Day in The Life: Lawyer and Social Entrepreneur Sarah Lau

What does your daily routine look like, mamas? Tell us, we want to know!

In the series “A Day in the Life“, mamas submit snapshots of regular moments that occur throughout their daily routine. The idea is to show the wide variety of lives mamas lead in Singapore, whether you’re in the office, staying at home, or something in between.

This month we catch up with mother of two, lawyer and startup founder Sarah Lau,who started her social enterprise, E&S Blessing, in 2017. Named for her two daughters, Emma and Sophia, E&S Blessing is at once a fun baby gift company that celebrates the arrival of every child and supports local and overseas mumpreneurs, while also providing financial support to single mothers. A full 10% of all proceeds go to single mothers in HCSA Dayspring’s SPIN programme, which helps single parents make informed decisions and broadens their support network. Sarah ultimately hopes to grow E&S Blessing so it can conduct skills-based training for low-income single moms and employ them within the company.

We are so impressed at Sarah’s ability to juggle a full-time legal job with her passion for E&S Blessing, not to mention carving out quality time to spend with her husband and two girls. Read on to see how she makes it all work!

My morning begins with my first alarm (my husband) telling me to get ready, followed by my second alarm, one that I am unable to snooze – my girls, Emma and Sophia! They literally bounce out of bed and would poke my eyelids until I’m awake. They say you’ll become more of a morning person after you have children; obviously that didn’t quite happen for me! A brand new day of Mum life begins and I’m ready to rock and roll. Oops, school starts in 45 minutes and we are running late!

After getting the girls fed and dressed, we’re finally out of the house and just in time for school. Arise Kindergarten’s proximity to our place is one of the reasons why we chose it for our girls! Plus point: They have an amazingly balanced curriculum!

On good days where neither my hubby nor I have morning meetings, we bond over breakfast! (I love Springleaf at Sunset Way and he loves the food at Ghim Moh Market!) We make an effort to intentionally spend time  together with God and work out our schedule for the day. We try to explore new breakfast places, which I look forward to because it is like a mini morning date for me! Ideas, anyone? ☺

Definitely! Check out our ultimate guide to the best brunches in Singapore!

Working as the sole legal counsel for this region in a semiconductor MNC means it is a rather fast-paced job. Once I’m in the office, it’s back-to-back meetings and projects that demand my full attention. In this role, I do what I’ve been educated to do – translate the law to people who are not well-versed in it and help teams through transitions. I’ve also been blessed with a supportive boss who gives me the space to grow, encourages me to reach my potential, and gives me flexibility of work.

Lunch time is usually the only time I have to settle various matters for E&S Blessing (E&S for short), a social enterprise start-up named after my girls, Emma and Sophia. From finalising things with my team to meeting suppliers, to doing inventory checks with stockists (eg The Playfair at Suntec City and Rock Gifts & Book Centre at Star Vista), it has been challenging carving out time and resources, but this is something I’m truly passionate about!

Since becoming a mother, I felt a strong conviction that every child is a blessing. Thus, E&S was founded in August 2017 in hopes that our blessing boxes will be used to celebrate every mother and child! Sounds like too many things for a short lunch meeting but trust me, these meetups are rather fruitful. I’m pumped up and ready to get back to work!

I’m greeted by my overly excited girls and if they do not have any extra curricular classes, it’s time to discuss an important question – “What fun shall we have together today?”

However, truth is there are busy periods for E&S where I’m tasked to photograph products or pack boxes. Being on a small team can be challenging, but I’m thankful for my little helpers (aka the girls) who are usually quite happy to comply with my impromptu request of being my models or helping to pack! Sometimes, this is how we bond together and I’m more than happy to share with them my heartbeat behind the start-up named after them.

If we do not have any work to do, this is where the we go crazy! Usually it’s off to the pool to swim and get a bit of exercise. On more adventurous days, we head out for a walk or catch the train to a nearby mall to wander. This is the time I intentionally engage with the girls, hear their stories of their day in school, what they have learnt, and simply bond with them. It always amazes me how they are both mine but have such different personalities!

Once hubby is home, it’s time for dinner. I was raised in a family that stands by the mantra “The family that eats together, sticks together!” Likewise, family dinners are a must in our household since this is the only meal of the day we get to eat together. On some days, my brother and his fiancé will pop by to join us, which makes the meal much more special and enjoyable!

Recently, the girls are into board games. So we spend most evenings playing their favourite games like Disney Cupcakes or their Frozen-themed Monopoly. It’s a great time to see how the girls think and strategise, which can be rather amusing at times! If we are not playing, we’ll watch a movie or take a trip to the supermarket to grocery shop.

After a nice bath, the girls are ready for bedtime. But before that, bedtime stories! Their recent favourites are local books The Stressed Ball by Lydia Lim and My Brother is a Bear by Hsulynn Pang. We always end bedtime stories with a story from the Bible to remind the girls that we are loved by our loving Father from above!

With the girls soundly asleep, it’s time to work on things I did not get the chance to sort out in the day. After that, the hubby and I spend time relaxing over a movie or Netflix, sneaking in some instant noodles and catching up. My hubby is my best friend and it is important that we set aside time to spend together. After a busy day, I’m off to bed to rest up for a brand new day tomorrow!