Happy Bday, Daddy
Life starts at 40, so the saying goes. (Oops, now you know how old I am) Somehow, I have a hunch that this is true, for me, anyway. Before I came to Bangkok when I was working in KL, I worry about:-
- How to find for more money.
- How to settle all my utilities every month.
- How to settle all my 4 exploded credit cards.
- How to pay for my share losses
- How to spend quality time with my families.
- How to get out from the traffic craze in the city.
- How to avoid the “Ah longs” (Loan sharks) that keep coming into my house for intimating our families for loans which I didn’t borrow.
- And many many how to’s
In short, I worry too much. I worry from the simplest thing to the biggest thing. And from the biggest thing to the smallest things. Heck, in fact, I worry so much that I don’t even have time to worry about my kid is growing and the clock is ticking.
Things changed when we came to Bangkok to open a new chapter of our family life. Maybe due to the distance when we were not with our loved families as in Dad, Mom, In-laws, sis, bros, etc, indirectly we found ourselves spending more time together as a family. Maybe because we did not have any more threats from the Ah Longs, we had a clearer piece of mind. Or maybe because I do not possess any more credit cards (Which I have settle, phew….) that we found unity among the family.
Indirectly, wihout all these things, your mind probably works better and suddenly, you found yourself better off. I don’t know. But what I do know is, someone is really knowing and loving you and when you believe in that, everything automatically falls into place, just like that. Like each pieces of jigsaw falling automatically into its place, filling up the vacant spaces one by one.
My favourite word from the Bible is Matthew 6:34, “Therefore, Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day have enough trouble of its own”. How superbly true. When I look back into our lifes 10 years back, this is what we have been going through. Why do we worry about how to get food and what to wear? My experience is that, eventually, all these problems will settle by itself. My Dad used to work for less than RM800 per month but somehow, manage to send his first son to Australia for his degree, his second son to England for his degree (That’s me, yeah!), and to the daughter, to USM, also for her degree.
Look, it’s no easy task for a person of that income to have all 3 siblings in the family graduating as bachelors. Any father will be proud of that. So if my Dad can do it, why are we complaining? The saying is very true. Once you have your own son and family, you will see a reflection of yourself and realize why Dad and Mom are loving you so much. And you start loving you Mom and Dad more the way you love your sons and daughters. The rest will worry by itself, ie finance, work. Leave the worry to someone up there. He will take care of it.
There’s a sentence in Sally Yeh song, “Happy Birthday to me” and I am glad that I am not singing this song alone. For I have found true and genuine friends here, supporting me through the ups and downs. Michael Pena and Sally’s family, Danny & Leia’s family, Mani and Kathy’s family, Alvin and Gina family, Ivan and Christina family….thanks for all the support throughout all harsh period and sticking together. May we continue to support each other , as expatriates living outside our home country, in the coming years. Thanks for the birthday party that you guys prepared. Michael even have the courtesy to put CY’s website on top of the cake, shows that I do have some readers on my website too after all, Ahem….Hopefully, passing by the magic 10’s figure on my life will open up a new and brighter life to our family and friends. No doubt, the one and only important changes I have found here in Bangkok is that I have found Him and with that, a bunch of new found friends. Thanks guys!
