While business is brisk, Riff and Pamela, by now parents to two boys aged eight and 10, place family above all else.
“I actually spend more time with family rather than on work. I am very lucky and blessed that the business doesn’t require my physical presence every day,” says Riff who allows individual outlet managers to run the show while he drives his children to and from school daily.
The family would hit the playground, beach or park every week. And when the children were younger, Pamela and Riff would take turns to accompany them in the bedroom until they dozed off.
The tight-knit clan went everywhere together until recently, when Riff and Pamela left the kids in Singapore while they attended the grand opening of TwoHerbs in Indonesia. “I only realised it when Riff said out loud that it was our first time without the boys,” Pamela says.
Riff confesses that his parenting style possibly arose from his growing up years, during which his father never had time for the kids because of work. “I’m coming up with activities and buying toys for them to make up for my childhood,” he muses.
While Riff is the “fun parent”, Pamela wears the disciplinarian hat, ensuring the children do their homework, eat their proper meals and sleep on time. “I’m the black face here,” she jests.
Even with seemingly perfect teamwork, Pamela and Riff concede that parenting inevitably comes with challenges. The loving duo occasionally disagree on discipline methods and are working on cutting back their own screen time.
“It is hard to know when to shut down the computer or put down the phone. With the business, there are new things that crop up every day. We need to tell ourselves that it can wait. And sometimes I need to pull away Riff’s phone to make him listen to me or the boys,” says Pamela.
Yet, all of the daily annoyances do not diminish the sparks between the two. While many couples bemoan the loss of romance after children, the opposite appears to be true for this pair.
“Children are a joy and add colour to our lives. For couple time, I like to have breakfast with Pam when the kids are at school. I find this the best way to spend time together,” says Riff.
Pamela agrees, “I’d say our marriage is better after kids. We are more compromising, and we see each other putting in effort for the family. We date over weekday lunches and shop for each other. Every day can be Valentine’s Day.”
