Going hoooooome
Do you think everybody should have a day off on their birthday? Is it special enough to warrant a day off?
I decided to take a day off on my birthday. Mostly coz my boss asked when I would next be taking leave, and I wanted a break but didn't have a clue when I should take my break. So I thought, why not on my birthday? At least then I can have some quiet time to reflect on my life and re-evaluate my goals. I'm an introspective kinda person, in case you hadn't noticed :)
Then I talked to Dad over the phone. He told me he'd been out catching eels that day, and casually said, "Come home for your birthday lah, I'll catch eels for you to eat." He said it like a throwaway sentence and it wasn't till later that I thought, Wait a minute, he said 'come home'... DAD wants me to come home??! - Quite shook me up, that :)
(As an aside: eels are good stuff. All you people who have your faces scrunched up at this time - yes, YOU - I assure you, eels are good stuff!!! :D)
A few days later, I sent Dad a text message on his mobile phone, complaining that something of mine had malfunctioned and that I had a lot of stuff which needed fixing. He replied, "Come home for birthday. Eat durian, fix stuff."
Wow... DAD asking me to come home. My stoic, unemotional, not-very-expressive Dad!!!
You must understand: I've lived away from home since 1996 and Dad has never asked me when my next holiday is or when I'm next planning to come back. Not once. For him to ask me to come home is a Big Thing. A very big thing!
I never imagined my absence or presence made much difference to Dad. Mom, on the other hand, always tells me she misses me. The last time she called, she asked, "When are you coming back for me to luuurve?" All my hairs stood on end! When your mom, who has hardly ever said "I love you" to you as you were growing up, suddenly starts getting a little sappy and corny, well... it's just weird. But kinda heartwarming at the same time :)
So of course I'm going home! I've applied for two more days' leave - that, plus the weekend, will make 5 days off. Oh, and for those of you wondering when the actual date is? It's the 25th. I turn 25 on the 25th. Cool, eh? :)