Day Fifteen - 05/12/25

Day 15 was another slow, steady one. The kind we’re starting to settle into as our rhythm here. We woke up, did our little family exercise routine, and found Rosie quietly “reading” a book, which gave the kids a laugh even if the morning itself wasn’t particularly eventful.

After breakfast (still reliably delicious), I got stuck into some work, which is starting to get a bit busier in th lead up to Christmas. After work, and while we still had the scooters, we rode up the road for another round of banh mi, seriously, they never miss. We ducked into a shop Kia wanted to check out; she and Maddie tried on bikinis but didn’t find the right ones. Instead, we all walked out with matching arm-bracelet bands in different colours, which felt like a nice little family memento from the island.

By the time we got back it was late for lunch, and the afternoon sort of drifted into one of those lazy holiday stretches. I was keen for a swim but no one else was, so we just hung around and rested.

For dinner, instead of grabbing the scooters again, we ordered through Grab and found some amazing crispy chicken and rice. We ate together out on the patio, simple but really good.

Afterwards, we all piled into bed with Maddie’s iPad and watched Chris Hemsworth’s Limitless Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2. It was actually incredible to share that with the kids. Resilience, pain management, mindset, all the stuff I’ve been working on myself, especially with my back pain. Episode 2 hit home in a big way.

Showers and bedtime should’ve been straightforward, but the kids have been butting heads a lot lately. They’re wanting more tablet time, and schoolwork has been tough. Not much focus, not much effort, and it’s stretching Kia thin trying to support both of them. I stepped in a bit today, but it’s clear we need a better plan moving forward. Not a bad day, just one of those parenting days that reminds you this trip isn’t all beaches and sunsets, it’s also growth, tension, problem-solving, figuring it out as we go.

And that was Day 15. Another simple day, but part of the story all the same.