Mom’s Little Things.
Last year, I had the time to be there with my parents for a whole year. There are many things about life that I want to ask them about. One of them is about love. As you see, My dad has been married to my mom for almost 35 years now, and I always wondered what made my dad still in love with this woman who is very talkative in many ways.
So, I still remember the day I asked him in the living room on a very bright Friday.
“Dad, what made you fall in love with Mom, and what’s the fuel you’re still with her until now?”
Honestly, this one question made him take the TV remote and turn it down. After 2 hours of a long explanation. This is what I get.
You know, my Dad was a serious hard worker. He has many little sisters that he needs to feed and be responsible for, and having my mom there really helped him to boost things up. After that long explanation, I believe the quote
“Behind a great man, there is a strong woman”.
The story starts when My Mom is going on a trip from Bengkulu (Sumatra) to Purwokerto (Central Java). From what I know is that Mom doesn’t want to go alone so her father (my grandpa) wanted my dad to go with her. Back then they were just friends, but there is this one action that my dad told me is the one thing that made him want to marry her.
So as you guys know if you use like a Bus Ride from one island to another, there is always a time when you stop, rest, and have dinner for a while. At that moment when the bus stops. My Mom asked for my dad’s toothbrush and towel, and she would put toothpaste on his brush and say “Don’t forget to brush your teeth and wash your face” at every bus stop they found.
That moment when my Dad told me this story gives me flashbacks to when mom always prepared toothpaste for my brush every single night back when I was still a kid, even until now.
Even back then when I came back home from work late, I remember my mom would suddenly take out my 2 phone chargers from my bag and just plugged in both of my phones without me knowing.
From there on, I realized why My Dad married My Mom.
Honestly, doing those little things consistently is one of the hardest things that we can do to our partner, I mean imagine this, I rarely even consistently take out the trash if it wasn’t for my mom shouting from across the room. It needs dedication and real effort to make that little thing a habit.
I realized Loving each other is not always about being pretty and having the skills to take care of each other, but also having the dedication to put in priority on turning down each of our egos consistently and understanding each other through times that we don’t know what we are going to face, and I believe that’s the beauty part of it.
There will always be a time when we have different opinions or fights that we will be engaging in the future, and honestly, it’s normal. I know for a fact that it’s not always about having that certain chemistry, but also having that dedication and effort to make it work for both of us.
I mean who am I talking about love when I’m still figuring it out myself, right?
