I'm watching ...

I am no idol chaser, for the age range that I am in. But I've been watching this Taiwanese idol drama serial from Monday to Friday, 10 - 11pm on Channel U.

I am enticed by it because of the idealistic world it portrays. The struggles of a poor but pretty and exceptionally kind and pure girl who eventually made it in life with a rich and handsome heir cum top-notch lawyer. You don't find it in real life, so you sought after it in fantasy, which materialises in the form of a drama serial. It's about the real meaning of love, cheesy as it sounds ie. the selflessness, the giving up, the non-possessiveness in the name of love. All too often in life, we covet in the name of love. It's refreshing that someone remembers that love is never intended to be that way.

The lines sound cheesy at some points, but I guess I could do with cheesy lines once in a long while. And I feel that we could do with some pure-sounding lines that you don't hear in real life.

The love story between the girl and the boy, after the birth of their child which is unknown to the boy, makes me tear.

I adore the little boy 小乐（starred by 小小彬) in the show. His cute and innocent face is an exact replica of his father's childhood impression.
There's a mistake on the left caption. It should be:
Left: the son 小小彬 Right: the father 小彬彬

Baby's hairstyle is similar to his and for some reason, we thought she looks like him, except for the eyes! At one point, I asked Baby,"Who's that? (pointing to the boy on the screen)" and she replied,"Yan Yan. (her own name)"

I honestly like to watch shows featuring single mothers, because I am able to identify and empathise with the kind of struggles they go through, financially and emotionally. I often wonder how I would cope with single motherhood when/if it happens again, even though by then I would be more financially able and emotionally mature.

No girls would want to be single mothers if they could help it. If the guy is not so useless, or simply a bummer, who would want to raise a child all by herself, face her future with uncertainties, live from hand to mouth on a day-by-day basis and possibly spend her old age in loneliness? It's amazing some people actually think that there are girls who WANT to be single mothers. Put yourself in the shoes of the girls, man! Social stigma, demeaning looks and unkind sneers aside, when all is quiet in the night, what comes to their mind? Probably how to face this child when he or she grows up, what to tell him or her about the father when he or she starts to ask, how to comfort the child when he or she is laughed at for not having a father in school, how best to protect and provide for the child ...

I never forget the many nights I spent weeping, quietly, be it because of loneliness, sense of helplessness or for the many fears I had.

You know, it's easy to say that single mothers should not just grab the first man that comes along. But very often, single mothers would be very grateful that a man is nice to them. When you are in tight financial situation, you would appreciate a helping hand to lift you up from the dumps. It's hard not to settle for the second best. The only factor that can stop you from doing that is probably young age, provided you become a single mother young. Even so, single mothers often worry that the next man might not come along if they missed the current one. I don't pretend to speak for all single mothers, but at least those were part of my worries.

I don't mean to, but somehow, my post often ends up being melancholic.

I chanced upon the image of the little boy's biological mother
Ironically, she and the boy's father had divorced when he was three, and the boy is in the father's custody.

I'll end this post with the essence of the drama serial:

因为爱　离开深爱着的人 　　
In the name of love, you depart from whom you deeply love

因为爱　终身守候不被爱的爱
In the name of love, you use a lifetime to safeguard the love that didn't come round to you
　
因为爱　选择退让与祝福 　　
In the name of love, you choose to withdraw and offer your blessings

因为爱　保护着不为人知的秘密 　
In the name of love, you safeguard the secret so dear
　
因为爱　决定做永远的守护者 　　
In the name of love, you decided to be an eternal protector

因为爱　挺身而出 　　
In the name of love, you brave all odds

因为爱　愿意等待
In the name of love, you waited willingly