If you are humble and attentive enough to look around, you'll notice that life always has a way to teach you about the good values in life itself. Many years ago, I got to know this colleague of mine. Although he was 22 years older than me, the man and I happened to appreciate good jokes and share a keen interest in oldies from the 70s and 80s, so there were a handful of occasions when we hung out for good beer and live music.
What started as the irregular outings eventually evolved into the annual Christmas gathering. Between the two of us, we had this memorable story that always got us grinning. It was the first Christmas party that I was going to attend and he told me that his house was seven bus stops away from the train station, but silly me, I only counted when the bus stopped and didn't include the ones that the bus passed by. As a result, I had to walk quite far from the "seventh" bus stop to his house. Until today, he still asked, "so did you count the bus stops?" And we would laugh.
Another Christmas party at Hilary's house. |
The Christmas party tradition continued even when we were no longer working together. He invited us to come over and I noticed that we were always the last batch, then we would hang out until late at night. In hindsight, he really brought us together in a very joyous occasion. We would be there, catching up, chit-chatting and he would jump in for a quick banter and good laugh. If life was about creating beautiful memories, this definitely lived up to the very definition of it.
The time when we worked together was the last job he had before he retired. Out of curiosity, last Christmas, I asked what he was doing, now that he got a lot of time to spare. Apparently he spent his time doing charity work. He would drive and distribute food around Singapore. Oh yes, as glamorous as it could be, Singapore also had such less fortunate people and he made it his job to help out. That was very inspiring. Beneath the happy-go-lucky exterior, there was a big heart.
The night he brought us down on one knee. |
Then came the celebration of his 25th wedding anniversary. As far as I could remember, this was the first and only time I ever attended such an event. There he was in front of us, with a smile on his face, lovingly stared at his wife. That was a beautiful moment. After 25 years of togetherness, they were still very much in love. Then he kneeled down, not easy for him for he wasn't young anymore, haha, but that he did and he renewed his wedding vow with us as witnesses. When he got up, he made us men to do the same, too! Very cheeky!
Last night was his 60th birthday celebration. One colleague of us said her friend was puzzled upon hearing that she got a 60 years old friend. But it couldn't be further from the truth. He was a man loved by many, both young and old. The ballroom was filled with his families and friends. If I didn't know any better, I would think that racial harmony was invented by him, because it seemed like people from all nations were there to celebrate his birthday. Even the band that we used to watch together was performing, too.
His 60th birthday. |
My favorite part of the celebration was the testimonies from his close members of family and a childhood friend. It was like learning who the man really was, the wonderful man that I never knew until that night. I could only imagine how he would feel when he sat there, listening to the appreciation from others about how he had touched their lives. He didn't set out to do it, but he just did what he had to do and throughout the years, he had been a good man. All the truthful and personal stories that night reaffirmed that.
Like I said earlier, life has its way to teach us the good values in life itself. That night, the life lesson was called Hilary Cordeiro. Thank you very much and happy birthday, my friend!
Sebuah Pelajaran Hidup
The alleged first Christmas party. |
Sebuah Pelajaran Hidup
Jika anda cukup rendah hati dan cukup teliti dalam melihat sekeliling anda, anda akan menemukan bahwa hidup memiliki cara untuk mengajarkan nilai-nilai yang baik dalam kehidupan ini pada kita. Bertahun-tahun silam, saya berkenalan dengan seorang kolega. Meskipun umurnya 22 tahun lebih tua dari saya, kita sama-sama senang bercanda dan juga menyukai tembang lawas dari era 70an dan 80an. Oleh karena itu kita pun menikmati bir dan pertunjukan musik di pub favoritnya dalam beberapa kesempatan.
Apa yang bermula dari kebiasaan tersebut lantas berkembang menjadi acara Natal bersama. Ada cerita menarik yang selalu kita kenang bersama. Saat saya diundang ke pesta Natal yang pertama, dia memberitahukan pada saya bahwa rumahnya berada kira-kira tujuh pemberhentian bis jauhnya dari stasiun kereta. Kendati begitu, saya salah tanggap dan mengira bahwa saya hanya mulai berhitung setiap kali bisnya berhenti. Alhasil, saya harus berjalan dari pemberhentian bis "ke-7" yang lumayan jauh dari rumahnya. Sampai hari ini dia masih iseng bertanya, "jadi kamu hitung pemberhentian bisnya?" Dan kita pun tertawa.
Pesta Natal bersama Hilary. |
Tradisi pesta Natal berlanjut walaupun kita tidak lagi sekantor. Dia mengundang kita ke rumah dan kita selalu menjadi rombongan yang terakhir dan kumpul hingga larut malam. Kalau saya lihat kembali, dia sungguh berupaya mempersatukan para mantan koleganya dalam suasana Natal yang gembira. Kita akan berbincang panjang lebar dan dia pun akan turut berkomentar dan tertawa. Jika hidup adalah tentang menciptakan kenangan, maka pesta Natal ini sungguh merupakan bukti nyata dari teori tersebut.
Saat kita bekerja di perusahaan yang sama adalah saat terakhir dia bekerja sebelum akhirnya pensiun. Karena ingin tahu, saya lantas bertanya di saat Natal tahun lalu, apa sebenarnya yang dia kerjakan sekarang, setelah dia pensiun dan memiliki banyak waktu luang. Ternyata dia berbuat amal. Setiap hari, dia akan mengantarkan makanan ke berbagai penjuru di Singapura. Oh ya, meski Singapura terlihat mewah dan maju, negara kota ini tetap memiliki orang-orang yang kurang mampu dan dia berbuat sebisanya untuk membantu. Perbuatannya ini sungguh menginspirasi. Di dalam karakter yang riang dan jenaka, tersembunyi hati yang besar dan peduli sesama.
Pesta peringatan 25 tahun pernikahan. |
Kemudian kita mendadak diundang ke acara pesta peringatan 25 tahun pernikahannya. Sejauh saya bisa mengingat, itu adalah pertama dan sekali-kalinya saya diundang ke perayaan seperti itu. Berdiri di tengah keramaian, dia tersenyum dan menatap istrinya dengan penuh cinta. Setelah 25 tahun bersama, luar biasa rasanya bahwa mereka masih begitu saling mencintai. Sesudah itu dia berlutut satu kaki. Tidak mudah baginya karena dia tidak lagi muda, haha. Namun dia melakukannya dan di depan para hadirin, dia memperbaharui janji nikahnya. Ketika dia berdiri, dia membuat kita, para pria, untuk berbuat hal yang sama pada pasangan masing-masing. Dasar iseng!
Dan kemarin malam adalah hari ulang tahunnya yang ke-60. Seorang mantan kolega berujar bahwa temannya merasa bingung saat mendengar bahwa ia memiliki teman berusia 60 tahun. Tapi itulah faktanya. Pria ini memiliki banyak teman, baik tua maupun muda. Ruangan pesta dipenuhi oleh keluarga dan teman-temannya yang berasal dari berbagai kalangan dan suku bangsa. Bahkan grup musik yang dulu sering kita tonton bersama pun tampil di malam itu.
Berfoto bersama penggemar Liverpool yang merayakan ulang tahunnya yang ke-60. |
Bagian favorit saya di pesta tersebut adalah kesaksian dari keluarga dan teman masa kecilnya. Rasanya seperti melihat mantan kolega saya ini dari sisi lain, sisi luar biasa yang belum pernah saya ketahui sebelumnya. Saya hanya bisa membayangkan bagaimana perasaannya saat duduk di situ dan mendengarkan kesaksian serta ucapan terima kasih dari mereka yang mengenalnya. Saya rasa dia tidak pernah berpikir bahwa dia akan menyentuh hidup begitu banyak orang. Dia hanya melakukan apa yang harus ia lakukan dan setelah bertahun-tahun kemudian, semua cerita tersebut membuktikan bahwa dia adalah orang yang baik.