the anniversary

One day, to get rid of my boredom, I asked my dad, “Abah, romantic tu apa?”. My mum and sisters were there too. Mum was doing her work and didn’t look at my dad when I asked. “Romantic tu macam Mama ngan Abah la”, my dad replied. Mum smiled when she heard that. We all smiled. My dad was not shy to say that in front of us like guys nowadays who always show that they are cool and expressing their love would affect their image or what people call “control macho”.

As I think what dad said, yes, he was true. Romantic is just like my mum and dad. When my mum goes to work, my dad would send MMS to my mum. Sending a picture of roses just to say take care or a picture of fruits that he took from the kitchen or even a picture of a fish that he wants to fry! My dad often calls my mum during lunch to make sure my mum eats. Sometimes, my dad waits at the office till lunch time just to see my mum eat even though he has already eaten earlier. After my mum comes back from work, my mum will tell every single thing that happens at the office and my dad listens patiently with interest even if he doesn’t know who is mum talking about. Sometimes they will sit outside together looking at trees and beautiful sceneries in the evening without talking to each other. They are just enjoying the view. When my mum has to go outstation for work, they will talk on the phone for hours just like young couples nowadays. They tell each other everything that happens on that day or ‘ber-gossip’. Aren’t they sweet?

Recently, I asked my dad how he knew my mum was The One when he wanted to propose my mum. He smiled. He said the minute he saw my mum, he felt comfortable and knew she is the right person. They met only once before decided to get married. I asked didn’t he mind marrying a person he didn’t know? He said the moment he wanted to marry mum, he had this feeling of happiness that is hard to express. He had the confidence that his life will be wonderful marrying mum. They didn’t even need to go on a date! Unlike people nowadays who wants to make sure their partners are perfect before marrying them and when they feel that their partners are not good enough for them, they just leave them. From what I see, mum and dad are just perfect together. 29 years together and still happy as ever.

Love is not just about calling someone ‘sayang’, ‘dear’, ‘honey’ or ‘darling’. Love is not just about buying expensive stuffs for someone. Love is a choice. Everyone has different perspectives about love. For me, love is just like Mama and Abah. If someone asks me what kind of guy do I want? I would say someone just like my father.  
MB