Sunday, May 07, 2006

:: Pondering Over Mee Siam ::

Hey Adila, I just want to thank you so much for that post because it really set me thinking and I think we ought to be alot more grateful to things we have in life. On the same note, I just want to share a bit of an experience I faced today at my friend Iskandar's place.

I was invited over for lunch at his place with his parents. It was a very unique experience for me as this was the first time I was going to have lunch with two aged people who don't speak the same tongue as me and have only seen me once ever before and they could barely even remember the first encounter. But still, I was received very warmly and greeted with such untainted smiles that burgeoned straight from their heart. My friend Iskandar, you see is quite an achiever. I do not want to disclose personal information about him but just for abit of a background information, he recently completed his military training at Sandhurst Royal Military Institute in England and won the Best Overseas Cadet Sword, a feat that has never been fulfilled by a Singaporean. He also has gained entry into NUS. After a fantastic lunch, I was just sitting with his parents in his living room and chatting with them in my bad Malay. My friend was showering meanwhile. I was looking through Iskandar's certifications from his military training and was telling his parents that he has really performed well and that they really have a gem of a son. They promptly attributed all to the doing of God but added the following that really touched me and made me realise something that might have been obscured due to my priorities and workload. They said that no matter how much he had achieved and will achieve, all they ever wanted was for their son to be happy and to be human. They acknowledged that they were very proud of his achievements and said that he had really worked hard for it which is of course true. But what they told me that really mattered is that they get so much joy from just having him at home, talking to him and knowing that they have brought up their son to be a man. They were so happy that he could take good care of himself away from home. They were happy that he has good friends and has remained to be just a good person. And of course, everything else that came along was the icing on the cake. And as Iskandar was busy being hospitable (to me) in serving me food and drinks, I caught a glimpse of his dad's eye beaming at him and if I am not mistaken, his eyes were smiling with tears. That moment really will stay with me for a long time to come.
Posted by Hamid :: 1:43 AM :: 0 comments

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