Small Gestures that Show Love are, more often than not, missed

26/06/2020 at 22:46
It was his birthday. 
He sent a message to his beloved daughter who was away from home pursuing something he couldn't understand: Frame, money, love? He has always been loving her unconditionally ever since he held her in his arms, his little girl, wholeheartedly dedicated effort not to miss any chances to express his boundless love to her. However, now and then, her behaviour made him doubt if he was.
“Bố nhớ Con Gái.” which means “I miss My Daughter.” - It was my daughter in the capital letters, as the forlorn calling for the daughter from the past who was usually spotted perching herself behind her father’s back to follow him everywhere he went.
30/06/2020 at 15:04
Four days passed by. No replies ever since. He tried to make a call but she didn’t answer. It broke his heart into million pieces. 
<i>Sent by contact Ông Giáo Gàn, a father, a teacher</i>
Sent by contact Ông Giáo Gàn, a father, a teacher
* * *
2022
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Looking back at that time, she cannot come up with any reasons why she did not read or even reply to the message. Did she not have the phone with her or was she tethered to something else all those days? 
Why couldn’t she type:” Happy birthday dad!” instead? 
She didn’t know and literally tried hard not to let those thoughts penetrate her head as she felt hurt every time she thought about it. That said, she knew for sure it was not that she “couldn’t” but she “didn’t”. She didn’t do it because she couldn’t face her father. She literally wanted to end it all with herself so she would not have to think about the circumstances she had caught in anymore. Secretly, she wished she had never existed. Simultaneously, she felt she betrayed her father just by thinking about it. She imagined how freaked out he would be if he could read that thought. “NO, not yet.
It was roughly a year-long period when she immersed herself in constant conundrums and got herself into a series of troubles, which gradually enervated and drained her mentally, emotionally and physically. There were days when she found herself lying numb for hours and hours on the living room couch in her now ex-best friend's house, staring at the white ceiling until falling asleep and waking up paralyzed by an avalanche of thoughts. She believed it would be an ideal hideout to mend her sorrows in solitude as her friend was rarely home, and there were no people to deal with to boot. 
2020
It always started as though it was going to be her year. She was a 22-year-old undergraduate university student, majoring in Marketing Management. She got an eight-figure income, splurged on LV bags, bought Off-White T-shirts, wore Dior accessories, and frequented expensive restaurants just for a show. Life was a dream come true but soon reversed into a nightmare. 
* * *
It took a while for her to possess the ability to confront the remnants of memories of those days with ease and gratitude in lieu of regrets. 
If it happened, it was needed.
Indeed, life had taught her a reservoir of valuable lessons through unprecedented experiences. Yet, the most meaningful takeaway was the acknowledgement that her parents loved her. Contrariwise, she has never believed herself fit to be loved by any person.
She saw her peers bragging about the splendour of presents and gifts from their parents and lovers and thought that was Love. They told her that their parents always listened to them and they could share their secrets. She did not have that luxury, she always felt there was an indefinable chasm between her and her parents. That’s why she learnt to keep things to herself which virtually suffocated her once in a while. Growing up, she madly sought love from others, regardless of how toxic it was. 
“I was always hungry for love. Just once, I wanted to know what it was like to get my fill of it -- to be fed so much love I couldn't take any more. Just once. ”  ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
But this time, at the end of the day, even when she had already given up on herself, her parents reached out and pulled her back into their arms so that they could embrace her again with immense love and protect her from either herself or the world. She doubted at first if it was acted out of love or if there were other reasons before letting it be.
* * *
She spent the next months after coming back home scrutinising her thoughts. 
She commemorated her formative years, accompanied by her father far and wide. When she was in elementary school, her parents were rarely in sight, but every time they did, they always made their presence known: her mother would cook a lavish meal with scrumptious dishes on weekends and her father - a credentialed mathematics teacher would help with her homework, they took her to the zoos occasionally. She didn't remember if they had ever said that they loved her, or even exchanged those words or hugged each other. They were veritably the man and woman of action.
Whilst contemplating the past, she astonished herself realising that she was being loved, all the time. She felt blessed being born and bred into an invariably loving family. So her parents loved her, but she was not sensitive enough to notice, or that the hustle and bustle of life let that slip her mind. 
* * *

There is no such thing as a "LOVE MANUAL"

Love does not commence with bland words like “I love you” and end when the echo fades into the air. Love is constantly shown in legions of forms and transferred by multitudes of means throughout daily life. Thing is that it is extremely easy to miss and take small gestures, and minuscule actions out of sincere and ardent love for granted. There is no such thing as a “Love Manual” to teach humans how to love and properly express love, thus, each delivers love in his or her peculiar ways. 
Let’s perceive love with pure hearts and impartial eyes. Because that is what true love is. One should be prudent enough to neither clone the beloved ones in her or his desired image nor manipulate them into an acceptable social mould. 

Start by Loving Yourself First

"I am loved, loving, and lovable." ― Louise Hay
Ultimately, pick up the habit of reminding yourself as a daily ritual that you are being loved and you deserve to be loved unconditionally because, believe it or not, humans are incredibly absent-minded. Treat yourself more generously. In essence, you need to know how to love yourself before teaching others how to love you and spreading love and happiness to others. 
<i>Learn, heal, grow, love | Pinterest</i>
Learn, heal, grow, love | Pinterest
But you don’t have to go through all that troubles and make mistakes to bounce back to the recognition that you have someone who will not leave, always have an eye on you, watch you the whole time and outright love you without any limitations. Just sit down and look back, dive deeper into your memories to seek Love
See, you were and are receiving more love than you think!