REALLY AND TRULY BLESSED

If we look at the people around us and think, "How many of them can we consider as friends?" I am sure if we think carefully, we might not really be that confident to say that we have lots and lots of true friends. Many could be termed as casual friends, colleagues or acquaintances.
Firstly, what is a friend? I am sure many of us have read definitions for friends and could rattle off that a friend is someone who is there when we are in need, who cares about us, someone whom we can trust, someone whom we feel comfortable with, etc.
I was born in April and in this month I will celebrate my birthday twice, once on 17th April and the second time at the end of the month which happens to be my Chinese birthdate.
For having lived quite so many years, I feel truly blessed and really grateful for being given the gift of life. Also, I know that I have friends who I can count on and feel comfortable with. I don't need people to praise me or buy me expensive gifts or treat me to lunch at expensive restaurants. What I want are people who are sincere and genuine in their friendship. When I have done something wrong they are the ones I rely on to tell me so and keep me in check. Of all the teachers in the school, Tuan Haji Ahmad Hasnin is the one I have known the longest, 16 years to be exact. When I first knew him, his children were all in primary school. Now three of his eldest children have graduated and are working. His eldest daughter will be getting married at the end of the year. Another good friend, Puan Kamariah I have known for 11 years and I have found her to be a genuinely nice person. There are some people I have known for a couple of years that I also put in the friend category. In actuality it is not the length of years that counts but the people involved. Our gut instincts will tell us who are the genuine ones.

These few days my friends and students have made me feel very special by remembering my birthday with all their card, gifts and wishes. They have made me feel truly blessed. My friend, Puan Khairiah, surprised me with a birthday cake today and then later my two other friends, Tuan Haji Hasnin and Puan Kamariah treated me to a meal at Secret Recipe. It is not because I got treated to meals or got presents from them that I say they are friends. Through the years they have been there for me and are also the first to chastise me and tell me straight in the face if I was in the wrong. I consider myself fortunate as I have a rainbow collection of friends - Chinese, Indians and Malays. One of my best friends, Ian Hemmings, passed away a year ago and he was a friend that I truly cherished. He was British. In the second last picture, I am shown cutting the birthday cake. Prior to that I made a wish before blowing out the candle. What did I wish for? I wanted to become a millionaire. Greedy, eh? But I have another two wishes left. Don't you know birthday girls are given three wishes. So says the Genie!!! My second wish is for all those who are near and dear to me to be healthy, hearty and happy. I'll make the third wish when I celebrate my Chinese birthday.