Waking up

Opening my eyes, my face could feel the welcoming warmth of the early morning sunshine. I turned in my blanket, my hand felt a soft tug from a warm little hand clinging to my arm. I rested my head on the other side, and felt the warm moisture oozing from a little angelic face. My little boy on my left, my little girl on my right, there’s nothing more fulfilling than waking up realising you are exactly where you know your heart desires.

I can still remember a time long ago, when I woke up feeling all excited, knowing that I finally got an entry into a university. That was the first step into a world where I started to live without my parents’ presence within my shouting distance. It’s a world where I did my own laundry, ate my own ‘delicious’ cuisine, washed my own dishes, and left as many piles in my room as I liked. I was going to live on my own.

And not long after that, there was a time when I woke up feeling energized, fists punching and feet kicking, knowing that I would be stepping into my new work place for the first time, and getting a paycheck one month after. Finally, my own financial ship set sail. It’s when I finally had the luxury to decide what I wanted to buy and where I wanted to dine, everything I couldn’t afford during my university life with my lean budget.

And not too long ago, there was a time when I woke up feeling my heart racing, realizing that that day would be the day that I finally got to spend the rest of my life with my girl. I would finally have a life-mate, standing side by side, facing every challenge life would throw at us, and fighting them head-on, with a smile.

And today, just like any day from the past seven or eight years, I woke up next to my children, my heart taking a stroll on the lane of fondness. I smiled, knowing that as much as these little kids expect to see me when they open their eyes, I want to wake up next to them. Unlike other times, instead of the eager impatience to get up and get the day started, I would snuggle in my blanket, eyes opened, greedily immersing myself within the warmth of my two kids. Gazing through the cool air and the window at the blue sky, white clouds and the soft sunshine, listening to the soft echoing rhythmic breathing, I would savour every drop of blissful serenity in the room, quietly hoping this moment will last as long as it could, if not forever. For six or seven years down the road, I will still have my independence from my parents, my financial ability, and my wife standing by my side. But, as the kids grow older and start stepping out into their own world, we know our hands would have to slowly let go, bits by bits, finger by finger, hearts souring with joy.

Until then, submerging myself in the cool morning freshness, I'll continue to wrap myself with the warmth of my children and go back to sleep.