This is LOVE!

So how was Valentine’s Day? Did I receive a bouquet of roses? No. Heart shaped chocolates? No. A branded handbag? No. Perfume? No. Some other fancy gift? No. Am I upset or disappointed? No.

My husband does not believe in Valentine’s Day celebrations. He thinks it is too commercialized. Looking at the price of flowers and romantic dinners, I couldn’t agree more! But I was not saddened by it. We don’t need February 14 to DISPLAY affection and quarrel the next day.

I have been suffering from a bad backache after lifting a big pail of water when I mopped the floor last week. The household chores are shared between my husband and I mostly while the children chip in to help sometimes. My husband and my daughters knew about my suffering. However, when the weekend approached and it was time to mop the floor, it was my husband who insisted on doing the job so that I could rest my back which was still aching. Now, what do you call that, if not LOVE?!! My girls sympathized with me and offered backrubs to sooth the pain, but did not volunteer to do the painful task of mopping the floor.

What my husband did was a simple act, but it meant a lot to me. In actual fact, I don’t do the marketing; he does. I don’t pay any bills; he does. I don’t send my car for servicing, repairs and even filling up the petrol tank; he does. And he does a lot more for me.

God, how blessed I am! So if February 14 is the day to show your adoration for your loved ones, then most days are February 14 for me!!!

My 3 Diamonds

Last night my 15 year old daughter, Dhamayenthy and I reversed our roles. She became my ‘mom’ when she suggested that I should blog instead of playing FreeCell, my addiction, especially when I’m watching TV. I had only managed to put 2 posts on my blog when I forgot my password and had technical problems after that. She took about 20 minutes to fix the problem and even designed it for me. I love what she has done. Thank you Dhama!

What would I do without my children?!! In fact my blogspot was first started for me by Dhivia; my elder girl (read first post). My son Karthi takes care of my anti-virus and whatever other programmes I need. They also download songs for me. I just have to give them my ‘favourite songs’ list.

My 3 children are the best thing that has happened to me. Sorry dear (hubby), you have to settle for second place now even though I owe our children’s presence to you! There has been much pain bringing them up, especially when disciplining them, but now they are my best friends and it is such a pleasure when I’m with them.

I wonder if Karthi and Dhivia remember how they compared me with Cinderella’s stepmom and the wicked witch in ‘Snow White’ when I used to cane them for being naughty when they were young! Believe me, it hurt me too. Now, I’m so proud of them. They are my 3 diamonds; the jewels that sparkle and brighten up my life (and I’m sure my husband feels the same way too). Am I a biased judge? Please be informed that as a teacher I’ve been meeting and handling a couple of hundred teenagers every year for the past 23 years. So I have enough ‘samples’ to make comparisons with my children. They are so undemanding, very accommodating, reliable, obedient, loving (though Dhivia has a problem displaying it!) often understanding, etc. etc…KARTHI, DHIVIA and DHAMA… I LOVE YOU!

Looking for lost friends!

I won’t boast of having lots of friends, but can definitely say I have some very good friends! I moved from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, then to Petaling Jaya. In the process I have met, worked with and interacted with many, many people. Most were passing acquaintances but some have been special enough to win a place in the corner of my heart. I keep in touch with most of them.

Who I really miss are my schoolmates. Most will agree that the best part of one’s life is when we were in school. I enjoyed my schooldays tremendously. Especially when I was in Form 4 and 5, I had some of the most wonderful people as my classmates. The lessons I learnt from them were more valuable then what some of my teachers taught!

I miss Annamma Kochumen. She came to my school and into my life in 1975. It must have been her quiet and calm nature that drew me (the noisy and talkative one!) to her. Besides being a good listener, she was very patient with me. She was also a very staunch Christian. Through her I learnt about God’s love, patience, understanding and much more. We kept in touch even when she went off to India to study Medicine, but lost contact after several years. I have been searching for her through the internet. Her name appeared in some organization in Canberra but there was no address or phone number to contact.

Then there is Geraldine Loo, such a cheerful and fun person to be with. We have done some interesting things together, especially going to some hotel (can’t remember which one) to meet Vince Hill, a singer who hosted the program “They Sold a Million” on TV those days. I still remember and cherish my first Christmas celebration (I am a Hindu) when I stayed over at her place and attended Christmas Mass with her family. I think I met up with her once after her marriage and that was the last I saw of her.

Zaleha Salleh, Shikin and another girl came from Johor, calling themselves “The 3 Musketeers”! They were also a bunch of exciting people to be with. I learnt much about Islam from them. They readily accepted my invitation for Deepavali lunch at my house and didn’t doubt if the food prepared was ‘halal’. Our class went on a trip to Port Dickson after our MCE. Here is where I discovered what a lovely voice Zaleha had. Her rendition of ‘The Last Waltz’ was so beautiful; it brought tears to my eyes knowing that we will be going our separate ways after that.

Zahidah Omar was the bubbly and very artistic class monitor. However I think she had problems controlling the loud, noisy and naughty me! So what did she do? She always called upon me to ‘help’ her keep the class quiet – smart eh!!! Roziyah Ismail is another friend I loved very much. We got to know each other well when we spent a lot of our time in the school library as librarians. She was brainy, hard working and always did well in the exams so I used to compete with her.

These are some of the people whom I really want to get in touch with, to see if they still remember me and feel for me the way I feel for them. Whenever I think back about some of the good times that I had (I realize I do this more as I grow older!), they are the ones in the picture. I intend to keep looking for them.