Even though I’m fluent in Chinese, a friend shocked me yesterday by pointing out something so obvious that it completely escaped my notice! Did you know that the Chinese character for ‘good’, hao, 好，is made up of 2 parts: ‘daughter’ and ‘son’?! Even though I say ‘hao’ on a daily basis (like nihao, meaning ‘hello’), I only just realized this!

The friend who gave me the Chinese lesson 101 was remarking on how blessed I am to have a daughter and son. “zhen hao!” (so good) she said. It’s a phrase the Chinese love to use when they see you with kids.

My friend’s explanation brought to mind this saying:

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.“- Psalm 127:3

Who knows, perhaps King Solomon’s words of wisdom had inspired the Chinese? Or maybe because back in antiquity, children were really considered to be blessings rather than inconveniences.

A couple of years ago, if you told me that kids are ‘gifts’, I would have sneered. I thought they were more like nuisanssances.. And if you said that one day I’d become a mom of two, I would have laughed. And laughed. And laughed….

I didn’t used to have any affinity for children. But 4 years ago, thanks to divine intervention, my view on children was completely changed. One day I woke with an epiphany: having kids with the man I love (aka hubby) is so good, and such a privilege! Since then, we have not looked back ;)

So on those sleep deprived days, I remind myself that I’ve been blessed beyond compare with 2 healthy, happy children. And I remember my friend, who would say: ‘Zheng hao!’