My father, being the eldest in the family, had to quit school and go to work to support the family when he was just about 13 years old. One by one, his brothers and sisters finished schooling, started working and also got married. They moved to their own houses and my father was finally settled down with my mom, me and my elder brother when he was into his 30s. He is a government servant an a very disciplined person. All my life i see him waking up at 6.30 am, having breakfast by 7.30am, going to work, having lunch at 1PM, back to work till 5PM, then off to go play football, and in the later years, walking. He comes home, takes his bath and has dinner at 8pm, watches TV till 9PM sharp, and off to bed!! Believe me i have not seen this pattern change EVER!!
Even on Sundays, except for the afternoon nap, meal time would not change.
Now, he is 77 years old, still working full time at my uncles law firm and still follows the SAME routine. Everything else and everyone else in the family has changed and yet he remains the same. I dont know if that is good or bad but i know for sure that he is content! Never regretted anything about his life, never mentioned he wishes things were different at any time. Despite the family getting chaotic with all sorts of problems, he simply lives in his own world, in the same routine and that kind of annoys my mum at times...hahaha..she will say...look at your father...with all these problems in the family, he does not respond in anyway. But isnt that just great! Untouched by your surroundings, simply happy with his motorcycle, job, a few friends, his home cooked happy meals! No ambitions, no cravings, simply being what he can within his capacity and doing what he can for the family. No loans, no debt...in his own little house in a beautiful housing area. He needs nothing more than that.
But, theres one thing i hear him talk about ever since i was a little girl...ENGLAND. Probably because his younger brother went to work and study in England and he has seen the pictures and heard stories about the place. He finds everything about England amusing. "The shirts are good over there, the cut is different" he would say. "The quality of food is good over there" "The Shaving set is of good quality over there" "There is this canned sardine in a tin with a blue cross on the top, its very tasty" he would say. And 4 years back when i had the opportunity to visit England with my aunt and cousin, he told me to look for this canned Sardine with a blue cross on top...and i did look for it everywhere i went, from Sainsbury's to Marks & Spencer food outlets, Waitrose and every other supermarket i came across but i couldnt find this sardine!! When i got back from the trip i told him, i couldnt find it. I also tried looking for the kind of shaving set he was talking about and managed to buy it though he said it was not exactly the kind he was referring to.
In my family, there is always someone travelling to UK every year. Cousins studied there, uncles and aunties would visit their friends there and everytime they came back, they would buy something for him, a shirt or socks or shoes and so on. He would be pretty delighted to receive them.
And after all these years of hearing him talk about England, i just suddenly had this thought....since he so adores this country, how would he feel if he had a chance to go there himself. So he could go look for all those stuff he wants to buy himself! But making a trip to UK was a BIG budget plan. So i kept that idea to myself, not wanting to get him all excited and then dissappoint him if i couldnt work it out. Just waited for the right moment...and after about 2 years, finally, I was able to plan it. With the support of my husband i managed to plan a two weeks' trip to England and Scotland with my parents!! It was unbelievable...but true!!
When we landed at Heathrow, my mum said..."cant believe we are walking in England!" Neither could i believe i actually brought them there! I kept telling myself "I am here with my parents" and it still didnt seem real! It was 2nd week November and England was all golden filled with Autumn leaves...my first time experiencing Autumn and my parents first time ever in Europe!
My father was all calm as always, but i knew he was excited. And from the moment we touched down, i kept a silent prayer going on in my head for the next 13 days to go on smooth, having a 66 and 76 years old parent in a temperature touching 0 and below was like taking babies on a tour. I needed to take care of myself too, cant afford to fall sick having both my parents to take care, but somehow deep within i knew this whole thing was meant to be and it will be alright...
Just before the day i left to UK, my cousin asked me, "Are you super excited?" and i took about 10 seconds to answer that as i coudnt decide if what i felt was "excitement" or "a mission to accomplish" and I needed this trip to go on well for it was a gift to my parents who both have seen lots of troubles from a very young age, mum was 14 when she got married. Dad was 13 when he went to work. They deserved this treat! And i thank the Universe a million times over and over for making it happen!
After 9 days in London, Bath and Manchester, we took a domestic flight to Aberdeen, Scotland as my cousin who is studying there invited us to spend another 4 days with her. Good news was, we had delicious home cooked Indian food!! And lots of laughters!
From day one, i made sure my parents wore enough layers of clothes to keep them warm, proper food and a good night's sleep. Thankfully weather in London was bearable...the sun was out though for a few hours, pretty bright and no rains. What more can i ask for!
So, after visiting his fav team, taking the Stadium tour at Old Trafford...and walking the streets of Bath which looked like a painting altogether, taking a ride on Thames through the Tower Bridge, and posing in front of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and above all walking around the unbelievably beautiful gardens and paths at Greenwich Park, and then to the Castles at Aberdeen, and yet just a day before we left Aberdeen for Malaysia, he tells me "Anu i looked for the canned sardines with the blue cross, but couldnt find it :) :) hahahhaa...and i thought with a smile..."Pa do have you any idea what else you have been seeing over here?" and felt so happy that he had a chance to look through the shelves of the supermarkets for the Sardine he has been talking about for over 20 years...at least now he is convinced they dont sell that particular brand anymore and will not be hoping someone buys for him when they go to UK :) :)
So it was a dream come true, not just for my dad but even more for me...! Nothing is as satisfying as making someone's dream come true...they joy you see in their faces...priceless! And here are some magical moments captured in my camera...for you :)
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| The pic above was while we were waiting for the transit at Amsterdam Airport....while i was waiting and still praying everything goes well, a clear rainbow appears with the sun shining bright against the clouds, and as i saw my father sitting there looking at the rainbow, i thought " Thank you God, thats a very clear sign and i know for sure thats how beautiful the next 13 days is going to be" :) |
Mum, looking at the North Sea of the Atlantic Ocean in Aberdeen, Scotland
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| My father holding a frozen leaf in Aberdeen |
The cutest picture of the trip!
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| At Dunnottar Castle Aberdeenshire |
