The Road to 40 Day 21/365: Dad talk Friday

by | May 31, 2025 | Strawberry-Filled Donuts

It’s Friday training day for Vino, another chance to catch him learning new things.

Since he has art club on Fridays, I picked him up and we spent some time in the hawker center so we could go straight to the camp.

At around this time, he’d say he didn’t want to eat, but once I got him food, he would. Besides, he needs it because training is at 6-8PM, so he needs a little snack, or else he’ll be super hungry by the time we get home.

We got on the bus to travel to the training grounds, which I thought would take around 15-20 minutes, but it took us a good 10 minutes before we were there.

We needed to wait around 20 minutes before they could even let us into the venue, so we hung around outside while watching a football match and a couple of birds who decided to drop by.

Patience is a virtue that is not taught but learned through experience. I believe I have a short fuse, but over the years, I have learned to be patient with certain things.

Waiting was one of them.

From picking up Che from work to waiting for clients to be ready for a meeting, I’ve always found ways to amuse myself when it’s not my time yet. It’s a matter of respecting other people’s time.

I’m glad that Vino is able to wait along with me during this time, as he knows the rules of the school.

When he started training, I was able to speak with one of his teammates’ dad.

He worked in corporate for 18 years before deciding to call it quits just a couple of months ago, which is why he’s able to join his son in football training.

I told him about me being a house husband, which he said was a big decision. Right now, he says he is getting better at cooking (which I said is probably the best effect on me) but he is still looking for opportunities in the corporate world.

It’s always refreshing to hear a different perspective from a fellow dad, especially how they navigate this uncharted territory of unemployment.

Meanwhile, Vino is getting an earful from coach whenever he isn’t paying attention, and he’s responding by getting better on the drills.

He has always listened well to people who are not us. From swimming classes to the classroom, I think Vino responds better to other people of authority, which allows him to learn well from them.

Before we went home, I was able to speak with another teammate’s dad.

His kid is one of the best in their group, and I think he has a different approach to these sessions and the games.

I can’t judge, of course – it’s my first time talking to him. I see that he’s very much into the games and is really committed to the whole process. I see it in his son, and it gives me a good sense of what to expect from the kids in the program.

I’m not sure how long Vino will stay along with this program considering what I see from him and the development of his teammates who have been here for a while. As long as he’s happy, we’ll let him play on, that’s for sure.

He’ll have at least a year with this group of kids before he moves up to the next age group, so we’re here for the ride.

He plays his first game next day.

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