The one and only Wakiki Beach at Honolulu, Hawaii.
Back in 1992, my boss Mr TF Chan ,who was then the Principal of Hwa Chong JC had casually asked me whether D2 and I had visited our daughter D3 who had left Singapore in 1990 for Harvard University, Boston USA ,on a President's Scholarship. I said ,"No,not yet." He asked," Why not?". I explained that to visit the US and make it worthwhile, I would need to be away for about a month and knowing myself and more importantly my job responsibility, I could possibly squeeze 2 weeks at a stretch from the year end term break.
I was then the Head of Sports, PE and CCA at the college , a position that is both challenging and loaded with great responsibilities. He zeroed in," What is the main problem for you?" My reply," During the school holidays....my weekly coaching and training sessions in certain sports actually intensifies. Most of our sporting reps are prepared to sacrifice their family vacation for training even harder. I can't simply cancel holiday training. And moreover, it has been the practice for years since I was headhunted there." His gentle response, spoken like an order, took me completely by surprise. In short, he urged me to take that long break from work and hopefully ,together with D2 and D4, make that trip to the States to visit D3. There was still more! Boss said to go as soon as the holidays begin," so that you can at least have the full 5 to 6 weeks for your trip. And, don't worry about your work and anything else. I want you to have full peace of mind when you travel. I will see to these things. " I was astounded! I was flabbergasted! I was overwhelmed !
D2, D4 and I did make that long journey. The pictures here is a testimony of that.
In my 4 decades of service, he remains the ONLY BOSS who has touched my heart deeply. We have both retired from service but remain in very close and regular touch, even today.
1 comment:
Your boss is really amazing kind.
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