The men in my family

My family has expanded quite a bit across the past few years. It used to be just 5 of us- my parents, my elder sister, my younger brother and I. My dad is a quiet man, well imbued with the Chinese tradition and culture. Like most of the Chinese father, he rarely express his emotion and was distant even to his own children. And for this reason I've always felt that my brother lack of a male figure in his life, someone not only he can look up to but also he can easily approach and count on.

Being surrounded by so many women in the house, he was the victim of our endless nag. Sometimes, I felt that my brother needs someone who he can do all the man stuff with- playing basketball, err... arm wrestling? or maybe just to have a simple man to man talk. It saddened me that no matter how much we (my sister and I) tried to reach out to him, we can never fill the part of the gap in his feeling. In fact, it was getting harder over the years as my sister and I had moved out and started our own lives. 

Then my brother in law came along. He is an accountable yet approachable person. He is not timid and squeamish in his words and thoughts and is more than willing to share his life with his new extended family. Its hard to explain in words but he brought a kind of male positivity into our family whereby in the past the women  used to be always at the louder side. The next addition to our family was of course my husband. Born and raised as an Eurasian, he is the total opposite of my brother in law (or should i say any Chinese). He is cheeky, bold and unorthodox as he is not bonded by any Chinese customs/ tradition, and that's why he brought a fresh vibe into our family. 

And recently (2 months ago to be exact), we have another new member added into our family- my nephew Joshua. The new born baby brought untold joy to our family. Every of our conversation circled around the baby, even petty things such as how the baby cry or sucks his thumbs (the entire fist to be exact) can be told over and over again. One thing about babies is that, they are truly the manifestation of God's perfect creation. When the baby look at you and giggles, its the greatest feeling you will ever feel. Their innocent smile makes you feel like you are someone special in their eyes. 

So as you can see, suddenly my family was overruled by so many men (and a baby boy). Gosh, I loved all the men in my family. I love how my brother in law offered advice to my brother about how to handle people at workplace; I love how my husband shared our usual couple time and evening walk with my brother unselfishly; and I love how my nephew had brought out the big brother side in him. The way my brother look at the baby Joshua, is with the softest smile i've ever seen from him. Even my dad is different now compare to before, i guess the presence of the son in laws and the baby had really soften his character. It surprised me so much to see him trying his best to initiate conversation with Peter in English.

The men in my family, how they bring me joy. I can't stop giving thanks for them.