It’s my day off! I’m used to getting up early so I decided to prepare our breakfast.
And so while waiting for my small family to wake up, I decided to take some shots. I remembered this week’s theme for the photo challenge 
scrambled egg with chicken frank sausages
buttered pancakes
french toasts
regular loaf bread
beef bacon
fruit slices
Table is ready
Now, it’s time to wake the guys up 
Have a great day ahead, everyone!
It was my wife’s birthday.
She only wanted a simple day.
But how could I just let that day pass without even a simple celebration. And because I couldn’t bring her a dozen roses, I brought her to a million flowers – to a place called “paradise.”
Get ready to treat your eyes…
Al Ain Paradise is a garden park in our city which opens only during spring – a time when flowers are in full blossom. It holds the Guinness World Record for the largest display of hanging flower baskets.
I dedicate all these flowers to you
Happy birthday, Mommy
A repost from last year Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone
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I would say all couples have their own love stories. The story of how they met, how they started liking each other, and how they ended up in the altar. Ours was nothing unusual except that I met my wife when we were 10 years old.Yup, you read it right. We were only 10 years old when we first met. That was in school.
We were both transferees from different private schools. Our parents both decided to move us to a public school where tuition fees are lesser. And so we met, on the first day of that school year. We were in Grade 4.
I couldn’t remember much but all I knew was I liked her already. I tried to be close to her so we ended up as very good friends. Our classmates started to tease us, and as a shool-aged boy, I would feel embarrassed. But then we remained good friends and would end up sharing school stuff like notebooks and crayons.
The following year, we started a project called “Friends Comics”. I would draw some cartoons on folded A4s, and she would do the same. We stapled our work together, and our “comics” was born. I think we can call this our first “baby”. It was a weekly thing and our classmates (even our teachers) would pass the comics along until everybody has read it. I designated myself as the “editor” and she was the “assistant editor.” (Click HERE for the post about Friends Comics)
This “publishing” relationship continued until we were in Grade 6, and I never realized that we were developing something more. When we graduated from grade school, I thought I’ll never see her again. But destiny lead us to the same place for high school and we became classmates again.
We got the same teasing from our classmates, and because we became teenagers already, we felt embarrassed to be teased on. And so to avoid being picked on by our classmates, we started avoiding each other – physically. But how can I resist her? I secretly sent letters to her, through her bestfriend. I would ask her how she was doing, how her studies was, and how her family was. And she would answer back. We maintained our friendship secretly. And this was for the rest of the high school years.
I wrote a poem for her entitled “When I see your smiles”, and had it published in our school paper. Nobody knew it was for her.
When we graduated from high school, we started to part our ways. She took up Civil Engineering in college, while I got admitted for Nursing in another school. We got busy in our respective studies and the exchange of letters became less frequent. Snail mail was to be blamed for getting late news about each other. I had my own relationships and she had her own.
Our paths separated the more after graduating from college. I worked from one local hospital to another trying to find my place, until I got a job in Saudi Arabia. She also started working locally after graduating, until she was sent by her company for training in Japan.
The use of internet was already becoming popular during that time, so the exchange of snail mails was replaced with exchange of emails. We got to chat through YM every now and then.
I was in Riyadh, she was inJapan. The distance did not hinder us from becoming close again. Thanks to the internet.
On one chat session, I felt it was time. I do love her and my feelings for her is ripe for the picking. And although I was hesitant initially to speak to her about it, for fear that our friendship might be at stake, I still expressed my heart’s desire for her. And without thinking twice, she typed “Y-E-S!” The feeling was mutual! That was February 19, 2005. Our love for each other was affirmed and that was the start of a lasting relationship.
We met in the Philippines later that same year. It seemed everything has changed between the two of us, as the relationship is now more than friendship. But we treated each other the same – like old best friends needing each other’s companion.
To cut the story short, we finally tied the knot on the 23rd of June 2007. We never knew when we were 10-year-olds that we would end up later as husband and wife. Of course, at that age we wouldn’t be thinking of marriage yet. But what I knew that time, was that I found the person I am most comfortable with, and that I wouldn’t mind having her around for the rest of my life.
Ah, I would always remember that sweet little 10-year old girl! The notebooks. the penmanship. The comics. My bestfriend. My childhood sweetheart. Now my wife.
And to end this short story of ours, I’ll leave you with this final line –
“And we lived happily ever after…”
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pic credits: deveerei.tumbler.com, flickr.com
This week’s WordPress weekly photo challenge theme is OPPORTUNITY.
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It was already my son’s 3rd day in school on these pics. It was very difficult to prep him up in the morning. He didn’t want to get up from bed. He didn’t want to take a bath. He didn’t want to wear his uniform. In short, he didn’t want to go to school. He was constantly crying, just the thought that he was going to school.
I couldn’t blame him. He was not used to being away from his parents. For the last three years, we would always be there for him. His food would always be ready. We would always be there to assist him, to protect him. And now, he would be out there in school, far away from his parents.
As a parent, it actually hurts that I have to send him away, coz I always wanted him near. I always wanted him to be within our sight, because we knew he’s still unable to help and protect himself. And that being away, he might not get help when he needed it, that he might fall or hurt himself or another boy would push him, and that he’s going to be hurt. Or he might just be alone in one corner that nobody would play with him.
But loving one’s child doesn’t always mean that he should always be within our sight, within our reach. Loving your son/daughter means allowing him to explore the life out there, making him independent to prepare him for more challenges in the future. Loving him means giving him the OPPORTUNITY to let him use his little wings to fly. He might fall or stumble along the way, but that will always be part of his learning process.
And so I am keeping a promise for my son – that although it would hurt to just be on the sideline, and on standby – he will always be allowed to explore the life out there on his own, with kind persuasions and guidance from his parents. He can choose to be whatever he wanted to be, and his independence and sense of self will always be respected.
Yes, we will not be there for him always. And that’s because we love him and we wanted him to grow up with character.
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