for hours. I think this is the longest I’ve gone without looking at that gorgeous screen. I wonder if my phone thinks I’m cheating on it?

The night routine starts out well. She’s in bed almost on time and stays there playing with her toys. Then it all falls apart. She comes out and refuses to go back — she wants to stay with her daddy. I don’t think Stormy has seen me be strict all that often and, to be fair, I very rarely need to be. I’ve started withdrawing night-time privileges and tightening up what she can do. I’ve taken away her toys and that seems to have done it. She storms off in tears while yelling “you’re so mean”. On the upside, she’s in bed. I don’t feel like this is a victory though.

Over the next few days, I’ll set stricter rules before she goes to bed (rather than applying them now without warning). No camera in bed, no toys (books are ok), light gets turned off after 30 minutes. We’ll see how that goes. For now, she’s in bed and has settled down. She had hidden her camera under the covers, so I didn’t find it in the toy purge, and is currently looking at the photo’s she’s taken. I don’t have the heart to take that away from her now.

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* For those who missed the context, I’m not actually single. My wife has started a 5-month contract in Australia (yay). This is a Very Good Thing™. Stormy will be staying with me here in Singapore and I have great help both remotely (from my wife) and locally. I’m writing this purely for fun and to practice writing.