Payback Time

I am all geared up with a packed suitcase for my 2.5 weeks trip with my Mum. Flights have been booked since March and it's quite an adventure. We're flying to Australia with stopovers in Bangkok (outbound) and Singapore (inbound). I am treating my Mum on this no-expenses spared holiday for her 70th birthday. Dad contributed to the flights, but hotels (some of them quite fancy 5* ones), concerts, day-trips, etc. are all my gift. It's not that my mother would not be able to afford such "extravagant" vacations out of her own pocket - quite the opposite. It's more a matter of showing my appreciation and splurging out after having been the beneficiary of her generosity, in fact both my parents', for decades. Her treating ME on trips together was always the default setting and I was really grateful for that while I was a student or not-that-well-paid employee at Coma HQ. Since the travel bug only runs in the maternal side of our family, she was glad to have a travel companion and I would have joined her even if she had not paid my share. Win, win! I am also an only child and even if I always protest when people come out with those "spoilt brat" stereotypes, I won't deny that this comes with a lot of privileges unless you are at war with your parents. I definitely can't complain about mine and am truly spoilt in many ways. So, to cut a long story short, the idea of treating my Mum to a short vacation in Singapore for her 70th that came to my mind as I was swimming in the breathtaking infinity pool of the Marina Bay Sands hotel a few years back somehow snowballed into this bigger project. This type of present would definitely be a punishment rather than a gift for my Dad (not mentioning the fact that his health would not allow him to go on such a trip), so it's definitely for everyone, but it is something that gets my Mum excited and also made her win for once in the daughters-trumpcard-game. While she cannot take part in the comparison of cute photos of grandchildren, much to her regret, she definitely "won" when it comes to family present for their 70ths birthday.