Thursday, 15th October 2026
Regular readers of my blog will be aware that we will soon be moving out of my "patrimonial" home (ie. the one that my dad bought way back in 1978, and in which I have been staying for more than 80% of my life), and into what my wife calls our "matrimonial" home.
Why matrimonial home? Read on.
When I was courting my then-girlfriend (now wife) in 1989 and into 1990 and 1991 (we got married at the end of 1992), dad decided to do some minor additions and alterations, which involved expanding the existing bedrooms, and creating a brand new bedroom where a side yard used to be.
While decluttering, I came across some architectural drawings dated April 1990.
In particular, shown below is the 1ST STOREY PLAN:
As one faces the entrance into the house, the new bedroom (as indicated by the green square) is on the left, towards the back of the house, while all the other bedrooms (including the master bedroom that my parents occupied) are on the right. The red lines represent where the original walls used to be, and the green arrows pointing outwards indicate how the bedrooms were to be expanded outwards.
Note how all the other bedrooms are on one side of the house, while the newly-created one is on the other.
Note also there is only a single storey. Mom was very adamant about this, because she did not want us kids to treat the house like a hotel. Even if we were to retreat into our rooms upon coming home from school, we would still be within earshot whenever she announced that it was time to gather at the dining table for our dinner :-)
So, what was the purpose of the new bedroom with its own attached bathroom? Let me explain.
All along. my mom had wanted me, being her only son, to continue staying with her and dad, even after I got married, so she asked him to specially construct a proper bedroom for my wife and I to stay in. So sweet of her, ya?
And the timing could not have been more perfect. Renovations were completed sometime towards the end of 1991 and beginning of 1992. Very shortly thereafter, my bedroom became my matrimonial bedroom, when my wife moved in after we had our wedding dinner on 22 Nov 1992.
As you can imagine, I was rather the mummy's boy, so this arrangement suited me just fine. It also meant that our future kids would always be in the good hands of their grandparents, allowing us to focus on our careers and not be worried about having to find them daycare or babysitters.
The side yard was rather huge, so they could build a bedroom of considerable size (about 15m² /160 sq ft), large enough to fit a queen-sized bed, wardrobes for my wife and I, a dresser, a couple of cabinets, a baby cot and even 2 mattresses to be placed on the floor.
The cot was used by our kids, before they progressed to the mattresses. And that room was where the 4 of us (my immediate family) stayed in for a good 5 years until the mid-2000s.
In conjunction with my sisters moving out from their bedrooms, the kids took a room each. So this house is very much their childhood home as well.
Anyway, back to what my wife calls our matrimonial home. The condo we are moving into is exactly that -- a place that we can finally call our very own :-)
When mom went back home to be with the Lord in Jun 2012, we went house-hunting for a place very nearby. Just in case dad asked us to move out, we did not want to be too far away from him.
He didn't (chase us out), so we happily stayed on. Our own place (which was purchased with tenancy) has been rented out to 3 different sets of tenants since. Initially to an Indian family, then mainland Chinese, and then, most recently, Malaysians.
The latest tenants just vacated the place last week, and we commenced renovation just this week.
We are targeting to move in sometime early next year. I am not at liberty to reveal the exact location. Suffice it to say that Mr Seah Kian Peng will still be our MP :-)
