Gong Xi Fa Cai, Happy Maal Hijrah.. and The Greatest Love Story

I am looking forward very much to the next five days as the whole of Malaysia will be on holidays. And finally I get a full 5-day rest, at home.. with my kids and husband. The Chinese will be celebrating Chinese New Year, so to all my Chinese friends, Gong Xi Fa Cai. The Muslims will also be celebrating the new Islamic year.. so Happy Maal Hijrah to all my Muslim brothers and sisters. May this coming year brings us all Allah's blessings and love.

The most interesting things about these celebrations are the advertisements that appear on TV. The latest advertisement by the national oil company, PETRONAS, was most touching. It was a story about the love of a grandparent who had to endure great hardship to raise her only grandchild. The child's parents had left him with his grandmother since they had to find a living elsewhere.. but they never came back.

And I am so reminded of my late grandmother. Although my parents had never left me, I was raised by my grandma, or "Opah" as I call her since my parents were both full time teachers. She was a great woman. My late grandfather had many wives, but he only had children with my grandmother.. i.e. my mom and my uncle. He seldom comes home, and my mom used to tell me how she tried to persuade my grandma to get a divorce and remarry. But she would never agree.. You see.. my mom wanted a father who was always home. But my grandma was a loyal person. She loved my granddad regardless. And she chose to stay married to him until he died. She died 33 years later.

And that, to me.. is the greatest love story of all. To love another unconditionally... Which I think is something of a challenge to me!

I still miss my grandma very much. I wasn't by her side when she died. I was almost 7000 kms away... And all I have left of her, are the sweet memories.....

Al Fatihah to my beloved grandmother...