It's a public holiday today.
Workers' Day.
Thank God for the extra day to rest.
On Sunday yesterday ...
your family was in the car, heading to church.
Jalan Gasing was pretty jammed up.
Dad was at the U-turn lane when suddenly Mom heard ONE CALL AWAY on the radio.
Mom exclaimed, "Hey, ONE CALL AWAY ..."
and pointed immediately to the time on the dashboard -
announcing loudly : "11:48 am ..."
That's 2 times of 21.
ZAP ZAP ZAP.
Dad smiled.
Justine nodded and smiled.
Mom sang along to ONE CALL AWAY ...
until the SUPERMAN part ... and gasped!
I'm only one call away
I'll be there to save the day
Superman got nothing on me
I'm only one call away
"Omg seriously???"
Mom pulled at the t-shirt she was wearing.
The last time she wore this t-shirt, it was a few months back when the school had a SUPERHERO THEME.
This morning, this t-shirt had called out to her.
She did not have to rummage through her wardrobe, she had found herself just picking this SUPERMAN t-shirt out and wore it ...
quite obediently.
And now she knew why.
You must have whispered to Mom.
Wear your SUPERMAN t-shirt, Ma :D
Mom turned to Justine, to show your sister her SUPERMAN t-shirt.
Your sister picked up her large pencil case and with a lazy smile on her smile, showed Mom in return :
Omg ... Seriously??? SUPERMAN pencil case???
2 SUPERMAN signs in the car???
What are the chances???
No chance.
ZAP ZAP ZAP.
Oh by the way, the pencil case photo was just taken against our black glass dining table, at the time of this call. Fresh from the oven you might say. The same cannot be said for her t-shirt though ... not so fresh. Haha. Umm, she had to take it out from the laundry basket of soiled clothes, to snap that pic ... at the time of this call.
Grose Ma ...
Mom hears you.
Can't be helped.
The song continues ...
No matter where you go
You know you're not alone
Yes Daniel, Mom knows ... she is never alone.
Never never never.
Never alone.
You are always there ... right beside her.
Daily, you send your mother lil signs and songs that zap her ... to remind her that she is not alone.
It has been awesome to always have this connection with her Son on the other side.
HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE ...
Chuckle ...
Okay, let's not get carried away.
So anyway, the song was still on ...
Mom was singing ... enjoying the connection.
Dad made a U-turn ... and suddenly we find this car in front of us.
"Omg ... look! Would you look at that?"
Seriously???
That's clearly you, Daniel.
Zap zap zap ... straight from Heaven. :D
We were soon in church.
Fast forward ...
After mass, we walked to the car.
Justine said she wanted to go to one of the cafes at the mall to do some work.
In the car, on the way to the mall, Mom was alerted to the intro music of FLASHDANCE coming on the radio.
Oh gosh ... FLASHDANCE???
FLASH as in ... ZAP ZAP flash?
And DANCE as in - DANS?
Your aunties and family still call you - DANS.
Mom's eyes shot to the time.
12:54 pm ...
One ... two ... five ... four ... Mom said slowly.
Omg ... Seriously???
Is that not 21???
Dad nodded. Justine had a knowing look on her face.
ZAP ZAP ZAP.
Mom had a big smile on her face ... all the way to the mall.
At the time of writing this paragraph, Mom googled WIKI flashdance to check ... not sure what she would find ... but she felt like she had - to - check ... this flashdance out.
FLASHDANCE
ZAP ZAP from DANS.
The song title was so ... so ... meant for her.
It was one of her very favourite movies at the time ... who didn't like Flashdance anyway ... all those in your mother's generation ... hands up please ... all those of you who enjoyed the movie.
Ahah!
WIKI says :
Flashdance is a 1983 (American romantic drama film) ...
Mom didn't need to read further.
She stopped at 1983.
One ... nine ... eight ... three ...
Omg ...
Seriously???
21???
ZAP ZAP ZAP.
Truly, from DANS. :D
We went to the cafe at Robinson's.
Dad and Mom accompanied Justine for lunch ... and then your parents went window shopping, leaving your sister to do her work.
It was about 1:30 pm at the time.
Fast forward to 6 pm ... thereabouts.
Dad and Mom were back in the cafe with your sister. She was finishing up her work. Dad was scrolling through his cell.
Mom found herself saying, "I'm going up to Borders for a bit ... wanna get a magazine."
She took the escalator up and slowly strolled into the book shop.
To the magazine stand.
Picked up a copy of HELLO.
Hmm.
Why should Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle.
Ah, a must-read.
Meghan Markle with Prince Harry.
Good for her.
Read read read ...
Then picked up another magazine ... with Jennifer Aniston and a baby on the cover.
Browsed through the magazine ...
Shortly after, Mom went back to the cafe.
Justine was still at work. Dad doing his own thing.
Mom plonked herself down on the seat ...
looked around ...
toyed with the menu ...
heard Dad talking to Justine for a bit ...
She glanced at the time ...
It was still too early for dinner ...
So Mom reached out for Justine's tablet, (the one she brought along for Mom to use) and slowly typed the words :
mother day teacup craft
She was thinking of having the children do a teapot or teacup craft for their mummies for Mother's Day. She thought she would check out some ideas on the net ... since nobody was talking to her. Humph!
She clicked on enter.
Pause.
Omg ...
You're so not gonna believe this ... but the very first cup that appeared on the images under that search was this :
(on computer screen)
(on tablet screen)
Your mother's eyes somehow were sharp enough to spot your name.
Squinting, she zoomed into the image.
JDaniel4s Mom
Oh my ... do you see that?
Mom was beaming with excitement when she showed Dad and Justine the tablet.
"Daniel 4 Mom ... the very first cup on my search ... Omg, seriously ... what are the chances???"
JDaniel ...
J ...
The immediate name that came to your mother's mind was, of course, your sister:
Justine.
It was no coinciDANS that we named your sister : Justine Danielle
That really was a uh, strategic plan ... unknown to both your parents at the time ... but you know what, after you left us ... it was good to always still see your name here and there ... on your sister's books ... passport ... her folders ... her trophies ... her certificates ... your name was right beside hers all the time ...
On the other hand, J could also be your second name : Daniel Jason
Honestly, that second thought only came about as Mom is talking to you.
Yesterday, it was all J for Justine.
It was very strange because along came the next inciDAN ...
So Mom was zapped by the teacup image ... are you following so far?
Okay, good.
So ...
The next thing she knew, she didn't want to do any more searches ... and told Dad she was going back to Borders ... to kill time until dinner.
The truth was, she wanted to be alone ... to basked in that glorious moment of after-zap by her son.
It's difficult to put into words ... but she wanted to replay that zap over and over and over again in her head ... imagine, her son in heaven thought of a way to zap her with a teacup for Mother's Day.
She felt so blessed.
At Borders ...
This time, Mom walked around the bookstore ... just looking around at the shelves of books. She was soon headed towards the end of the store ... where the children's book were displayed. Mom stood there, before the shelves, feeling overwhelmed by all the books in front of her. She found herself picking a nursery rhyme book.
It wasn't any good.
She didn't like the illustrations.
Plus, the fonts were way too curvy ... how would you expect young children to read those kind of fancy fonts?
Just as she was about to put the book back, she suddenly heard a woman's voice, calling, "Daniel ... Daniel ..."
Mom froze on the spot.
The woman was standing behind her on the left ... Mom could have touched her if she held out her hand ... yes, the woman was that close to Mom.
There was a boy and a girl of preschool age towards her left.
About 5 walking steps away.
You must have seen your mother slowly taking a step to the left, closer to the children, to put the book back, albeit on a different shelf ...
Had anyone been checking the CCTV, she would have been called up and interrogated for suspicious behaviour.
Oh, but she wanted to make sure she heard the name right.
For her benefit, the woman called out again,
"Daniel ... Daniel ... come here ... come read over here."
Mom inched a little bit closer. Almost gleefully.
Oh, that name ...
That sweet name ...
It was music to her ears ...
Daniel ... Daniel ...
It was only after she heard a man's voice that summoned the children to "come here" that her train of thoughts was interrupted. Both the boy and girl ran to their daddy (presumably) ... who was on the bench towards Mom's right. The woman was also heading towards the bench. It was not clear to Mom whether the woman was calling the girl or the boy.
Danielle? Or Daniel?
Does it matter?
Nah ... it was still a very good Zap Zap Zap. :D
Thank you Daniel, for that. <3
Thank you for always reminding Mom that you're near.
Slowly, Mom left the bookstore ... and walked back to dad and Justine, with a happy, happy face.
These inciDANS happened yesterday, on Sunday.
This morning, Monday (Workers' Day) ...
Mom turned on the television.
Recipe for Love ... was on.
This movie has been shown several times already.
Mom was not really watching the movie, but was enjoying the coffee that Dad had brought for her.
The movie ended ... and the credentials rolled up.
Instantly, Mom saw it!
She sprang forward.
Oh my ...
Danielle Panabaker (top of the list) ...
Immediately, Mom checked the time.
It was 7:52 am.
Decode : 14
The movie : I AM NUMBER FOUR.
Mom had to smile.
How do you do it?
Honestly ... how???
The first scene in that movie, is the beach scene, and the voice calling,
"Daniel ... Daniel ..."
Omgosh ...
So anyway, right after RECIPE FOR LOVE, was THAT '70s SHOW.
Old old show.
Mom only watches it because she is fascinated with Fez.
Haha.
Also, she was sipping and enjoying her coffee.
You must have whispered to Dad to :
Dad, make a cup of coffee for Mom. :D
It was because of the coffee, that Mom was sitting in front of the television.
The show started.
This was the episode where Fez and gang were trying to get Steve a girlfriend.
And Kelso wanted to win a van.
Kelso's opponent said to him, "My name is Daniel."
You would have seen your mother literally sucked in her breath.
Seriously???
My name is Daniel???
Mom immediately glanced at the time.
It was 8:09 am.
Decode : 17 (8) (44)
Omg ...
ZAP ZAP ZAP.
Of all the kazillion names in this whole wide world, your name pops up?
Like twice? Whilst your mother was sipping her coffee?
=======================================================
At 11:30 am this morning, whilst on your blog, (at the part where Mom mentioned Jennifer Aniston) Mom had to stop her call. She had a hair appointment with the salon. The salon as you know is at our condo. It's so much more convenient doing her hair at the condo salon.
Mom went down to the salon.
She was seated.
The hairdresser started washing her hair.
A familiar music came from a small portable radio.
Mom couldn't believe her ears!
OMG ... Seriously???
FLASHDANCE???
Gosh.
Zap zap zap ... from Dans.
Mom had searched for the video link and had uploaded the FLASHDANCE video on to your blog. She had also played the video, which meant Dad and Justine had heard the song this morning. It was unbelievable. Just wait till Mom tell them about this.
Mom asked the girl attending to her, "This Flashdance song ... from tape or radio?"
The girl replied, "Radio ..."
Oh gee wow ... not that it matters whether it was from a tape or radio ... Mom wanted to make sure she was really hearing it ...
What are the chances of uploading the Flashdance video on your call-blog and hearing the song again later within half an hour?
Angel chance for sure.
After Flashdance, came Beauty & The Beast ...
Tale as old as time.
Dad, Mom and Justine had seen Beauty & The Beast, the movie, last weekend, and we had really enjoyed it. In fact, your little cousin Megan now wants to name her baby brother (due to be out in Sept) Gaston. Haha.
Mom enjoyed the song ... as she had her hair washed.
It was time to rinse.
The hairdresser motioned to Mom to move to the rinsing seat.
As Mom lay there, Beauty & The Beast came to an end ... and the next thing she heard were these words ...
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you
Omg ...
Seriously???
I'll be watching you.
Omg Daniel ...
What are the chances??? It was surreal. The 3 songs that came on at the hair salon ... Mom could not check her time ... she couldn't reach her cell ... but it doesn't matter ... the moment was unbelievable.
I'll be watching you ...
Zap zap zap ...
Thank you, Son for staying close.
Keep the zaps coming.
We miss you very much.
