Wednesday 6 October 2010

:: Learning points from Mrs Lee ::

Assalam Alaikum,

Just at this life stage when I'm brainstorming about my life, personalities like Mrs Lee provide me a role model to follow~

This post is a followup of my previous blogpost "The last farewell to my wife "

Madam Kwa Geok Choo is the wife of the founding father of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. He is an amazing man, well-respected by people all over the world. He is the one who puts Singapore up on the global stage~

And behind such an amazing man, is the never ending support from his wife, Madam Kwa Geok Choo.

These are the things I learnt from the life of Mdm Kwa in her life story.

1) The true love story last a long long time - "Together forever, till the end of time"
  • My wife and I have been together since 1947 for more than three quarters of our lives.
  • I have precious memories of our 63 years together.
  • Her last wish she shared with me was to enjoin our children to have our ashes placed together, as we were in life.

2) Soul mates influence each other
  • Without her, I would be a different man, with a different life. She devoted herself to me and our children. She was always there when I needed her. She has lived a life full of warmth and meaning.
  • We gradually influenced each other’s ways and habits as we adjusted and accommodated each other. We knew that we could not stay starry-eyed lovers all our lives; that life was an on-going challenge with new problems to resolve and manage.

3) Partnership is not able materials fulfillment, it's the little bits and pieces of life story which keeps two hearts beating as one
  • In our quiet moments, we would revisit our lives and times together.
  • We never argued over the upbringing of our children, nor over financial matters. Our earnings and assets were jointly held. We were each other’s confidant.

4) Having faith in each other's commitment
  • As a young man with an interrupted education at Raffles College, and no steady job or profession, her parents did not look upon me as a desirable son-in-law. But she had faith in me. We had committed ourselves to each other.

5) To be the pillar of support by providing sound advices / knowledge
  • She helped me draft the Constitution of the PAP.
  • She drafted the undertaking as part of the constitutional amendment of the Federation of Malaysia Constitution itself. She was precise and meticulous in her choice of words.
  • She had an uncanny ability to read the character of a person. She would sometimes warn me to be careful of certain persons; often, she turned out to be right.

6) Lastly, to put the other half before oneself, even when one's unwell.
  • When I kissed her on her cheek, she told me not to come too close to her in case I caught her pneumonia. I assured her that the doctors did not think that was likely because I was active.
  • When given some peaches in hospital, she asked the maid to take one home for my lunch. I was at the centre of her life.
  • The last two years of her life were the most difficult. She was bedridden after small successive strokes; she could not speak but she was still cognisant. Every night she would wait for me to sit by her to tell her of my day’s activities and to read her favourite poems. Then she would sleep.

InsyahAllah, let me be like Mdm Kwa in supporting my other half, to love the one I marry~

W'salam,
Khadijah C.

1 comment:

Assalam Alaikum (May Peace be Upon You)
Thank you for dropping by to read my post.
Do feel free to comment.