To my dear wife, on her birthday.

Dearest wife,

   Ever since i knew you, christmas had never been the same. Before, it was simply a time to soak in the lights and merry songs, to hope for unexpected presents and to wish for good things to come. Then i met you, a special person whom god decided to bring to this world on christmas day. 

    From then, a good 12 years ago,  short of growing a big tummy, don a red suit and grow a white beard, i knew i was born to be your santa. I have to admit, at first it was not too difficult. All i needed to do was put in extra effort, extra time and extra money, i always managed to find a gift that would remind you why you should ignore the fact that Daniel wu is the better option for a soulmate. From cheesy handmade flowers and cards to my first and last cross stitched masterpiece (yes, i actually had a feminine side to me once), I always felt proud that I could always bring a smile to your sweet face come every 25th December.

   However, as years passed by, the task to please my queen on her special day became more and more difficult. Items were slowly scratched off the wish list, and somehow giving you your fourth necklace or third earring just does not cut it. 'Been there, done that' became a problem. Despite what you or many others might lead to believe, that is not a sign of fading love; On the contrary, because of the fact that my love for you has grown year by year, I am faced with the pressure of topping what i did the year before to prove to you just that. 

   So here i am, on christmas morning, writing this blogpost when i really should be on my way to a shopping mall to make a last attempt that find that special gift. Only reason being, i know the search would end up fruitless. For the past week, i had pondered countless options: I had stood in front of a rack of color pencils for half and hour, pondering if i can still hold a color pencil straight enough to make a decent card. The shopkeeper kept staring at me strangely, wondering why this potential shoplifter would want to make away with a box of rm10 color pencils. I had visited numerous jewelers, each time having to remind myself that anything worth buying there will make you happy probably for that few minutes, and make myself quite sad for the rest of the year as i slowly realized the fact that i had traded a macbook pro or nikon pro camera for a little piece of shiny rock.  I went online to search for answers : googling ' Best present a man would ever give his wife' didn't really help much. 

   So what could i do, or try to do, to at least see you smile on this special day? That was when i decided to do something really risky. I am going to place my bets on a blogpost. A bunch of words from my heart, that would help me tell you how special you are to me, and how much i appreciate having you in my life. It would not be something as simple as i love you, as even our soon to be 2 year old son can say that. It should not be something as cheesy as 'happy birthday darling, i will love you forever', as that would likely be something that Daniel wu would say to his wife. (After giving her a 5 carat diamond ring probably) It has to be a compilation of words that would be simple enough to not seem like i copied it from the internet, yet complex enough to show you how much thought and heart i had put into it. Thus, this blogpost was born. 

  Thank you for being there for me for the past 12 years of my life. Being somewhat of an odd bloke, i had serious doubts on whether there would be someone perfect for me. You made me realize that there was something more important: there was someone in this world that i actually wanted to be perfect for. 

  Now that i have scratched 'write a cheesy blogpost' option off the list, next year will probably be another huge challenge all over again come 25th dec. However, till then, i promise you i will be there for you, to care for you and our family, to make you smile and laugh. 

  And after all this, if you still think that a one carat diamond ring is a more relevant and concrete proof of my undying love, darling, my credit card is already in your wallet. :)

  Happy birthday dear. I love you.

With all my heart,

Hubby.