— Photo by Marvin Lowe

Today is Children’s Day in Singapore.

I can’t say I’ve paid much attention to Children’s Day, ever since I graduated from primary school and it stopped being a school holiday. Yup, kids older than 12 don’t get the day off. So, this day meant pretty much nothing to me until September 7, 2014, when my daughter Natalie was born.

That changes today. Today, I celebrate being a dad. And from now on I’ll actually pay attention to Children’s Day, along with other significant events such as Father’s and Mother’s Day, which will have new meaning for Carol and I.

I’m still reeling from the newness of it all. The endless cycle of crying, feeding, burping, diaper changes… But I must say the first few weeks with Natalie have been amazing. She’s captured my heart, as I knew she would the first time I saw her as a blip on an ultrasound machine.

That was when I wrote this song, The Yellow Room.

As our close friends and family know, we set aside a room in our home for our child(ren) ever since we moved in two years ago. Its walls are painted bright yellow. When I wrote this song back in March, I knew it would become something special and personal to me. It captured that sense of anticipation that only a soon-to-be father would know. It was as if everything that we had worked so hard for was for this baby, this little soul that was growing day by day in Carol’s womb.

And so, on Children’s Day, I present to you The Yellow Room. Enjoy the song, and the video, which is a glimpse into our home and lives. And if you so wish, you may buy the song on iTunes. That would mean a lot to me.

More pictures of baby Natalie and me, thanks to Marvin Lowe Photography.