I was upstairs watching a documentary online when my son (came
home a bit late) happily shouted to me through the stairwell ... “I
love you Daddy !”. I heard it but then I thought I must have heard it wrong ...
I want to be sure so I asked ... “what did you say?” Then he came nearer to the
stairs and said again, a little louder this time ... “I - LOVE - YOU - DADDY
!!!”
Now I hear him ... loud and clear ... almost immediately my
mind went into the “what has he done wrong now” mode and I said to myself ... “oh shit, something bad must have
happened”.
Then I asked him suspiciously ... “son, which subject did you fail?” He replied
confidently ... “NO, I did not fail any subject”. And very quickly my next
question was ... “did you damage the car or what? And again he said ... “NOPE”. And I asked again (very curiously) ... so,
what is wrong then? “Nothing is wrong Daddy!” ... he assured me jokingly.
Really? I think to myself ... cannot be, this is strange ...
so I went downstairs to talk to him. “Really nothing’s wrong?” ... I asked
again. I was thinking ... he must have screwed up something. Since he started
talking he has never ... I mean NEVER, told me he love me in any way
whatsoever.
And then I found out I was wrong ... apparently he attended a motivational
course organized by his university and the students were told (when they go
home that day) to tell their parents ... “I love you, Daddy/Mummy”.
Gosh!!! Really, for a
while there, I was a bit anxious.
You see, in my family we are not those who express our love and
affection openly ... at least I am not. It must have been years (can't remember when) since I last
said something affectionate to my wife and kids ... really, I am not the romantic
and affectionate type.
Many people openly express their love, thanks and appreciation
to their parents and their loved ones on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day,
anniversaries, birthdays and many other special occasions ... there will be hundreds
of touching messages on various social media ... sent from all over the world.
Well and good ... I am sure the intended person will feel very much loved and
appreciated by the affectionate and touching words.
For me ... I beg to differ ... come Father’s Day or birthday
or other special occasions ... I don’t really need my wife and kids to wish me
or write me touching messages ... strange but true, I am kind of awkward with
things like this.
You see ... I don’t need good words from my children to tell
me how much they love me. I told them this ...
if you love me, don’t tell me ... show me. Show me that you are the
person than I expected you to be ... that is all. Like all parents ... whatever
I do for my kids is with the hope that they grow up to be a good person ... so,
if they can do just that... that is all they need to show.
Same goes for my wife ... I don’t need any affectionate
words from her. All I need is her presence ... when I am at home, she is with
me ... when I go to the hypermarket, she is with me ... when I go for my roti
canai, she is with me ... when I watch TV, she is with me ... she is with me almost
everywhere. Every time I look, she is
always nearby and every time she look, I am always close. You see ...
I don't think both of us need any affectionate words from each other ... our presence
in each other's life is a lot more than words can offer.
Yes, I am quite a strange fellow ... so, my dear wife, son
and daughter ... please don’t tell me you love me.
