Life is a truth.

Here's a true story I'd like to share with you. It was published on the Star online last month and was written by a husband about his wife and she happened to be one of the directors in my former company I was working for.

It's simple, well said and very beautiful.

My ‘tomboy’ wife.

Destiny brought her to his door 25 years ago. Today, he hopes to take her around the country, but not on his bike.

IT seems just like yesterday. I first saw my wife when she came to check out the room in our student house in Taman Bunga Raya, Kuala Lumpur. We were at TAR college then, and being from a small town, lodging was always a problem.

Yet this small girl with short hair and blue jeans, so shy, so cute and alone, came to look for a place to stay. It was not the school open day or the holiday season then ... must have been something to do with destiny! My friends and I agreed to accept her as we were short of one female housemate.

During the college term, we were busy with our own work and exams, so I did not say much to her and carried on with my routine of study, basketball and library. After completing my diploma, I had to move out as that was the rule in the house. I bought a Yamaha cub and move to Taman Melawati nearby.

I made the first move and asked her to go out for a movie – Indiana Jones. She said yes and jumped on my bike. But something happened that made our first date so wonderful.

After the show at Federal Cinema, as we were heading back towards Setapak, rain started pouring down, forcing us to stop at a fastfood restaurant.

That was our first, unexpected, dinner date. In our soaked clothes, we had one dinner set for two. Whenever we tell this to our children, they all laugh! Thank God she is the tomboy type – didn’t mind motorbike and wet dinner. Or maybe love is blind.

After holding hands for three years, we got married in 1987 and our first child was born in 1988, the Year of Dragon. I was not in the labour room as she refused to let me in; she said too much blood could make me faint!

You can imaging how strong she is as all our five children were born naturally. Guess what? Before they turned three, all our children stuck to me and wanted me to carry them. Whenever a baby cried, she also cried with him/her. That scene will always stay in my mind. That’s my tomboy wife!

She has a “magic” hand – anything she touches has unexpected results. I remember when I bought my first car, a second-hand Toyota DX, with cassette player. We were out driving and enjoying ourselves and she said, “Can we have some music?”

“Yes, just put in the cassette,” I replied. The next thing I knew, the cassette player was jammed. She’d put the tape in the wrong side and it was stuck.

My wife is a career woman and doesn’t like to cook. She has come out with her special “tool”. The rice pot is her one-stop centre. Not only is it for cooking rice, it’s also for frying meehoon, and boiling soup and vegetables. Easy and fast. There are three rice cookers in our house. The frying pan is not needed.

I bought her a lady’s golf set on Mother’s Day. My intention was for her to understand why playing golf takes at least five hours. This way, I won’t be questioned each time I go for golf.

But the outcome surprised me. She got crazy about golf! After hitting and practising at the driving range, she wanted to play on the course. She doesn’t mind the hot sun or walking six kilometres, and pulling the trolley along the way. On top of that, she is using my driver now because it can hit further than a lady’s driver.

She also has one dream – to put our golf bags in our MPV and go for a golf tour around Malaysia. Just the two of us. I told her we could do that when I reach 55. I never expected things to turn out like this and I think no other wife is like her.

To my tomboy wife who has been with me for the past 25 years: I look forward to having another 25 years together, never mind the ups and downs. We work together, like our golf partnership!