Dinner was at Kwai Sun coffee shop in SS15 is going be one of those memorable ones. We had just had (correct English?) our dinner. Jeannie walked over to K. P. Mak, the fruit grocer to buy some grapes. Laura and I decided to go there, too; a few minutes later. As we walked there, Laura put her arm around my shoulder which made me feel so proud of her – my daughter. I reminisced the time when she did exactly that, when she was about 9 or 10 years old. It was after one of her music lessons at Yamaha Music School in Subang Parade. We were walking to the car. She just gave me the impression she was the happiest kid at that time. It made me feel absolutely ecstatic to think that she shared those moments with me.

The announcement has been made by our daughter, Laura; that she is engaged to be married.

Not so long ago, one fine Wednesday morning, at 9.15am, she was born. I saw her and soon carried her. Was absolutely thrilled to bits! This was what fathering was about. “I can do this” (popular line used in American movies psyching one’s self up).

I thought to myself that I was liking it and was going to enjoy every moment of this title, “FATHER” bestowed on me. The most supreme of all titles, the glam of it all. I was going to be the “bestest” (1) father, the “fatherest” (2) of all fathers.

One of the first things I did was to move my personal office to our home. I was close at hand to do whatever being a father needed done and more.

In a blink of an eye, she was in school, and another blink saw her graduating from school. Now, you know why I seldom blink my eyes. Time whizzes by so fast. An eye blink later, she was away, far away (real far) from us; studying abroad. Yes, you may have guessed… I kept blinking my eyes in rapid succession for her to be back home with us.

After a long, tiring period of “blinking my eyes” (Practise makes perfect. I learnt from the very best, “I dream of Jeannie” tv series of the 1970s😉); she was back home with us, and started her work career. She knows what she wants and got her career going almost as soon as she came back. She brought with her the “Work Life Balance” – something quite strange in Malaysia.

Marriage date has been set. A new beginning for her. A new beginning for us, as parents, too. We are not too sure what to expect in the future, which is from the moment ahead of us – That’s the excitement of it all. What we are sure of is her happiness🤗.

Blink!

NOTES:
1. Bestest is a nonstandard emphatic form of best. It means “the very best,” “the best of the best,” or “better than the best.”
2. Fatherest here, is meant to be the best father of all. There may not have been an English word like this before. Fatherest in Hindi, an Indian dialect; means “near by words”.