If I were to ask you... "Who do you think of when I say this one word: LOVE"? Who would it be?
The most politically correct answer for me would probably be : GOD
The answer some kepoh friends would want to hear would be : Some girl or another's name
Yet, I digress... In all honesty, when I hear the word LOVE, somehow or other I would think of the two people who have shown me, through their love for each other, what it means to love...
To give without demanding to receive in return
To love without demanding to be loved in return
To care without demanding to be cared for in return
To pray without demanding to be prayed for in return
To give in, not expecting to be given into in return...
To never hold a grudge, knowing that love is greater any grudge in the world...
I still remember when Daddy when to Hagaii Institute for a month worth of training away from home. I think that was the first time Daddy was away from Mummy for so long since they got married... I remember how Mummy started learning how to use Skype, MSN, and all other tools to call Daddy, and how she would rush from office to home, from home to office, all the time rushing to see the computer screen. If she had to go upstairs, she would call out, "Malcolm, help me watch the computer screen and tell me if Daddy comes online, k?" I remember that they were both online, talking to each other most, if not the whole day, everyday... Mummy was so good that she even learnt how to INSTALL Skype on her office computer and meddle with the screens on Live Messenger... And all these because Skype was better for talking, MSN was better for sending files... (I guess they saved about a million bucks on phone calls xD) Errr but of which Daddy spent later on buying souvenirs for us anyway, so it didn't really make much of a difference... xD
I also remember a time when Daddy had to go alone to Sarawak for a Brigade Council Meeting... I remember him sighing before the trip about how it's so far and how he had to be there for nearly a week, and how Mummy couldn't go along... I remember how he told the story of not enjoying the sights and sounds as he kept thinking of home, and of Mummy... But best of all, I remember how he went, on the morning of the flight, to the airport, and knowing that his flight was in the evening, asked if he could go back earlier. And once again, I remember that they said yes, but he would have to pay abit more. Guess what? He was back on the peninsular in time for lunch.
I remember 2 years back when Mummy finally cashed in her honeymoon, 25 years after Mum and Dad got married... I remember how Mummy and Daddy used to jokingly quarrel about how Daddy "cheated" Mummy out of a honeymoon, and how Daddy quietly went and booked a holiday for two in Bali... I remember how they arranged for Koko, myself and Girlie to be sent around for tuitions and whatnot, and I remember how Mummy used to call back home during the trip and tell us where they were going and what they saw, and how they kept buying stuff for us... And, they kept taking photos so we would be able to see what they saw when they returned...
I can remember, and I do still see that Daddy never spends a cent for himself, but never withholds any from us, his family... Daddy would never bring home any anger piled up from work, but would rather smile the moment he reaches home, really showing us how it should be when we see the ones we love... Mummy, on the other hand, plans her time so well, never wastes her own time on anything, but would willingly spend the whole night, going without sleep, to sort out her children's books, patch up a pair of pants or whatnot...
Are they perfect? Definitely not... If they were, they would not be my parents, sad to say...
But you know what? It doesn't matter... When I see them, here's what I see...
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.
Here's to Mummy and Daddy, and to 27 years of blissful matrimony...
When I see the both of you, I see love :) I thank you for being the parents that I would not change for any persin in the world, and I thank you both for showing me what it is to love, and for silently making me realize that I would have a long way to go, and that I would have to wait for God's timing... But also for making me realize that God's timing - It's perfect...
If a picture's worth a thousand words, these are worth quite a few :) Enjoy...
Mummy and Daddy... I love you both... More than you'll ever know!!!
MAL
:-P
