sharing an umbrella

Someone once asked me why is it that I wrote in my Friendster profile that I love hearing my parents talk to one another. He thought I meant that I like to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Well, not quite so.

My parents have been married for more than 30 years. They'd be married for 32 years next year. I think being married for so long, one tends to forget and take love for granted. I dunno how to describe my parents' relationship, I can only describe it from a daughter's perspective.

I've grown up watching endless quarrels. Displays of extreme anger outbursts. Acts of insanity and threatened attempts of suicide. I remember visiting family counsellors. I remember having to think of what to bring if we were to run away. I remember nights of fear.

Somehow I thought that as I grew older, as they grew older, these fights would be more manageable. How naive ... perhaps I just have yet to learn how to cope with it.

But I learnt that instead of dreading the fights, I ought to treasure the moments of peace, harmony and joy.

Perhaps its because of these fights that make me appreciate the times when there isn't any tension or anger or bitterness. To me, seeing my parents sharing a normal conversation, sharing about their day, relationship with colleagues, etc is enough to bring peace and joy to my heart.

Today, it rained as we were going home from church.

I walked behind my parents as they shared an umbrella.

Dad's arm around my mum's shoulders. Mum laughing at dad coz his shirt was all wet despie the umbrella.

And I felt a sense of warmth deep within.

My parents do love one another. But oftentimes they forget that. Perhaps they have been married so long that these actions of love have been made insignificant or taken for granted.

There's this quote from "Five People you meet in heaven" by Mitch Alborn that I like.

"Love like rain, can nourish from above, drenching couples with a soaking joy. But sometimes, under the angry heat of life, loves dries on the surface and must nourish from below, tending to its roots, keeping itself alive"