Have you ever wondered how "happily ever after" couples in fairy tales really lived their lives when you were young?I did.
As a kid, my ideals used to be obnoxiously elaborate, where Aurora from Sleeping Beauty would be able to sleep as much as she would want to, in her pretty castle, and wake up only to dress up for parties and dances that she and her prince would hold in their grand castle every night!
While Cinderella's was similar, only that hers variate a little in priority, that she would have her fill of glass slippers, in all the random design and colors that she can dream of, and fill up her wardrobe with as many dresses as possible.
Of course the ideal castle of theirs would look grand on the outside, and have all sort of bizarre ornaments that could rival what Alice saw in Wonderland.
That was my perception of living happily ever after.
Ideals then changed and reshaped - being older, wiser, and less imaginative, I realized that living happily ever is nowhere as colorful as my childhood depiction, but still sweet.
In an era where getting a divorce is as common as a purchasing a pack of candy, where people take others for granted, become more heartless and left their affections and ability to love buried deep under the crust of the earth, I must say that I've been fortunate to have the chance to catch glimpses of a more realistic version of happily ever after of sorts, that has moulded valuable life lessons for me.
I have learnt from a very positive, cheerful and loving couple, that love IS possible, despite the regularity of the daily routine even after twenty to thirty years of marriage, so long as one learns not to take things for granted, the smallest chore done out of normalcy, is surely fueled by love, care and affection.
Take what i saw a couple of nights ago for example, Baby and I were strolling back to the car after dinner in town one evening, and we saw a very frail and old lady, accompanied by an equally frail and old man on a walking stick, walking down the pavement ever so slowly hand in hand.
I smiled and thought to myself for a moment, that's what i call love.
and baby said to me, "take a picture of them!"
So there you go, nothing near an award winning shot, with horrible lighting, but our best shot of the loving couple tottering down the pavement, hand in hand, happily ever after.
