Waiting For Your Beloved

Waiting for your beloved can really test your patience. Maybe he or she needs more time to get ready. Maybe he or she needs to attend to a more “important” business. You become more and more uneasy as you wait because you are just not sure whether he or she is trying to impress you more or that you are never his or her first love at all.

You walk around the surrounding areas many times until people start to look at you suspiciously. If you are holding a bouquet of flowers, it can get worse when the flowers fade. Your mood begins to get worse as you sit down quietly, bending your body forward, for a long, long while. You most probably will look at your watch many times and hear the ticking of the watch, the pumping of your heart, and your heavy sighing.

But the moment you see your beloved walking slowly towards you from afar, your world begins to feel more full and alive; you are wide-awake and fresh with a tender smile of love. And you run towards him or her with open arms and great joy. And you will be well pleased and all your frustrations will just disappear.

Yeah, All will go well when the desired answers or excuses are given. But the moment misunderstandings happen and words are said that shouldn't be said otherwise, every spark will turn into a fire. And you start to grumble and argue with one another, and you begin to shout and cry. Worse still when your beloved speaks of separation and divorce; you will most probably scream and cry and run away.....

Maybe if we can react in a more patient and forgiving way, our relationship may not crumble so easily. After all, love is always patient and kind...

Tough Girl

It happened quite sometime ago.

A young school girl was looking for me during the school's break time. I was strolling along the road in front of the school administration block when she called me from my back.

She came to me asking for advices. She didn’t know what to do. She was going to move school because her family was moving house. She looked very frustrated because she couldn't find a nearby school that offered the same combination of subjects. And she was undecided what to do.

I looked at her and realized that she was my student sitting in the middle on the left side of the classroom. She seldom smiled and laughed in my class but when she did, it was so unnatural and unreal. Somehow her eyes didn't look happy. I remembered she was always very interested and attentive in my lessons. And she was not afraid to ask questions. Somehow she impressed me.

We had a long talk analyzing the problem. She was more settled after that. Hopefully it helped to lift up and ease her burden.

Later, I was told by a fellow teacher that she was a daughter of a broken family. Her father had left her and her mother when she was a child. It was a big blow to her, losing the love and support of an irresponsible and violent father.

He also told me that the father continued to visit them when he was broke. I was very unhappy after that, and it took me quite a while to calm down. After much contemplation and reasoning, I realized that they were moving house most probably to escape from the father.

It hurt to know that a fellow man could be so unreasonable, irresponsible and unloving. I only wished that all my relatives and friends were not like that.

I took special notice of that girl after the incident. I understood why she seldom smiled and laughed. I understood why she could not express herself well. I understood why she was so scared and nervous to talk to people. Oh young girl, you acted so tough and so strong around others to cover all your weaknesses and infirmities.

Oh girl, I salute you, you are so strong.

When The Baby Is Due...

It was 16 years ago.

It was in the middle of the night when they knocked on our door. The village wind was blowing cold and hard from the fast-flowing river after the heavy downpour. It was shivering cold and I was sound asleep. My wife switched on the light and opened the door. It was the backhouse family. The wife was ready to give birth to her third child. They begged for help and we willingly complied.

It was misty and freezing cold outside. We got ready and had everyone in our lousy old car. It took quite a while before the car engine fired up. The headlights and the wipers were turned on and we were ready to go.

The village clinic was 15 minutes drive away. The road was narrow, stony and rough, so the drive was full of jerks and bumps. It was completely dark and no vehicles were in sight. It was a tedious and unpleasing journey but we finally reached the clinic.

Have you seen a dark and quiet clinic before? There we were, looking for a clinic staff member. We knocked on barracks' doors and finally we met with a village nurse in her pajamas. It was a really awful sight. And the worse news was that the only hospital assistant was living a distant away.

She ordered us to find the driver to send the lady to the nearest hospital. It was a narrow and windy drive up to the driver's house. And my car's front right tyre was stuck in the drain. With some maneuvering, we finally reached the house.

The dogs rushed at us from all directions and barked fiercely before the owner reached us. It was a scary night especially when you knew that certain villagers did carry guns and dare to shoot at people. We broke out in cold sweats and hairs stood up on the back of our neck.

The driver had a kind personality and was very friendly to everyone he met. Though he looked clumsy but he quickly got ready. I met him a few times later and we became good friends indeed.

The driver sent the family to the nearest hospital and we were on our way home.

The baby died a few hours later. The family had to bring the dead body home. They wrapped up the body nicely, and sat quietly at the back of a fully-packed bus, hopefully no one would noticed the dead body. It was really sad for them as they mourned quietly and secretively for their dead baby in the bus.

We met the family a few times after that. They greeted us from afar with gratitude and broad smiles, but tears were rushing down their eyes. It took them a long while before they managed to forget the whole sad episode.

They blamed no one but they thanked everyone from their hearts. They had tried and everyone had tried their best, but it's life that the baby had to go..........

Weighing Scale

It is frustrating to discover every weighing machine that I encounter in the shopping complexes has a maximum measurement of 120kg.

Twenty years ago, after I had overshot the mark, I often walked away with bitter smiles and heavy sighs. Noticing the surrounding people were smiling and laughing away, my face turned red and then blue and then purple. It was very, very frustrating and disappointing.

I hated the scale and the moment I saw one, I would walk very far away from it, terrified and in despair.

Why can't the maximum mark be 150kg? Is it unusual for me to weigh more than 120kg? Oh! How I had hated that machine.

I have started walking and jogging around the housing estates with my wife even since I have hated that weighing machine. But each time when I stood on that scale (after making sure that no one was around), the weighing needle just zoomed across the mark. I felt like stamping on the machine but I didn't dare to lift my foot.

The past few weeks we decided to reduce our intake of rice (our staple food) and replaced it with a mug of oatmeal. We continued our usual exercises. Somehow it helped. We seemed to walk and run faster. And to our surprise, we started slimming down.

Two weeks ago, while avoiding some persistent salesmen, somehow we were face to face with a weighing machine. My wife decided to weigh herself. She discovered that her weight was down by 5kg. She was smiling away happily. She insisted that I took a measurement. Reluctantly I stood on the machine but turned my face elsewhere, not wanting to know the outcome. To my embarrassment, my wife was screaming happily and insisted that I took a look at the scale. It was...............118kg. I grinned happily, with tears swelling in my eyes. Oh machine, you have quietly smiling away and torturing me for the past 20 years. Wow, nice feeling! I finally can read my measurement. LOL

Speak Well

Some people talk very softly. It is hardly audible. It takes a lot of patience and attention to figure out what they say before we respond. And we need to come closer or bend our ear a little to understand.

Some people talk softly but audibly. This happens to loved ones who desire to share some secrets and intimacy. Hopefully, none of them has bad breath. LOL

Some people talk naturally loud. You can easily hear them and understand what they say. And their gesture and their jokes greatly enhance their speech and illustrate their points.

Some people talk extraordinary loud. You need to keep your distance to hear them well. Some of them do have bad breath and occasionally specks of saliva shooting out of their mouth. LOL

Some people stress every single word they say. You will have a hard time understanding the flow of thoughts from their mouth. Sometime it can be very boring and tiring to concentrate on their speech.

Some people talk without understanding. They cover a wide range of topics though they know very little about them. And i believe the common saying is always true – Empty tin makes the most noise.

So the next time you join a conversation,

• Speak with sense.
• Speak with confidence.
• Speak with impact.
• Speak with clear accent.
• Speak with a loving heart
• Speak audibly and not too loud.
  
• Speak with simplicity.
• And don't stress every single word you say.
  

Speak well. Enjoy life.

A Little A Day

Maybe a little smile can brighten our day,

Maybe a little cheerful can cause others to love us more,

Maybe a little active in our lives can make everyone more happy,

Maybe a little walk to the park with someone we love can do wonders,

Maybe a little talk over the phone can help to solve some misunderstandings,

Maybe a little patience and understanding can make others pour out their feelings,

Whatever it is, don't forget to do a little a day to those in needs.

Count Your Blessings

Every time I met with a certain old man in the village, he would greet me warmly and then tell me about his boss.

He would smile happily with tears in his eyes as he related to me his stories while working under his boss in his younger years.

The old man told me story after story. He was often seen sighing and shaking his head in disbelief. But he was satisfied after he poured out his heart speaking proudly about his boss.

Initially I was getting restless with him. But after a few encounters, I began to realize that he was a faithful worker to his boss who had passed away, and he couldn't stop recounting his blessings under him.

I was touched to the core by the beautiful stories. Tears were swelling up in my eyes.

I believe the old man is doing right recounting the good deeds and I think I will do the same.

For a start, I will learn to smile more frequently and shake more hands. I will learn to say thank you and try to give them a hug. I will repay their favors with some treats in return. And I will acknowledge their good deeds in public.

Yeah, I will start recounting my blessings like the old man.

Thank You, My Love

I don’t believe in love at first sight, and I never will. Loving someone takes times and efforts. True love is meant to stand through the good and desperate times.

But that day when we met for the first time, we were really attracted and attached to one another. Now as I ponder further into our love, I realize that God has drawn us together as one body; we belong to one another.

I still remember that day when our friends introduced us. We looked at one another for a long, long time. I think we didn’t blink our eyes until our cheeks blossomed in sweet sweet smiles and laughter.

Somehow we were oblivious of the people around us. Somehow our family, our friends, and our colleagues didn't matter much to us that day. I don’t remember hearing anything except my breathing and the abnormally fast throbbing of my heart as I stood besides you.

I didn’t know where I found the courage to grab hold of some roses for you. I remembered I was pricked by the thorns but I felt no pains as I looked into your sparkling eyes. They are so beautiful.

I did’nt know how I found the courage to say that you are beautiful. But since then I have sealed my love just to you.

It seemed we had so much to say that day but we spent much times sitting and leaning against one another in silence.

Everyone who passed by greeted us warmly with smiles and laughter, but they are sporting enough to leave us alone. Oh yeah, I remembered seeing some cute children teasing us and we were beaming with smiles.

Somehow other people didn't look as pretty and handsome as us that day. LOL.

Now I am looking at you, nudging into me for the past 20 years. I plant you a kiss. You are still sleeping, swelling with a smile always.

Thank you my dear wife for being so understanding and helpful to me for so many years.