MY BIRTHDAY

What I thought was going to be an uneventful day, turned out quite the opposite. Birthdays in my family have always been not much more than get-together over dinner, though usually of the more costly kind. Even presents don't figure very much as I wanted my children to value the occasion as a chance to be together as an expression of appreciation for the birthday-person's presence in their life, be it mother, father, or sibling - something no present can manifest.This time around, since my two sons were in KL, dinner would most likely comprise only the three of us - my husband, my daughter and myself. So I was thrilled to bits when my sons came home that evening, the eve of my birthday. Of course, my husband and daughter knew all along - they had planned it!

My birthday was on a Sunday, so we decided to have lunch at this famous 'ikan bakar' place. Another surprise was in store - my sister and her family , my sister-in-law and hers, and my brothers (2 of the 5) were there too! I was so happy that my birthday brought home the values that I hold most dear - family togetherness. I thank those who came, for sharing their time with me. It might not have seemed a big deal, but it was to me. My children gave me a decorative plaque to hang over the front door and 2 books. What can I say - they could read me like a book!!

And for the icing on the cake (there was no cake actually - someone was trying to tell me something!), my husband planted a tree in my name in our garden. A bunga tanjung tree - the one with tiny, white flowers that has a mild fragrance - that has been waxed lyrical in many a song and poem (in Malay). Such is the stuff that my husband is made of! And this is what I am writing about.

These are the kind of things he does that tug at my heartstrings, that remind me of the simple things in life that we often tend to forget in a world ridden with greed, materialism and deceit. It is not about what money can buy - it is the thought that you spend on someone, especially those you love. He is always mindful of our needs, more than of his own; always looking after our best interest. And he is this way even to other people around him. It is my fervent hope that my children will take after him in this regard because it would be the greatest gift to have, and the only one worth giving.

For this birthday, (and, I pray, for all those to come) I have the greatest thing that God can give me - the kind of person that my husband is, and for that alone, I celebrate.