Happy 15th Anniversary, Hawa!

25th November, 2010 marks my 15th wedding anniversary.

I met my wife in a rather strange way. In the early 90s, the Malay entertainment magazine called "URTV" was one of my favorites. It had a pen-pal column. As I sort of like to write and make pen-pals, I wrote to this girl whose picture had appeared in the pen-pal column.

Well, a couple of letters were exchanged and we decided to meet. And after meeting, she told me that she was just interested in making me her "big brother" and not her love interest. Then, she sort of "introduced" her eldest sister to me. Well, then I started calling my wife almost everyday without fail for over two months before we decided that the time was ripe to meet.

I remembered that our first date was in Kuala Lumpur. I told my wife to meet me at the bullock-cart located outside Central Market of Kuala Lumpur. I bought a red rose especially for my first date. Don't get me wrong. I had dated several girls before and none lasted too long, a few months maximum.

My wife arrived smiling and we hit it out instantly. We decided to go to Bukit Bintang to have satay at a satay outlet. We talked and talked. Well, she kept on smiling and smiling at me and I knew that she had fallen for me. The feeling was mutual. We dated for around a year before my family decided that it was time for me to get engaged to her.

On 25th November, 1995 at the Masjid Ar-Rahman near Universiti Malaya, I said my "akad nikah" (sort of vows) and a few minutes later, we were officially husband and wife. We had a baby daughter on 11th July, 1997 and decided one is enough later.

Throughout the 15 years, my wife had been a pillar of strength to me, supporting me through thick and thin. Of course, there were quarrels and arguments, but none was too serious. We have many good moments together and my wife is a superb home maker. I wish for a day that we will meet in Heaven.

Happy 15th Anniversary, Hawa!