Day in the life of a newly minted 15-year-old

Andre turned 15 last Friday! Because the SA2 is still currently ongoing, we couldn't plan an elaborate celebration. Not that we would have anyway because Andre is a simple boy with simple needs.

Morning: Went to school and sat for his Principles of Accounts exam. Was very happy when he came home, he found the paper doable which was a nice change from all the other "impossible" exam papers he had been moaning about. A very good start to his birthday.

Afternoon: For his birthday lunch, we bought him a Subway roast beef sandwich. You might think this sounds terribly run-of-the-mill but the background to this is: Andre loves Subway sandwiches and usually, he shares a foot-long with his sister. So a week before his birthday when asked what he wanted to eat on his special day, he declared, "I want a foot-long all to myself!" Told you he has simple needs. So Subway it was. He devoured the sandwich in the time I whipped out my phone to take a photo. Too late. Hence the photo of a Subway outlet instead.

Evening: Because we're not such mean parents, we did bring Andre out for a slightly-more-upmarket-than-Subway dinner, even though he didn't ask for it. Ended up at Tony Roma's to satisfy his meat passion. We hadn't been here in years and the food was still pretty good.

Half onion loaf

Pulled pork sliders

Grilled spinach chicken stack (another huge piece of chicken breast not shown)

Original baby back ribs

One very happy boy.

After dark: What's a birthday without cake? One of Andre's favourites - strawberry shortcake from Four Leaves. A simple sponge with cream and strawberries but very light and delectable.

This was his second helping! We grabbed our share when we still had the chance.

And then presents. Beautifully wrapped by the thoughtful sister.

This is from us - a carrom board! It's such an old-school game that even the seller was surprised when he learned that it was our Millennial son who requested for it.

A wholesome family game that totally reinforced gender stereotypes (ie the females in our home cannot aim to save their lives).

My char siew bao is, incredibly, now 15. Even as I marvel how fast the years zip by, I'm always cognisant of how fortunate I am. He will still happily kiss and hug me every day, and let me do needy-mum things in public, like linking arms with him or taking wefies. How many 15-year-old boys would let their mums get away with that? Not many, I reckon.

A very happy birthday to you, dear boy. May your sweet nature continue to be a blessing to many others all through to adulthood.