things do not fall in place, they crumble.

This post is not a direct response to Sumiko Tan's upcoming wedding as seen in Thursday's papers. I'm happy for her though. This made me believe that fairy tales do happen for other people, even it it comes late at almost 3 decades later. :)

Anyway this is in response to her colleague, Ignatius Low's column in The Sunday Times. Some quotable paragraphs:

"...finding happiness, fulfillment and love - and keeping it alive - is tough in a fast-paced urban society like Singapore."

"Yet, some couples have an easy time. They dated in school and made the natural progression to marriage. Others meet at the workplace or in church and a common set of circumstances or beliefs helps cement their relationships."

"But the rest of us, things do not fall in place so easily."

"Some people found them (questions that Sumiko asked herself throughout her singlehood) whiny, self-defeating and unworthy of being aired in public."

"But they gave comfort to thousands of other readers who must have realised that they were not alone in their solitude, or that there was nothing wrong with occasionally feeling lonely or indulging in self-pity or regret."

I agree with Ignatius. To detractors of Sumiko, just when you feel that she is being extreme and overly pessimistic, you need to know that there are others out there who feels the same way because they are in similar situations. You may be one of those who have an easy time and have no idea what it's like to be single (and lonely) OR you may be an optimist who don't believe in wallowing in self-pity. However, to the rest, it's always comforting to know that there is someone you can relate to and can possibly understand what you are going through. Besides that's her own personal column so she's free to write on what she wants.

I'm not Sumiko's greatest fan. In fact, I started following her column only sometime last year. I haven't read all of her stuff. But I really enjoyed what I have seen so far. Btw ST, if you need a new writer to whine about singlehood, I have an immediate candidate for you, lol.

Yes, things do not fall in place easily for all but I'm glad it has fallen in place for you.