January 12th... A day to remember!

A short and simple love story to share… It all started thirty one years ago in the historical Oxford university town on a cold winter Saturday afternoon. You guessed it right! This story is about me and my dear wife, Hong. I still remember vividly the day, I met Hong on a walkabout tour of Oxford town, sort of free and easy day out trip, organized by the Chinese society of the Cranfield University where I was a post graduate engineering student. It was whilst waiting for the coach at the designated pick up point for the return trip, I bumped into Hong, a nurse midwife from the Bedford General Hospital. She and a friend also came on the day trip. Nothing much in common to chat and exchange other than the usual “Hello, How are you. See you and Bye Bye.” Well, strange enough or perhaps, male ego coming into play, I can hardly remember who initiated the `boy chase girl thingy.’ More importantly, our friendship blossomed into a strong bonding relationship and we happily tied the knot on 12^th January, 1980.

Yes, today is our 29^th wedding anniversary! Our family has grown into a family of five, two sons, a daughter and ourselves. Not to forget our three dogs, Prosperous (Labrador mixed), Lady (Labrador) and Joyful, a yakky little house dog who is the leader of the pack despite her small size! As parents, I believed that both Hong and I have done well in the upbringing of our kids, all graduates in their respective disciplines and having good traits of becoming good, caring and responsible people. We did have our fair share of ups and downs over the years, having to ride out the recessions in the eighties and the late nineties, occasional husband/wife squabbles, financial woes, etc. I strongly believe marriage, like education is a life long learning and continuous improvement process and not to take each other for granted at all times.

There is still much to learn as we continue on our life journey together and life can be full of surprises too! With the loss of my sight due to the bacteria infection last year, I need to re learn all about the living and independent skills and I am blessed that my wife, Hong is always by my side to offer her unselfish love and support and together, we are discovering and learning about the new blind world. .

Indeed, more challenging times ahead.