Both my parents are eighty-one years of age. Mom and dad met in college in their twenties, and have been a couple for more years than I have been alive. 😛

My parents grew up in very different circumstances. The decades of being together do not erase the fact that they are from different backgrounds. I think their difference in personalities and viewpoints are becoming more obvious as they age.

Dad was orphaned at a very young age. The four younger siblings by my grandfather’s second wife were separated, to be taken cared of by adult half-sisters. Dad grew up with the struggles and obstacles of a post-war Malaysia, but he did alright in life because he is an intelligent and hard-working person. His first two decades in life made him wary and a little disappointed in people.

My mom came from a well-to-do family. She has both her parents well into her adulthood. Her flamboyant father passed away when she was thirty years old. When grandma passed away in 2015, mom was in her seventies. Having family stability and never having to struggle with finances, mom becomes a happy-go-lucky. Life is kind to her.

Observing and understanding the different life paths of my parents made me realise how important stability, education, knowledge, awareness and money play in the forming of our characters.