After a Leap Year, and a month of reading “love-themed” articles and watching online advertisements, I am drawn into the essence of love. On the lazy side, I could not let even a sprinkle of words to make an edible read for my blog, all the days that have now become past.
Once again, I am on the 13th day of the month. Significantly, the day is a reminder of the birth of my nephew and the first born in our extended family.
Today, my husband and I were very pleased to receive his voice message. Our time zones don’t match and so we do look forward for the weekend online family meet.
So very typical of the new age! But we rejoice in the reality of being able to ‘see, talk and feel’ except an opportunity to ‘touch’. Yet, love flows deep. I don’t remember telling my brother, ever, “how much I love and adore him” .
We belong to a generation where we hardly expressed ourselves. But here comes the generation Alpha, if I have correctly identified the terminology, and the conditioning learned in the foreign land, the little ones do not hesitate to give a flying kiss or say “I love you”.
As for our parents, it has always been unconditional love. Again, I wonder, how many times have I told my parents “l love you?” In fact, I can only recollect hugging them or cuddling them but never in words. It is strange, “why it has been difficult to use words more easily?” Same applies to other members of the family.
I let myself take a memorable scan through the years of absent mobile and internet days of our life. I could find records of having heard complaints of displeasure from either of my parent, only if we had failed to “make a phone call” or “return a call when missed receiving one”. Even till date “it is the same.” Beyond time zones, and distances, it is about remembering and connecting.
May be that’s the way love works its way in our family. That is to say, there is a strong love that speaks silently.
2020, Deeya Nambiar
In Knowing 