Sweet music to my ears...

Thoughts recorded on March 14, 2007...


I made a phone-call to Ayah at 3:59:55 p.m just now, which was 11:59:55 p.m back home in Malaysia. ‘Why such EXACT timing?’, you might be asking yourselves. Well, simply because I wanted to be the FIRST person to wish him “A Very Happy Birthday!” when the clock was to strike midnight there – bringing us to another new day : 15th March 2007 – my Darling Ayah’s birthday!

Ayah had quite a busy and hectic day at work today, and I could hear it in his voice. But, Ayah being Ayah, he was trying really hard not to show how tired he was. He had just come back from a dinner do thrown by a few friends to celebrate his birthday, and of course he could not say ‘No’ to that, even though he said he could barely open his eyes then! Apparently he had a full day at the angio lab and he only saw his last patient at the clinic at 9:00pm, before reviewing a few more patients at the ward after that. He then rushed home first to see how the kids were doing before leaving for the restaurant, and he only reached the place just after 10:00pm!

His friends wanted to throw the dinner for Ayah on Thursday 15th itself, but Ayah insisted that it should be on the 14th , reason being – he wanted to spend time with Hanna, Hasya and Hilman on his birthday…(Well, AFTER he finishes work, that is. Poor Ayah…he could not take any leave the whole of last week and this week because it’s the exam week at the Faculty, and all leave had been frozen!)

Ayah is planning to bring the kids out for dinner tomorrow, and he’s not sure where to bring them! If it is left for the kids to decide, it would surely either be McDonalds, or Pizza Hut, or Burger King, or Johnny’s, or Secret Recipe - the kids just LOVE their Irish Lamb Stew!!! (By the way, just to let you all know - Hilman was just about to doze off when Ayah and I were discussing which restaurant to bring the kids to, when suddenly I could hear him in the background, groggily saying, “Restaurant…? What restaurant Ayah…?”. He must have heard the magic “R” word! Hehehe)…All our kids just LOVE to eat out - NOT that my cooking is THAT bad, okay?! I can cook really mean lamb chops, mee rebus, char kuey teow, chicken rice, nasi briayani, etc., you name it – with my eyes CLOSED some more, you know?!!! LOL!!!

Anyway, we were still discussing Ayah’s night out plan with the kids when suddenly the line became VERY quiet, and not so long after that, I could actually hear the sound that I have missed so much – the sound of him snoring faintly… And tears were welling up in my eyes while I let him sleep for a full THREE minutes before I started tapping on the phone and called out his name….The sound of him snoring faintly was, I don’t know how to say this, but, it was..….so, so, reassuring…You know what I mean?

We said our goodnights, and I wished Ayah “Happy Birthday”, again, and Ayah was apologizing profusely for dozing off on me! But, please, dear…DON’T apologize…I know just how exhausted you must have been after such a long day (going into the night, too!) at work...Those THREE full minutes that you were snoring faintly? How I wished it could last forever…

The things that you miss about someone you love dearly - you will never know until you are apart through time and distance…

So, to all the wives out there, who are always complaining of how bad or how loud your husbands snore when they sleep, wherever you are…Just be thankful that you have him beside you EVERY night, at the end of a very tiring day for him…and for you…Just be thankful that you have him with you EVERY night snoring faintly, reassuringly … sweet music to your ears...in your ears…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DEAREST, DARLING AYAH… I LOVE AND MISS YOU SO MUCH…

Yours, forever and a day…

Mommy

Wassalam...