What matters in life?

It's the simple things in life that matter.

I don't mean to sound cliché. This was what DH said to me last night when we were out for dinner. We went to a small hawker centre for a simple meal. It was a nice cool evening. Osh Osh was in a very good mood because he had a nice long nap earlier in the afternoon and had the chance to play with Daddy before we left the house.

As we were about to finish our meal, it started to rain. The rain came down hard and every now and again, we would see a flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder. As we were seated outside with the awning of the shop as our only shelter, I tried to hold Osh Osh close to comfort him. He smiled at me and said, "It's ok, Mummy. I am not scared of the thunder. Sometimes I am scared but now I am not scared."

DH decided to buy a drink to prolong our stay because we couldn't walk home. Osh Osh happily followed him. I had expected that DH would buy him a soft drink but they returned with a hot glass of thick milky tea. DH had put a straw in the glass and taught him how to extract the tea using the straw and his thumb. He showed Osh Osh how to transfer the column of trapped tea carefully from the straw into his mouth.

Osh Osh's eyes gleamed. He carefully practised what he had learnt and ended up drinking half of the tea in the glass in that manner. I was conscious of the amount of caffeine that Osh Osh was drinking. I said to DH, "Should we stop him? He has drunk a lot of tea!" DH didn't think it was a serious matter to be worked up about. As a matter of fact, DH was very relaxed and happy at that moment. That's when he said, "It's the simple things in life that matter." We could see how happy Osh Osh was having learnt this new skill. He looked as though he had figured out one of the great mysteries of the world!

The rain became lighter as Osh Osh finished the last few drops of tea. As we had only one umbrella, DH carried Osh Osh and we huddled close together. Osh Osh was laughing and talking excitedly about the rain, lightning and thunder as we walked home. We all laughed and felt a warm closeness as a family. Was it the caffeine that gave us the extra perk? Or was it like what DH had said? We shared a simple moment together and that's what matters.