Pupu's birthday

My daughter is twenty five today.

Since the hour she was born, it was my steadfast, passionate prayer – over the last decade, my only prayer – that I be allowed to stay by her side till she reached this day reasonably healthy and happy, not only with an uninterrupted supply of physical sustenance, but heart and soul, as a fully- and forever trustworthy friend.

As any thoughtful reader may understand, there are several dimensions to that prayer, none less important than any other, and I am deeply, deeply grateful to Providence that it has been granted for the most part.

I know to how few such a prayer is granted. So, from today onwards, I shall not pray for anything more, except maybe for a demise that is no burden on anyone on earth, including my daughter and me.

And from today onwards, though I may still keep on working and earning my daily bread for a while yet, I shall regard myself as essentially a Retired Person, in the most fundamental sense of that expression.