I AM GOING !

Going down this morning, I heard Adik crying.

Eeeeii….

Abang was pacing the kitchen and she was tearfully following her brother, at one point trying to get hold of his shirt.

“What is wrong ni ?”

“Adik ni… Dia kata dia tak nak saya so saya nak pergi lah ! I am running away !”

“Abang… janganlah… I’m sorry !! Please don’t go anywhere….” She cried.

“Welll…. You said you don’t like me lah, you don’t want me here lah.. So okay lah. I AM going !”

Adik wailed louder, trying to grasp a bit of him.

He hehehehehehe….

Abang dengan sombongnya stropped around the kitchen, arms folded, head high.

“I am so sorry Abang… Please don’t go….”

Ya Allah siannya… Abang had started leaving trail tracks from his pacings.

“No… I want to go !” He insisted forcefully.

Hmm… Sombongnya….. I have to put a stop to that.

“Okay lah… you really want to go ? I sned you now lah. Have you packed your bags?”

Tersentak jugak dia. He then smiled sheepishly and said, “Takde lah.. saya saje je….”

Tahu pun. There is a limit to everything. Even when teaching your sister.

Pergaduhan besaq dalam kete

On the way home from lunch, Abang and Adik were bickering from the back seat.

“You ripped my book ! You always rips my books !”

“Mana ada !” This came from Adik.

“I think you have ripped 9 of my books !!”

“You ripped my books too !”

“What ? Okay … maybe like one…. But you ripped 9 of my books already !”

“No ! You ripped like 7 of my books !”

“Tak ! Tipu ! Mana ada !”

“Okay… okay… maybe not 9, but Abang ada ripped my books !”

“Yeah.. like one ! You ripped 9 !” He roared. Babah and Mummy just listened from our seats.

“I like ripping books….” Was the very, very berani mati admission.

He he… Babah and Mummy sniggered quietly.

“You do ? You are terrible ! TERRIBLE ! You have been ripping my books for years ! YEARS !!”

“But Abang….” the little girl protested. “I am only 6 years old !”

He he… aduhai lah… Good point actually.

“Well… you have been ripping my books for 6 years !”

Ha ha… I cannot take it. I want to laugh out loud.

“Abang… it is only a book. What is the matter ?”

“Only books ? Only ? Books are knowledge !”

Amboi ! Books are knowledge konon. The said ripped book is a Pokemon book, okay. Knowledge apa buku tu bagi. Melampau sungguh si Abang ni.

“Well…. I happen to like ripping books… It has a raspberry feeling to it…” Came the very, very berlagak reply. Babah couldn’t understand what she meant by it and inadvertantly broke the fight by asking, “What did she say, Abang ? What does that mean ?”

Dah keluaq sora Babah of course le budak-budak tu teruih sengap.

Damn it. I was so looking forward to hear what they were gonna come up next.

Sigh……..

Sejak bila toyol cenggini ?

“Mummy…. Kenapa polis nak tangkap ?” Asked Ana one day while we were travelling in the car, on the way home form dinner.

“Sebab kalau kita evil step-mother, polis tangkaplah… Kalau kita jadi Cinderella polis tak tangkap.. So Ana kena jadi Cinderella okay ? Cinderella dia sweet sweet macam ni….” And I fluttered my eyelashe away. Gelak dia… ha ha….

“Ko ni… jangan dok cakap sangat pasal evil step-mother…kang kalau ayah dia nak kawin lain nanti, payah…..” My mom admonished. Aiseh… kacau lah…

Anyway.. sapa bagi ayah dia kawin lain ?

SO dah mak aku decreed kat belakang, I have to comply. So aku ubah taktik.. “Ana jangan jadi toyol, okay ?”

“Toyol ? Toyol baiklah Mummy sebab dia baby …” She said, berkerut-kerut muka. He he…. Ye ke ?

“Then, kenapa toyol colour green ? Mana ada baby colour green ?”

“Bukan green lah, Mummy… blue….”

Blue ? Version apa ni ? Smurf ke ?

“Lepas tu dia punya zip warna yellow…”

He ? Zip ? Yellow zipper ?

Err… kita citer apa ni Ana ?

Ha ha………..

Grey kitten yang tak mo makan...

Mummy didn’t get to see her babies when she got home. Babah fetched Mummy at Mutiara Damansara with the kids sure, but both of them were snoring and sprawled 49 ways in the car. Ha ha…..

Adik woke up a bit though and upon seeing me she wanted to climb on my lap of course but Mummy’s lap was supporting Abang’s huge legs and there were no space. So Adik who was sitting at the front seat curled on the chair with her head facing the back seat so she can see her Mammy.

Bless…

Anyway, come morning Mummy was woken up by thunderous footsteps coming towards her. Her babies jumped on the bed with so much joy, her heart swelled with pride.

“G bagi the Persians minum tak ?” Mummy asked.

“Bagi….” Answered Adik as she snuggled close to me. Abang couldn’t get close to me on account of Adik, so he positioned himself across the pillows so his head met mine.

“Tapi kan Mummy… the grey one macam tak nak makan…. He doesn’t want to feed….” Abang reported.

“Why ?”

“Sebab yang orange tu ganas sangat… Dia suka saja tolak-tolak… !”

“Oh ? Sian…..” What else could I say ? Yang orange tu memang terrorist sikit.

“I know what !” Adik announced suddenly, and just as sudden she sat upright. “I will draw boobs here…..” she indicated the length of her chest to her abdomen, “8 of them and then I will go Meow Meow and then the grey kitten can drink lah… Sebab takde orang berebut !”

Her face was so animated, and so very proud of herself for thinking something so clever, I fully expected her to say “Eureka !”

Comellah ko ni……

Nak lukis boobs konon… Ha ha…

Diva mulut becok, Adik dan sahabatnya A...

Okay…. Hangpa tau aku sakit kan ?

So bayangkan lah betapa bertambah sakitnya aku when Adik came home and announced, “Mummy….Mak A sakit jantung. A kan cakap kan nanti kan mak dia mati lepas masuk hospital…”

Oh tak terkejutkah anda especially bila mak si A ini adalah DR, kawan baru ku yang I lap u so much forever and ever walau baru kenai ?

So tanpa membuang masa, I grabbed my trusted mobile and called her. No answer.

In my head, minah tu adalah dalam hospital sebab tu tak jawab. I imagined her hooked up on monitors in a CCU (since I already know what that looked like when visiting my mom), anak-anak meraung tepi katei and doctor dok keluaq masuk keluaq masuk.

Meremang bulu roma.

Aku sambung soal Adik lagi and she repeated her story.

Sapa tak panic ? Sapa ?

Kamil also got drawn into the drama as upon his return I pounced on him with the story.

Call husband dia, suggested my hubby. Alas, mana aku ada nomor En A itu ?

Pastu aku call bespren dia, SA aka Bob. Tak jawab pulak.

Ikhtiar terakhir, call our mutual friend, K. K kata she knows another of DR’s number so I left her to it.

“Ntah-ntah Kamil, si A dengan adik-beradik dia buat bising kot pastu si DR berlakon sakit jantung….” Well you know, something that I myself have done many, many times. Dan untuk kesekian kalinya I asked Adik to repeat her story. Macam real je dia bercerita, dengan gigi rongak kat depan.

This time around I asked, A looked worried ? Is a sad ? Is AJ (abang si A) sad ?

“Oh Mummy… tadi masa kat sekolah AJ dengan kawan dia nama K kan ejek saya so saya kejar dia orang….” Hmmm……….. that doesn’t look like somebody that is worried about his Mum is, it ? So maybe tak de apa-apa… But …. The boy is 9…. Namanya budak-budak kan ? They forget easily…… Anyway, I have never seen a 9 year old yang dok termenung, what more a 9 year old boy. Kalau little girls tu possibly….

Hmmm………

So we wait and I fretted and continued concocting a million devastating sceneries in my head.

Until K sms-ed to say, well I was right ! Itu semua lakonan ibunda untuk mendisiplinkan anak-anak ! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA !

Phewwwwhh…. Lega.

Moral of the story ?

Adik and A, please pandang depan and concentrate cikgu dok ajaq apa. Not echanging stories and leaving a trail of kekecohan on your wake.

Hmmm…………………

Biskut

This morning a little boy told me, “You know dekat sekolah Adik ada budak yang akhlak dia sangat buruk…”

Fuu-yoh… Akhlak buruk ? He he…

“Sapa ?”

“It’s her friend, H… Just now Adik told me she likes to take Adik’s food ! So Adik selalu go hungry !” He spoke with sooo much feeling, his fists was clenched.

Well this is not new to me. Adik complained about H once and to solve her problem, I packed in more food enough to share.

It doesn’t seem like it is working from the sound of it.

“I told her to stop giving her food buuuttt… H tu ingat dia boss kat sekolah tu so nanti dia merajuk saja….” Abang habih geram. Dengan memek muka, dengan nada suara…marah betul lah tu.

“But I told Adik to ignore her Mummy… Adik cannot give her food anymore and marah budak tu balik…”

I didn’t say anything because in my head I was thinking, “Bukan budak ni ke minggu lepas menangis (Yes…. Cried one) sebab kawan-kawan suka makan bekal dia ?”

Really… tak tipu !

Last week Abang whined, sambil tu ayaq mata dok keluaq “Mummy… I am so hungry ! Because kan my friends like to eat my food… ! Tadi kan saya punya makanan kan tinggal satu aje….”

“He he… ye ke…. ?”

“Iya…. “ Masa ni dah start wiping away his tears dah. “Sampai saya hungry ni !”

“Never mind, once in a while kan…”

“Taakkk…. They always take my food. Saya selalu dapat makan satu saja…. “ Because they have heavy breakfasts, my children only take biscuits to school.

“Oh… ye ke ?”

“Yes….. They usually bring money kan and then they always beli nasi lemak lah apa lah… but they always eat my food….”

“He he………. Maybe they take your biscuits as desserts kot ?” I said, mentally reminding myself to pack in more biccies in his box tomorrow.

“Errm…. Mummy can you take me to Tok Mi’s shop ? Saya teringing lah nak makan nasi lemak… Sedap dekat kedai Tok Mi….” he asked while wiping his huge eyes that right then looked so adorable and innocent what with the huge size and its watery condition… Macam Bambi.

Awww………..

Lupa dah pasal kawan kebas biskut at the prospect of nasi lemak.

Apalah Abang ni.

Prove It !

“I am useless, Abang !” Adik announced with a sad pout. She was sitting cross legged in front of the Monopoly board but when she made her very tragic announcement, she stood on her knees.

Sigh… Menyesal rasanya beli. Abang had his Hari Sukan on Saturday and when I went to pick him up, he begged for a game of Monopoly at RM 15. I thought it costs about RM 100 to RM 200 ? Curious I went to check it out and it was indeed RM 15.

Considering it was sooo cheap, I let him talked me into buying one, the reason it was cheap because it was a fake didn’t cross my mind at all. Who knew there were counterfeit Monopoly ?

Anyway, they spent their time playing it and it was like their 3rd game when Adik gave up.

“No… you are not useless… Don’t say that…” Abang pujuk sambil bangun to pick up apa benda ntah yang Adik campak in frustration.

“No ! I am useless !!”

“No, no… don’t say that, okay ?” Said Abang, with his saccharine sweet smile and kind face which comes out during critical times.

“But… you said I’m useless …”

‘What ? No I didn’t !” He protested.

“Yes ! You did. Hari tu … you said I’m useless !”

He he…. Agaknya dia dah teringat kot so he glanced at me worriedly. I in turn looked away, pretending to be busy inspecting my nails.

“No…. I didn’t… mana ada…. I never said that…..” Fuuhh.. smooth talker. Cakap sikit punya lembut.

“Prove it..” Adik responded.

Ha ? Bukan sahaja Abang Ha.. Mummy pun Ha sekali.

“Prove to me that you never said that….!”

Eh ? I looked at Abang. His face was perplexed, mind racing on how to give Adik what she wants, because Mummy was nearby and withing striking and nagging distance.

“I never said that. I don’t remember at all !”

“Prove it !” She challenged again.

“Mana ada…. Okay.. let’s forget it okay and I will help you okay ? Adik pandai main… okay ?”

Heh… Terer jugak mamat ni.

Abang's Field Trip

“Mummy… cikgu cakap kita boleh bawak barang berharga for this trip…” Abang announced like for the 20th time.

And for the 20th time I asked, “Like what ?”

Abang is scheduled to go for a field trip to Pusat Sains Negara. He talked non-stop about it and everyday he came back with pieces of news about the trip.

But he made references about the barang berharga frequently.

‘Entah lah….” He said, shrugging his shoulders, trying to look nonchalant.

“Cikgu hang nak hang pakai berlian Mummy ke masa trip tu ? Itu barang berharga lah tu…”

He he…..saja je. I need to shock him a bit before I can wheedle out his real menaing behind barang berharga tu.

“Mummy !! No lah !!... Barang berharga maksudnya Gameboy and benda-benda macam tu lah…”

Aaah…itulah sebenarnya…

Of course le Mak tak bagi. Mintak maap ye. One of the best things about going on a field trip is the bus ride. Enjoy that. You will miss it if your eyes are glued to the Gameboy.

Anyway, I picked him up and helped sent his best friend A home. I have met A a few times but had never conversed with him.

Rupanya, patut le depa best friend. Sebijik macam Abang and their other best friend D.

“Is this your mother, Abang ?” He asked, finger pointing at me.

Amboi haii…. Cute huh ?

Anyway, in the car I asked about their day.

“Ooh…. We had loads of fun…. We saw a lot of inventions !” A offered in perfect English. And then both of them fought to tell me the best bits of the trip.

Then A pointed to Abang’s chest where a huge badge was pinned on his pocket. I noticed that earlier because none of his friends had it on them.

“Abang got this because he answered a question during the science show…”

Very typical of him. I expected nothing less. Dia ni memang suka menyerah diri.

“But…. He he… I think he changed his mind because when he stood up he looked like he wanted to cry….” A revealed some more.

“Really Abang ? Why lah ?” I asked with a laugh.

‘Because macam ada ramai orang …tiba-tiba I got embarrassed !”

He he….

Abang's Sports Day

For the last 3 weeks, Abang’s school stopped their co-curricular activities, replacing them with sports practice and preparations.

When I picked up Abang last week he was in a jovial mood.

“Mummy… kalau hari sukan kan, kita ada mascot… A mascot is … blah blah blah (explaining apa kemendanya mascot untuk mak dia yang tak pi sekolah ni…). So kan… Mummy I have a secret ! He he… I was helping the teachers and the girls buat the mascot and you know what…. Teacher said our rumah merah punya mascot is Iron Man. HAHAHAH… Tapi sebenarnya kan, lady bird !!! They don’t want to tell the budak-budak laki takut budak-budak laki tak nak pakai ….”

He he…. Mummy pun gelak gak…. Tapi kan.. err… aren’t you one of the boys too ? But then never mind, probably he wouldn’t be the one wearing the costume. Until on the day of the sukan itself and I saw him in this,

Err… hehehehehehhe…..

But kan… Errrmmm.………. Ini ladybird ? Ada antenna tu ? Lady bird ada antenna ke ? Ada ke ? Ye ke ? Ini bukan butterfly ?

Aiseh...

Gini ceritanya.

CT sms-ed Mummy reminding her to pick Abang from school.

Okaylah. 1pm Mummy tagged out, drove to the school and parked her car.

Read her book awhile, air-cond blasting right on her face because the day was too damn hot.

1.22pm Mummy got out of the car and joined a regular mother who waits for her child below a very shady tree. Usually there where the three of them but today she was alone. Chatted until she saw her son and they parted ways.

It was already 1.40 and Mummy’s boy tak keluar-keluar lagi.

As usual Mummy panicked and started to thump her feet.

She looked intently at the small side gate, willing for her boy to come out, hoping the next student to emerge from the school belongs to her.

Nada.

She tried picturing Abang that very morning. Strangely she can’t. She kept seeing him wrapped in a towel.

She looked again but her son’s face eluded her vision.

And she still failed to conjure up the image of Abang in his uniform from the morning.

Then…

Oooohhh………..

She turned around, mightily embarrassed I might add, to get to her car.

The friend she said goodbye to not 5-10 minutes ago was just about to motor her car out of the carpark. Mummy ducked and hid behind a tree.

When the coast is clear, she ran to the car, hoping other parents would not wonder why she is alone.

At her car, she saw her son’s classmate waiting for his parent.

“D… Abang datang sekolah tak hari ni ?” Mulut gatai. But really just wanna make sure.

D frowned and looked at her as though she is crazy. He then shook his head, the cue for Mummy to quickly jump into the car and roar her way out of her humiliation.

She went home just to make sure that her beloved Abang is indeed safe and well.

“Abang !” She yelled as soon as she entered the house.

Abang came running with his palm up and scrunched. His face was messy with lunch. He never looked so beautiful.

“What ?? What is wrong ?”

“I went to pick you up at school….” Was the sheepish reply.

He tercengang a bit, face wondering before he finally got the full picture. He smiled and laughed.

“Mummy ni……”

Yeah…. Hai…… Mummy ni…..

That is the question... Not the Hamlet kind though...

Rupanya, membaca juga boleh membawa kepada kesusahan..... Maybe I should vet the newspapers first before he reads them ?

-

I found quite a lot of mothers lamenting about their children talking or asking about sex.. or things that associated with sex. I have written this entry like 2 weeks before, left it hanging for some reason, and now well…. just to let the mothers out there know that I have not been spared from this predicament too.

*Neither did my dad. I once asked him what a virgin means, after listening to good ol’ Madonna, the robber of innocence. His stunned face and very rigid head shake made me reached for my dictionary. Ha….. but it didn’t properly satisfy my curiosity though. Dictionary.. I should have reached for the encyclopaedia… Although do not think the Children’s Encyclopaedia Britannica would want to discuss the topic much, or indeed at all.

In my observation, nowadays children are exposed to sex at a very young age. Once, we opened the door to our room to see Abang and Adik playing Wii. “Were you guys having sex ?” Abang asked dengan selamba badaknya, his concentration on the game did not waver at all, like he just asked us “Were you guys shampooing your hair ?”

Ha…. Saja nak kena belasah.

“Where did you learn to ask us that ?”

“Friends….” Was the teary replied.

Just to let you know, Friends as in Monica and Chandler and Ross and Pheobe and Rachel and Joey have been banned. For 1 day. Because Mummy cannot live without her repeats of Friends.

Well you see there is no point banning Friends because other shows talked about sex too. And for some reason, yeah it is a very beguiling subject to children.

Well probably because it is talked about with hushed tones, or it is usually implied instead of spoken out loud. So I think that piqued their interest more than anything. You know how sexier it is wearing a tight baju kebaya than a full frontal nudity ? He he… probably… I dunno. Am not male.

Like one day we were watching “What About Jim”. I have totally forgotten what the storyline was but they kept calling sex ‘IT’, in the context like after IT or do you want IT or whatever lah but IT was mentioned a lot and I didn’t realize that the little people who weren’t in the joke could get so annoyed for not knowing what IT really was.

“What is IT ?” Abang asked out loud, frustration obvious by his tightly clenched fist, after like the thousandth IT was mentioned by Jim Belushi and co.

He he….

And since he likes to ask, I ran away before he put me in the spot.

Another time when he put us both in trouble was when he talked about his favourite book, a detailed encyclopaedia on how the intestines and other organs in the stomach work. It is a very good book, using simple English and colourful pictures to explain the human body. Very unfortunate that I could not find the rest of the human body of that series as Abang is very interested in anatomy and therefore he reads the sole book cover to cover, many times over.

Anyway, apparently he brought the book to school last month or so, showing it to his regular kakis A, D1 and D2.

Oh, and this conversation happened in the car while his Babah was driving making it extremely difficult for us to run.

“Mummy…. Dalam buku tu kan it shows right perempuan kan… the mothers kan ada eggs in their stomach. And then there are like million and millions of sperms swimming to the eggs…”

While I groaned inwardly, I could hear Babah stiffened. He he… Aiyoo lah… have you seen 2 more cowardly people than us ?

“The girl sperm is yellow and the boy sperm is orange…” Ha ? Ye ke ?

“And then kan….” He went on oblivious to the fact that he made his parents sweat like they were in the Sahara.

“Only one of the sperm can get in the egg… and then if it was the orange sperm, the egg will become a baby boy.. like me…. And if it was the yellow sperm, it will become a baby girl like Adik…”

Please stop, please stop, please stop… Please don’t ask me anything. Please don’t ask the obvious, please, please, please….

“But kan Mummy…. What we would like to know is, where did the sperm came from ? That was the question…..”

Alahai… alahai.. help me ! Help me ! Help me !

“Me and my friends kan have been thinking and thinking where the sperm came from … but we just don’t know !” He said with a laugh.

Can I just get away with keeping shtoom ? I have gotten into trouble before because of my inability to shut my trap so I should really have learnt my lesson by now.

“Do you know ?”

Errrk !

“Ummm…. Maybe it is in the mother’s body ? I don’t really know lah……”

“Yalah… we thought so too…. But from where ?”

Yeah… this is one scientific journey I am not going with you yet, okay ? You have to wait for your mammy to mature a bit.…. ha ha…

But then kan, why me ? Why can’t his Babah ?

" You know, a lot of people suka sangat buang baby Mummy ? And then kan they always throw the babies in the same way, put the baby in a basket kan and then leave a note.... " Hmm.... well.... that is the Disney version my darling. If what you said is really true, then the world is much more bearable than what it is now...

My wee girl...

Adik and her Disney diary book. Sibuk nar nak diary. Her eyes positively lit up when she saw the lock attached to the diary. He he.... Teringat my own when I was a teenager. Because of the flimsy lock that came with it, I changed it into a real metal padlock. There were loads of stuffs about Kamil kan.... ha ha.. like how dreamy he looked, or how we held hands that day ... Auwwwww... So I had to take an extreme measure for Kamil's own safety....

.

Anyway Bapak aku terbuntang mata nengok padlock tu. Tak puas hati giler dia. "Awat teruk sangat ni, hey ?" He asked, shaking the book, the lock jiggling with every shake. "Tulih apa ni ?" And after that, I sometimes saw him eyeing the book longingly. Huh, now I know ropa-ropanya dialah yang paling aktif baca diari aku. Tak boleh percaya langsung !

.

Back to present time, this wee one pun dapat-dapat terus tulih. My hubby was craning his neck to see what she wrote. He he..... Hai... My father always say that I will get what I deserve !

Err... Bapak please take that back !!!

Ya Allah please spare me from..... mini me !!!

Whenever there is time, she would open it up and start scribbling. She allowed me to read the first few entries. The very first one was "Today is the best week ever !" Hah ! Dah today, awat lak week ? Mummy terus pangkah !! Diary pun tak selamat from your mother's grammar policing, okay ?

.

Anyway, a few hours after reading it, she asked, "Mummy, is a diary supposed to be special ?" Err..... I suppose so. "Is it supposed to be a secret ?" Hmmmm............... well..... it could be (I was reluctant to tell the truth sebab takut satgi dia tak mo bagi baca... he heh). "Then..... why did you read my diary ? You cannot read it anymore !!!" Dah..... jadi dah... start dah.....

But... Mummy is very adept at pujuk memujuk so she let me read it again. Imagine the mirth welling inside me when I saw this ;

"Ohh... this book is not a secret book. Everybody can read this...." I announced. She wasn't happy to hear that of course. "Why ?" He he.... "Because this is a milk book... See.. dairy book... Not diary !!" KAH KAH KAH KAH !

.

I had wanted to see if she wrote about why she was so scared of the Disney characters. I dunno where she got the idea that they are gonna eat her. I know she was scared of the A&W bear but that was when she was 2-3 ! My baby girl was only comfortable with Pooh, okay. She was even scared of the princesses.

See ?

Not in the picture. She was present in our family picture with Mickey but even that one she was quite far off from him.

Not here either eventhough this guy looked very human.

Scared of Terk too (all this while I thought his/her name was Turd.. My bad....)

And Buzz ! He is the good guy okay ? I would have understood if it was Zorg !

Look at this ! Crouching during the boat ride in Safari Land. Mat Salleh kat sebelah was so amused, they took her picture. She was scared of this;

Burning cave.

She was even more spooked with the smokes. When I asked why, she said she was scared of being burnt.

.

Hmm... I thought Abang was the Safety Inspector in the family. Apparently it rubbed on her, too.

.

But.... funny story about her..

.

Abang was tired of trooping around Fantasyland. When we approached Abang and Babah who were sitting outside the loo we visited, Abang announced, "It is my turn now ! I want to go to Adventureland !". The little missy tired with Abang's constant whining probably answered with, "Yeah, yeah.. whatever !"

.

Almost immediately we heard a shout of laughter and it came from the mat salleh sitting next to Abang. He was laughing and giving fond looks at Adik. OMG ! Babah and I was soooo embarrassed. "She is precious, isn't she ?" He asked. I was at lost for words, I couldn't think of anything to say so I just smiled at him. And as we walked, I gave her one smart smack on her bum.

Maybe she wrote about it in her diary. I had better check !

Masalah belum selesai....

I picked Abang from school yesterday before going for my meeting.

In the car, ada van lalu sebelah dia lambai. “Kawan saya Zubaidah, Mummy….”.

Okay… “I have a lot of friends, Mummy. Girls and boys….”

“Of course….”

Then lalu pulak kete lain. Lambai lagi. “Normah, Mummy…”

He he… but I just nodded my head.

“I have a lot of friends….. “

“Yes … I know…. I want you to have loads of friends. Girls and boys…..”

He smiled, I smiled.

Then aku kan, I just had to say something. I mean why do I never learn and just keep my mouth shut ? Why ? Why ?

“It is okay for you to have friends… even girls…. “ Itulah permulaan mukadimah mak yang gataaaallll nak bukak mulut ni.

“It is also okay for you to like a girl… It is normal to fall in love…. I wouldn’t be angry if you do….”

He smiled and nodded his head. I smiled tenderly at him at first, then felt a bit susah hati… as I felt I needed to add a few cautionary advice.

“But… it is a bit young for you to have a girlfriend now…. You know, you are only ten….”

“Yeah… I know that…..”

“I mean it is perfectly normal if you like somebody, but you know you don’t have to tell her about it. You can tell me…. But don’t tell her lah….. You are still young…”

“Okay…” He said, nodding his head happily.

Fuuuhh…. Lega.

But then…, “So…… when am I allowed to have a girlfriend….?”

Sigh….. I should have known this will come.

“Err….. Babah had a girlfriend when he was 16 - 17… which was me. So…. I suppose that could be the right age…..”

He nodded thoughfully. “Form berapa tu, Mummy ?”

“Form 5…. Provided if you are responsible enough lah… Not neglecting your studies, not going out sampai malam-malam… Err… ingat kat Tuhan……”

“Yes… okay…. But I have to have a girlfriend, Mummy because I do not want to be lonely….”

Awww….. my little boy, my little boy…… Not so little now are you ? I wish I didn’t know that… I need you to be a baby a while longer.

“Also, I would need somebody if I want to have a child of my own… I want to be a father ..”

Eh ?

I thought only little girls dream about pushing prams and what-nots. But boys ?

“You will make sure you are married first though before you become a father, right ?”

Waaahhh ! Takutnya !

“Is it against the law to have children before you get married ?”

“It is against Allah’s law ! And His law is the most important one ever !”

Why am I having this conversation now ? It’s waaayyy too early and I haven’t prepared myself yet !!!!!!!

School crush...

Okay… okay…. Ceritanya begini….

To my FB friends, I think you know what story I am telling.

My mum picked up Abang from school yesterday and in the car Abang called me. He sounded upset and from the semi-incoherent babble, I got the message that a girl has a crush on him. I heard Tok laughed like mad in the background, saying “Apalah Abang ni… benda merepek macam ni pun nak nangis…” and more roars of laughter from the grandma.

Picked them up from their class after work and here is our conversation.

“What happened ? Who has a crush on you ?”

“Normah…” Okay you guys know it’s a pseudonym, yeah ?

He he…

“But they said I have a crush on her !!” Pulak.

We were in the car, Adik was at the front passenger seat rubbing her feet, listening to the conversation. I dunno why I kept looking at her, seeing her cooly listening to her brother’s story was quite entertaining.

“How come ?”

“Macam ni. I was walking kan and then Jamilah called me. She and Normah were whispering whispering then Normah said Jamilah said I like her !”

Wah ! Direct tanya, okay ? Aku seram.

“Why did Jamilah say you like Normah ?”

“Because I gave her the Daisy Duck pen !!!!”

“In front of Jamilah ?”

“Yes…..” And itulah salah satu lesson why you must listen to your parents !!

On the way to the airport last week Abang told me his teachers want a present from him and he wants to buy presents for 39 of his classmates. 39 ? Kapak lah bapak kau nak oii…. Botak le lagi kepala dia ….

So I advised him to just buy for his best friends. Itupun amounted to 7. Okaylah. I bought pens in various colours with various Disney characters on them. The night before they went to school, I was reminding them over and over again to not dispense out the gifts in front of their other mates who are not getting them. Dah mak pelakon Oscar kan so we re-enacted the ways and the hows to panggil kawan slow-slow and bagi sorok-sorok.

“Whatever it is, no matter how long it is gonna take you, please do not and I mean DO NOT give them in front of your friends yang tak dapat. People can get hurt, okay. You must not hurt other people’s feelings !”

Haaa…. gitu lah pesan mak ini. It so happened I didn’t notice one pen although was not girly coloured but had Daisy Duck on it so the boy who got them of course le refused. He he……

So my boy gave the pen to Normah ni in front of si Jamilah ni and of course le si Jamilah ni buat conclusion gitu.

“Itulah I told you already…. DO not give the pen in front of anybody that is not getting it. If it were you, you wouldn’t get hurt ke ?”

“No…” Of course le jawapannya gitu.

“Okay if it was you and Karim were sitting together then Normah gave a pen to Karim, you wouldn’t rasa malu ke… hurt ke… wondering why Normah didn’t give you one also ?”

“No… I don’t care about that kind of stuffs…” Huh, boys !

I looked at Adik for help but she was still looking straight ahead, one hand still rubbing her thighs but there was a small smile on her face. She shook her head and murmured, “Stupidnya Abang ni…..”

He he… Aiyoh lah…..

“Well….. what to do it happened already…” I said.

“Itulah Jamilah said I have a crush on Normah because I gave her the pen and also because her mother likes me ….”

“Eh ? What’s that again ?”

“Oh… Normah’s mother likes me….”

“Her mother ? You know her ?”

“Yeah.. we’ve met before …”

Ha ?

“When ?”

“At school… Her mother asked me to take care of Normah from the naughty boys at school….”

O-kay…..

“She only asked you to do that ? She only knew you ke ? She doesn’t know the other boys ?”

“Oh.. she knows Karim too but she only asks me to take care of Normah…”

Pulak dah…. Apasal lak pompuan ni bagi keje kat anak aku ? Dia pun baby !

Hmmm……….

“Cantik ke Normah ni ?”

“I don’t know !” He answered with a laugh. “I don’t have an opinion on that !”

HAHHAHAHAHAAHHA… Aduh lah…

Then I went for the kill. “You like her ?”

“As a friend…….” Okay, good one.

Adik still have a little smile on her face. I was glad that she found the whole episode entertaining.

“Mummy….. please don’t tell Babah about this, okay ?”

“Why ?”

“I am soooo embarrassed lah…. Saya rasa macam nak pengsan ! And anyway, saya tak tahu crush tu rasa macam mana ! I have no idea ! I don’t know what they are talking about !”
This was the part where I positively roared with laughter. Dear me. Allah help me !!!!!!!

“Abang… takkan lah Mummy nak tanya (yup… she still hasn’t got tanya and bagitahu sorted out yet) Babah….” Said Adik.

We got out of the car and I noticed Adik was still smiling. If only I could just get one little look inside her brain. I am itching to know what she found so amusing !!!

Anyway, that night SIL came to the house. Her story is like this. Memang kecoh le masa balik pasal Abang kena usik dengan kawan-kawan. According to SIL mak si Normah ni memang suka kat Abang. Selalu puji kata Abang pandai (ini perempuan dah tengok ke report card anak aku yang kurang memuaskan itu ?), Abang handsome lah apa lah. Ikut dia, mak si Normah ni memang aim Abang. Okay, I don’t get that part.

“Si Normah tu yang suka kat Abang !! Suka lambai-lambai lah… Bukannya si Abang ni yang suka kat dia !”

Pulak dah.

“Masa balik tadi, si Normah ni lambai-lambai lah tapi Abang lari. Ajak Jamil (his cousin) pegi tempat lain…..”

He he…

Aku kan… he he…. Aku tak tahu nak cakap apa.

I for one thing find all this amusing. And seriously I am not angry. Love, puppy or real is a feeling that will come. Sure, I don’t know how to handle this but it is not something that I can avoid, or discourage. Well… which I can’t encourage either at this moment.

I am glad Abang told me, though. I am gald that he is comfortable enough to moan about this to me.

Although kenapa dia segan giler ngan bapak dia I dunno. Babah pun even after my warning pegi gelak-gelak tanya Abang. Mengamuk lah dia. Hai…

Cerita semalam

Eventhough it is the school holidays, I still wake up my kids early. Subuh satu and dua is early birds catch the worms thingy.

He he…

Anyway, yesterday I managed to wake up Abang but not Adik.

And I know what I will hear when I return home, Adik nangis cari Mummy. News bearer was Bibik. But when I gave her a lecture, Bibik defended her pulak.

“Bukan… kan udah biasa bangun sama-sama. Ini bila Mummy pi, dia ngak nampak… Nangis lah dia…”

Hmmm………

As usual she followed me around when I am home. I cooked, she set the table and waited for me there. She talked and she chatted. I made carbonara yesterday, the children’s eternal favourite. Plus fried calamari which is Abang’s must have with pasta.

While eating, Adik took a moment to look up at me and said, “You are the best cook I have ever seen, Mummy ! This carbonara is really good….”

You have ever seen ? How many cooks have you seen ?

Penggunaan bahasa yang salah.

Anyway, I wanted to go and see Kak Kay but Babah still wasn’t home from his futsal. I bathed and prayed and my little girl of course was on my bed waiting for me. Percy Jackson was on.

“I am going down there to switch on the power, okay ?” She said as she bent beneath the dressing table for the switch. I dunno why I found that funny.

Anyway, while waiting for Isyak, Mummy and Adik baring-baring, sembang-sembang and I noticed that her eyes were heavy.

“You sleepy ?” Her head was on my shoulder by then.

“Yes…..”

“Close your eyes then…”

“Will I go to sleep like that ?” Err….. how did you sleep all this while ?

“Yeah…. Go go on then…”

So she closed her eyes and immediately went to sleep. Immediately okay ?

He he… Abang came up and asked, “Is she really sleeping or is she pretending ?” Ini ajaran Tok Yah, pura-pura tidur then scaring the hell out of your victim is funny and entertaining.

“No…this is real…. By the way, I have to go and visit my friend. Yang rumah dia terbakar tu… You wanna come with me ?”

Abang was intrigued and wanted to come. But then when he turned around, he was reminded of his sleeping sister.

“What about Adik ? We can’t leave her here… Alone….”

“Why not ?”

Ini part best. Abang’s face was incredulous because Mummy had to ask. Berkerut-kerut berbagai. “What ? You know her ! You know what she is like !” Bulat mata pandang Mummy.

Mummy gelak.

“She can get crazy if she wakes up and doesn’t see you… She will cry and cry and cry… Eee… saya rasa macam nak pecah kepala !!” He added, hands holding his head. Kira habis serious lah tu.

Then he switched on the telly and put on his Pokemon cd. I read while waiting for Isyak. When Babah returned home and we got ready to go out, I asked him whether he still wants to come.

His face was very funny when he said this. He said it slowly at first before gaining speed, “Mummy… I think I am coughing right now… and… I am afraid I will get choked from the smokes at your friend’s house… So I’d better stay home…” His face became more animated as his speech got faster, and at the end he was smiling happily. Like he started the speech without having any idea of what to say, of what excuse to give me and as he went on, he was like surprised with his own ingenuity to bagi alasan.

Dah tu melompat-lompat kegembiraan, face was so flushed with happiness, like saying, “Yey…. Finally aku berjaya bagi alasan munasabah ! Mummy believed me ! She believed me !!”

Aku kan budak-budak ni…..

Hai lah…

Dah besar dah toys kita Bah…

Mummy ! Don't fall !!

Yesterday was sooo…… bloody kelakar….

After dinner of mee bandung, I sat on the sofa, melepak-lepak dengan Kamil. Adik as usual is at her office desk in front of us and Abang was slumped next to his father, watching whatever crap we were watching.

Sambil-sambil dok tengok tv, tangan ni dok gatal-gatal meraba my face and I don’t know how suddenly I felt like my fingers got wet and when I looked was stained with blood.

“Blood Kamil….” I said and proffered the side of the face for him to inspect.

“Jerawat tu…” he said after a very, very cursory glance.

Adik who heard our conversation suddenly was in front of me, looked at my finger and her face people… her face….was soooooooooooooo aghast, I was taken aback by the force and intensity of it. Looked at Babah in bewilderment and he too was looking wide eyed at Adik. I just couldn’t describe it to you okay but that face will forever be etched in memory.

“Mummy !! Are you okay ? How come you have blood ?” One hand on her chest, face mega, mega horrifyingly concerned. Abang jumped to his feet and rushed to my side.

And Mummy being mummy…. Well…. start le berlakon.

“Ooooohhhhhhh…..” I groaned, hand on my forehead. Kamil screwed his eyes and shook his head, a little smile formed on his face.

“Tolong… please….. It is painful….. Please… I need tissue….” Terketar-ketar Mummy cakap, Azean Irdawaty mesti nak ambik jadi anak angkat. Abang rushed to get tissue and pressed it hard on my ‘wound’.

“It’s okay, Mummy… It’s okay…. Evrything will be all right….” Said Abang soothingly. He then looked at my wound and exclaimed, “Hey… dah tak ada apa-apa… it’s okay now…. You are fine already !” His face was kind and encouraging. Darling, listen to Mummy… you would make an excellent, excellent doctor.

Babah geleng-geleng kepala, but his face was amused. He looked at me and mouthed, “Saja je you., ya….”

If lah my children remember this day, they might one day think Hmmm…. kenapa Babah wasn’t concern masa Mummy berdarah dulu tu ? You remember ?

He he…

Anyway, I got up shakily (I so bloody deserved an Oscar), stumbled a bit and tried to grasp Babah’s hand. “Please…. Help me upstairs….. I need to lie down ……” Babah gave me a lopsided smile, laughed and shook his head. “I nak tengok tv …..”

My itty bitty Florence Nightingale was next to me in an instant. She draped my hand around her shoulders and said, “Mummy … it is okay… I will help you… I will take you upstairs….” He he… hang kan pendek sayang, mana buleh Mummy lean on you. Nasib baik lah berlakon so I gamely walked slowly towards the stairs, one hand encircling her tiny, tiny shoulders. Abang hovered behind us.

Nak bagi real sikit, I put a little bit more weight on my right side, kononnya macam nak jatuh. She screamed. “Mummy !! Mummy ! Don’t fall down ! Don’t fall !!!”

Ha ha ha ha ha… Aduhai lah anak ku. Yang herannya, Abang langsung tak offer bahu dia… he just walked behind us, kononnya jaga dari belakang.

Anyway I was put tenderly on the bed, Abang fetched more tissues and pressed it on my wound. Adik stood next to me, wringing her hands and looking so worried. One great mother in the making here people.

Babah came, saw them fussing around me and snorted. Shut up, you……

“Okay… you guys go ahead lah…. Tak pa…. Pergi tengok tv…” Said I, kononnya macam tak nak orang risau. He he…

“Mummy… we don’t mind, Mummy. This is our turn to take care of you…. You have taken good care of us…. So now we will take good care of you…” Said Abang oh-so tenderly, Mummy rasa macam nak nangis. His face was kind, he was smiling and his eyes were big with encouragement.

“Mummy… please don’t die…” Hai… si kecik ni memang a bit macabre.

“You promised to make carbonara tomorrow… You said it’s today but you did not make it… And just now masa kita makan you said you will make it tomorrow !”

Ha ?

“And I want to eat meat loaf next, Mummy !!” She pleaded.

Wei….. are you telling me your main concern is your stomach ? All this help and care you so generously bestowed on me is because you want to make sure your tummy is filled in the future ?

Babah was already laughing, terguling-guling atas katil.

And you must do that in front of your Babah ? Why can’t you say that just now when Babah was not around ? Why in front of Babah and now he is sooooo gonna laugh at me. For days…….

Cess !

She then pointed her finger at her Babah, “Babah cannot cook ! So if you die we are going to starve !” Ya Allah dramanya. Aku ingat aku yang dok berdrama, rupanya ada orang lagi terer dari aku. Aduhai lah… tahan gelak, tahan gelak because the curtains are still up. The play is still on.

Abang intervened, cutting short her moment of madness, ‘Why do you treat Babah like that ?” He asked angrily. “Why can’t you say nice things about Babah ?”

He he……

“Aarrhhhgghhh…..I will be fine tomorrow…. Go… go and watch tv now….*cough* * cough*” Said I before terjadi pergaduhan besar pulak.

*The cough was real as aku belum baik batuk lagi…

“Never mind lah, Adik… why don’t we just play the game kat atas ni ? At least we can be near Mummy ….”

Adik agreed and they left the room.

Babah started giggling. I did too but quietly sebab sakit kan ?

“You saw her face just now ? My god !” said Babah.

“I know.. ! I will remember that forever !”

Then we laughed again and I must have forgotten that I was sick because suddenly I heard, “Is that you laughing, Mummy ? I can hear you laughing…. So you are better now ? Or you are not sick at all ?” coming from outside my bedroom, in a little girl’s voice.

Babah and I covered our mouths to stifle our laughs, like 2 naughty children.

When I peeked, her face was concentrating on her Abang’s playing. She didn’t even break whatever she was doing to confront me. Cool lah you, Adik. Very cool.

Ha ha…

Alahai Abang ni

Babah send a well oiled, every limbs working perfectly Abang to tennis class. Adik tak pegi… demam.

Mummy collected Abang who limped to the car.

“What happened ?”

“I don’t know… suddenly saya sakit….”

“Oh… takpa… balik karang Mummy check… Maybe just a pulled muscle or something like that….”

Then, “Mummy… walaupun kaki saya sakit tapi saya masih ingin bersenam !”

Dahh…. Naik dah bulu roma aku… Buat dah budak ni….

I tried my darnest to stifle my tremors so I bit my lip and smiled at my son.

“Iya… I had the determination to go on so that I can be very good at tennis. I also have the determination to play so that I can be thin…”
Tambah besar Mummy punya gelak….. WAAARRRRGGHHHH ! Mana hang mai, sayang wei….. Felt like I was in a Japanese series.

He inhaled and continued, “Mummy… determination tu apa ?”

Pulak…. Kuang kuang kuang….

Mid explaination, he cut in, “Oh… maksudnya determine ?”

Ya Allah… ya lah… Tambah tion je kat belakang….

One morning about 2 weeks ago he complained about Gizmo’s consistant meowing.

“Dia cari anak dia lah Mummy. I pity her but it was soooo noisy....”

Mummy snorted. “Nolah… she stopped calling her children already.. That was a booty call, okay ?”

“Apa booty call ?"

“Eh !.... Err…. She was calling for her boyfriend….”

“Oh… dia mencari teman lelaki dia ?”

Oh tidakkkk !!!!!!! Mummy felt tremors traveling thorugh her body and just couldn’t stop shuddering okay ? Just can’t seem to stop.

I must him given him a look because he smiled at me and said, “What... I know how to speak Bahasa Malaysia properly now….”

Err…. That is not properly, darling… That kind of talk masih boleh buat orang berguling, okay ? Ya Allah, ya Rabbi ….

Why are you growing up too fast ?

One day when I was sick, I went down to watch the telly after staying in my room for far too long and feeling so confined.

Adik was watching Sinetron with Bibik, concentrating with the storyline.

“Mummy… I don’t like this story.” She said suddenly.

“You want to know why ? Because Cinta kan suka that boy tapi kan…. He is not handsome. Not at all !”

Waaah…. Dah pandai dah…… Nak handsome. Taste sendiri pun dah ada. Muka punya heran kenapa lah si Cinta boleh syok kat mamat yang buruk lagu tu.

He he…

That day when we watched Percy Jackson and The Ligthning Thief, there was a scene where Percy and Athena’s daughter (I have forgotten her name) were smiling and looking at each other from far. Adik who was on Babah’s lap (memang rugi beli tiket untuk dia ni), looked up at her father and asked;

“Babah…dia suka ke Bah ?”

He he…. Amboi lah. Babah nodded then looked at me, smiling sadly, sort of saying, “My girl….. is so grown up !”

Ha ha… yelah Bah. Mummy feels it too.

Masa power cut...

We had a power cut yesterday.

The air was sticky and hot and everybody was in a bad mood.

Babah came home with candles. The kids had a lovely time watching the flames danced in the dark.

It is exam week and Adik had a nice time reading and doing her revision by the candlelight. I am sure adik lebih jepada berangan-angan at the novelty of doing that dari study. Abang though was all hot and bothered, and takut I am sure because he stayed close to Mummy.

I went up to bathe and sembahyang. The kids followed closely. Abang was lying on the bed and Adik was in the family room, trying to get some cool air from the opened door. I put the candle next to my sejadah.

“Mum… don’t put it there….” He warned.

“What ?”

“The candle ! I am so scared if you are going to catch fire !”

“No lah… Jauh ni….”

“Mum…. Please be careful… I will watch for the candle as you pray lah….”

Hmmm….

True to his words, he didn’t move from his position. I could feel his stares as I did my 3 rakaat.

As soon as I gave my final salam, he said, “Mum… please lipat your telekung now because it can catch fire….”

Aiyoo ! Yelah ! Yelah !

We joined Elsa outside. I sat next to her on the daybed while Abang showed me sort of macam concert dia buat kat sekolah. It so happened I started coughing as soon as he opened his mouth but that didn’t deter him from performing. He kept on with it, pausing respectfully when I coughed louder than his singing until Adik naughtily went,

“Abang…." She said grinning “…. I don’t think she likes your singing very much… She is still coughing…” her thumbs pointing at me happily.

Abang went “ Hey ! Adik ni !”

And I miraculously stopped coughing !

Keh keh !

Saya tekan-tekan

One day last week Abang called me through Tok’s phone.

“Mummy… hari ni saya ko-ko. Can Tok Mi send me ?”

“If Tok says yes than okaylah…. I can’t send you…”

“Okay Mummy… you pick me up after school okay ? Bye Mum…”

His voice sounds like nectar to my ears. Sedap sangat, manja….. My mind immediately went the times when he was smaller, all chubby cheeks and very, very fair sampai muka tu semak sebab nampak blue veins all over his skin.

His eyes, his huge eyes are what I love best. Everything you want to know about him is there.

Anyway, my sister CT called me and we talked for one hour. While we talked I heard a message came through but I ignored it. After our session was done, I checked my phone and found it was missed call message from home.

“Mummy ! Tok tak ambik saya ! Dia lupa !” Said my son in despair.

“Oh dear… Tak pelah okay ? Just stay home and study… Is that okay ? I’ll cook whatever you want tonight…..” He loves going for his ko-ko so I know he is very, very disappointed. To make it up to him, offer lah nak masak apa-apa yang dia nak.

“Okay… meatballs spaghetti… “ Fullamak… Demand…

I got home at the appointed time and he was already waiting for me. His face was all smiles so I was glad.

Then, he frowned. “Saya tekan-tekan nombor Mummy tapi tak dapat ! Saya tekan-tekan nombor CT pun tak dapat ! Saya tekan-tekan, tekan-tekan semua tak dapat ! Banyak kali saya tekan-tekan, tekan-tekan…”

He he… sorrylah darling, sebab memang Mummy and CT dok bergayut !

So that night, to compensate for his failed tekan-tekan, Mummy added fried calamari to the menu. He was extremely happy.

Ha ha… Mummy’s little boy.

Hey... I know that sneeze...

Aku gelak sakan when I took Adik to shower after swimming. First she said, “Mummy perempuan kan lambat kan bila mandi ? Bila kita keluar Babah and Abang is always waiting for us….”

He he…. It is good that you know but that doesn’t mean that we can keep them waiting, nanti dia orang boring.

If we are always late bukannya apa, both of our hairs now dah panjang. Adik’s is almost to her bum and mine has passed my shoulder blades so it takes a bit more time to dry our hair. If we want to compare with the boys, well Babah rambut macam ada takde je… Keh keh… Abang pun short hair so it will dry in no time. Mummy and Adik je yang problem.

Anyway while waiting for me to dry my hair, we heard the sound of somebody sneezing.

“Babah ! That is Babah !” my little girl shouted and ran out. I let her because I can also recognize the sneeze. It definitely came from my husband, the serial sneezer. Ha ha….

Babah and his sneezing are quite legendary, okay. Dah lah he has quite a sizable honker. Anyway, when we were in the UK, our friends Cho, Nani and Noreen came to visit us in Nottingham. We were in the kitchen cooking when suddenly we heard Kamil sneezing from the 1st floor.

Upon hearing it, Cho, sweet sweet Cho, clapped her hands happily and exclaimed, “That is the first time I dengar Kamil sneeze secara live ! Selalunya I dengar through the phone !! I kenal itu dia kan ?”

Ha ha…. I laughed so hard when I heard that.

Really lah Babah ni….

Mum... these are drugs ?

“Mum… are you doing drugs ?”

“Eh ? Wazzat again ?”

“These…. They are drugs kan ?” He asked, clutching my Panadol Actifast.

Aduhai… Mummy dah lah demam ni… tak terjawab sebab I was too tired and too woozy to think straight. Plus my chest felt so heavy so talking requires a huge effort.

About a month ago I think Abang started asking about drugs. What are they, what they look like and why are they bad.

I explained that drugs are medications. But it gets dangerous when you take without while you were sick to get a good feeling.

“What good feeling ?”

“Seriously I don’t know because I have never done it before. But…. If you take ubat while you are not sick, well then you will get sick. You get addicted to them so you keep taking them and then they turned toxic in your body…. Then you die….. Like you are not sick, but you still telan Panadols hari-hari… so now the Panadols have become a dangerous drug to you..”

“Addicted tu macamana ?”

“Well… like you addicted to your video games asyik nak main aje sambil lupa semuanya…….” And jadi leteran lain berkenaan video games pulak. Sian Abang. No matter lah what topic he brought up, last-last mesti kena batang hidung dia.

We didn’t talk about drugs anymore after that until the above-mentioned episode.

So… I cannot just let it go right ? I mean budak ni mulut dia boleh tahan kepohnya jugak kang dia canang lak kat sekolah mak dia “is doing drugs…” so nak tak nak, I asked him to follow me upstairs and tried to explain as best as I could again, without veering off the subject.

Tu lah… I must learn not to campur-adukkan my topics. Must ensure my kids paham everything and ask all their questions before aku corner tempat lain.

Adik ni...

Ohh…. Yesterday was just awful… and kelakar at the same time.

Adik has problems with money. She doesn’t know how to use them satu, and she keeps losing them is another satu.

We never gave Abang money for school on account of his asthma. Colouring can trigger it, cheap food can trigger it.. Oh.. he wouldn’t be wheezing but he would start coughing. Plus when I first did a survey of the food the school canteen served, I only saw very, very oily fried ones. Fried fishballs, nuggets, fries..all looked soaked to the core with oil and very unappetizing. One glance and I knew it was fried early in the morning, at least 2 hours before recess.

Yuck.

But with Adik since she goes home very late, we have no choice but to give her money for lunch. She brought food from home for her mid-morning break and only buys food for lunch.

The trouble started there. When tanya makan apa, makan mee 8 kupang aje. So where is the rest of oyur RM 1.20 ? Tak dak. So the rest of the money makcik kantin ambik ka ? Kalau sekali dua yelah kot ramai so makcik kantin tak ingat mana yang bagi berapa, tapi kalau hari-hari, a bit suspect isn’t it ?

We tried teaching her, showing her but nothing seemed to work until DR’s son stepped in and helped her during recess. Thank you, darling. Baru we can see she brought some change from school, bersesuaian dengan makanan yang she claimed she bought.

Anyway, on a few occasions when we gave her extra for whatever, she comes home empty handed. “Duit hilang…” What lah….. Abang did that sometimes at her age. Heck, I even remember my siblings and I doing that when we were smaller, but not as frequent as she does !

That was why yesterday when Babah gave her RM4 extra to buy her school badges, I tucked in the money is her bag and her usual RM2 for lunch in her pocket. When we fetched them from their class late afternoon, Babah asked for her badges. And the problem started.

Her cheery face turned gloom. When asked, she didn’t answer. I hate that. I truly, dearly hate that. We repeatedly asked her but she remained shctoom. Abang meanwhile squirmed next to her.

As soon as we got home Babah told her, “Do not think about coming inside the house if you do not answer my question. Where is the money ?” I swear I have never seen a set of tighter lips. Therefore the 3 of us trooped in the house, and Babah banged the door shut, leaving his daughter with her locked lips outside the house.

Why oh why oh why you cannot answer one ? We checked her bags just in case if she bought stuffs with it but we found no evidence of that. Takkan hilang lagi ? I ran upstairs to pray and as soon as I finished praying the wind brought my son’s voice to my ears.

“So… makan baru 2 ringgit kan ? So sekarang ada tinggal lagi 4 ringgit….. Did you buy mee 4 pinggan for your friends ?”

“Takkk…. Tak de… I think my duit hilang masa saya bukak baju untuk pj…..”

Really ? Duit dalam baju RM 2 aje… yang 4 lagi tu kat dalam bag.

Kita orang bergilir-gilir confronted her that afternoon. Her “hilang” was so irritating because I believe dia belanja kawan. Memang tabiat dia. If dia bawak bekal, mesti cukup untuk 2-3 orang. I don’t mind but please tell me the truth ! Bibik tak senang hati, mundar-mundir depan pintu. Sometimes I hear her pujuk-pujuk my daughter.

Once when I opened the door I found her lying on the padded bench, tears streaming down her face. “Are you ready to talk ?” She shook her head. Gila wei….

Finally after azan Maghrib, I opened the door. She was at Bibik’s tingkap drinking water and eating biscuits. Hai lah Bibik ni… I asked the million dollars question again and this is her story. “RM 2 hilang masa saya tukar baju untuk pj. Lepas tu saya makan RM 2….” Okay that is RM 4 where is the other RM 2 ? “Hilang….” I just don’t understand it. How is it possible to lose money twice in a day, at the rate of at least once a week ? So I sent her to bed without dinner.

“Nanti lapar ini…..” Bibik bebel sorang-sorang. I just closed my eyes and ignored her. Don’t think lah I am that kejam Bibik wei….

I made carbonara that night. When everything is on the table, I fixed a plate and gave it to Abang. “Send this to your sister. But don’t tell her it’s from me. Tell her you secretly sneaked this to her…. Without me knowing…..”

Abang nodded his head although he looked a bit lost. Babah said he saw Abang kissing Adik’s forehead a few times with a few encouraging words. He then came down and went back up again with a glass of water. Again more kissing on the forehead and plenty of comforting hugs.

As we were eating, Adik came down with her plate. “Dah !” She announced before placing it in the sink. She then stood next to her brother and looked at me expectantly. I looked back not saying anything.

Abang probably not liking the silent stares, touched her shoulder lightly and said, “You go up okay ?” oh-so tenderly.

He he…..

Adik…. I want an explaination. Can’t accept you lost your money twice ! In a day !

Abang

“Mummy, what does menikahi means ?” asked Abang this morning, on the way to school.

Udah…. Mana lak dapat ni ?

“It means kawin lah….”

“Ooohh…. Indonesian kan they speak funny kan ? Eventhough sometimes I can understand them because the language is almost the same, but most of the times I cannot understand what they say !!”

“Err…. Okay….”

“Everyday bila saya balik sekolah, Bibik ajak saya tengok cerita Indonesia, Tasbih Cinta. So saya kadang-kadang tak paham ah apa dia cakap so saya kena baca subtitle…”

He he….

“Lepas tu kan Mummy orang Indonesia kan cakap suara dia like different….”

“Different ?”

“Yes… macam lain lah… sebab kan if Sponge Bob laughed in English, it is like this *mimicking Sponge Bob’s very annoying laugh* tapi kalau yang Indonesia punya kan dia gelak macam ni *something a bit different but much more pleasing to the ears than Sponge Bob’s original one*. Kenapa macam tu ye ?”

He he… “Sebab the actors are different lah ! The real Sponge Bob mana tahu cakap Melayu !”

Kah kah kah….. Itu pu mau tanya ka ?

Last week, during the holidays, he said something very, very funny. As usual Adik cannot finish her food. I saw Abang looking at her playing with her food, pushing it around. When she finally dropped her fork, Abang said,

“Adik… you had better finish off your food okay ? You have been that size for months !!! Mana boleh macam ni ? You have to grow bigger !”

He hehehehehehheheh…. Aduih lah…..

Anak Mak

“Mummy… my teacher kata kan, kalau kita tak defa… defe… defacate… yup, defecate kan nanti our body will be filled with toxins !”

“Defecate ? Really ?”

”Yeah…. Defecate….. Why ?”

“Well…. nothing…good word but to see you struggling, wouldn’t it be easier if your teacher uses passing motion…?”

He nodded his head vigorously.

“Itulah… Teachers sometimes saja je use all these difficult words that I cannot say kan Mummy ? Macam saja je kan… ? Saja je nak susah kan orang kan… There are other easier words to use but my teacher use this one yang susah saya nak cakap kan ?”

Pulak.…. No lah… I didn’t mean it that way…. I am just saying that since susah sangat nak sebut… sigh…well… never mind lah…

My bad. Please…. Defecate is a good word. Use that.

When we watched Cirque Du Freak, oh like last week, we took the 8.30 show. Adik of course slept during the movie. Babah had to carry her out of the cinema but then had to put her down when he went to the loo. Abang and I was busy discussing the movie when I noticed Adik’s sleepy face.

“Awww….. you missed it didn’t you ? You slept ?”

She smiled ruefully, and went, “Yeah, I was tired….”

Then I said, “Well you missed a good movie. It was really fun !”

“Well actually, I saw a bit….masa mula-mula….” She answered, nose scrunched, head nodding, mega cute.

I dunno why she looked so cute. I mean, it was just a normal answer, she wasn’t quoting Shakespeare or whatever but she looked super, duper gorgeous when she said that.

Anak mak…. mak je yang boleh appreciate...

Schoolmates Adik

“Mum… sekarang kan teacher dah tukar tempat saya lagi….”

“Oh… so who do you sit with now ?”

“Hanim.” Name has been changed to protect identity, okeh. Then she added, “Dia kan… putihhhh…. Muka dia putih, her hands pun putih….Cantik sangat….”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Saya kan hitam kan ? Tak cantik kan ?”

Eh ?

“No… you are pretty…. Very pretty. I thought you knew that since you alwys say ‘I am pretty lah…’, ‘I look gorgeous lah….’… Of course you are pretty….”

She looked at me unconvinced.

“But she is putih, Mummy….”

“Okay never mind lah… There are putih people yang pretty. There are browns ones who are pretty, the peach ones.. the dark ones too…. Allah make all kind of skin colours and every one of them is pretty …..”

She sighed.

I sighed.

That day when I picked her up from school, she was busy playing with some friends. As we walked hand in hand to the car (Mummy holding her very heavy bag… tak sangka dah zaman2 moden ni pun masih bawak papan batu pi sekolah macam Flintstones), she said;

“That is my friend from kindergarten. Her name is Kiki…”

“Oh…that is nice…”

“I like her… because she doesn’t talk much.. Dia cakap sikit saja pun….”

Ha ?

“Iya..dia cakap sikit saja pun.....”

He he....

Why at this very tender age, my darling, would you appreciate the strong silent type ?

Adik talking about sunglasses

I picked her up from school yesterday. It was hot so I put on my sunglasses. She was playing with some friends, but I just stood there, looking at her in her elements. I love doing that. Masa tulah nak tengok anak hang macamana.

She was happily twirling around with a friend when she saw me. “Mummy !” She said happily, her face so deliriously happy at the sight of me, it made my heart ache.

“Why you wear that glasses ?”

“Sebab panaslah…”

“Please… Let me wear it ! Pleeeaaaaseeee !!!!!”

When she put it on, she turned her face to me, her nose scrunched up a bit to hold the glasses up.

“You know… I can wear glasses. I know how to wear them…. But… not the one yang you pakai pergi kerja tu… You know .. the one that you put inside your eyes ?”

“My contacts ?”

“Yes… that one I don’t know how to wear …”

“Have you been trying ?”

“No ! Mana ada !”

Hmmmm…. Very suspicious.

“Yang your red glasses tu kan ? That one ada power kan ? That one I cannot wear, right ? Because I can go blind ?”

“Yes…”

“Why ? Why can I go blind ?”

“Because it can hurt your eyes. And you will not be able to see properly if you use them…”

“Oh… “

Then, “Are you blind ?”

I knew that was coming.

After a moment of silence, she said, “Mum… I knew you didn’t ask me to put the milk in the pan ….”

Mummy blushed. Malu dah kantoi !

She put her hands on her hips and shook her head, big smile on her face. “I don’t remember you saying it.. That is why I put the milk in the bowl…”

Mummy grinned. Is she chastising me ?

“Mummy ni….”

He he.. yes she is.

Oh dear.

Then, “I look gorgeous when I wear this..” she said, tapping the sunnies.

Hmmm…. Kamil !!!!!

Ha ha.. Sorry...

Sunday Mummy mengamuk sakan dengan Adik.

As usual, when Mummy take out her mixing bowl, she would suddenly find Adik next to her. Cepat betul.

“Mummy, what are you making ?”

“Bread….”

“Can I help ? I looove helping you, Mummy…”

Who can say no to that, eventhough she would just slow me down ?

I measured the flour, and she deposited it in the bowl.

I opened up the pack of yeast, she dumped it in the bowl.

Now, the milk has to be warmed, together with butter and sugar so Mummy took out a heavy based pot and put it next to the mixing bowl. She measured the milk and Adik reached for it.

“Careful… do it slowly and jangan bagi tumpah…”

Mummy flicked her gaze to the telly but when she looked back, her daughter was dumping the milk in the bowl.

WAAAAAAAA !

Adik ran to Babah and Mummy ranted and raved. Nothing could be done now but throw the whole thing in the bin. What a waste.

Mummy sat on the sofa fuming, Adik wisely stayed away and kept quiet.

At night after bathing, as usual Adik came to Mummy armed with the hair brush. Before she combed Mummy’s hair, she did a little pedicure first, buffing Mummy’s toe nails. Although she buffed the skin more than the nails itself so Mummy’s feet were all scratchy.

Then she asked for permission to comb Mummy’s hair and when Mummy nodded, she toweled Mummy’s hair a bit before started combing.

“Why did you destroy my bread ? Why did you poured the milk in the bowl ?”

She who was kneeling behind Mummy, peeked from Mummy’s left side and said, “Be-cause I didn’t hear you said put the milk in the pan !” I looked at her face, all grave, noticing the chubby cheeks too. She looked gorgeous.

Then Mummy laughed. “Yeah.. well.. because I didn’t tell you to !”

Babah who was sitting next to us reading a magazine, looked up. “What ?”

“Yeah… I just put the pot next to her but I didn’t say anything. I was meaning to tell her to put the milk in the pot, but I didn’t…” I said sheepishly.

Babah geleng kepala.

“Haaa ! You didn’t tell me kan Mummy ? I do not remember you ask me to put it in the pan… kan Mummy ? Itulah…” She laughed, shaking her head.

“Mummy tak cakap pun kan ?” She said again.

Mummy smiled kelegaan. Nasib baik dia masih kecik. Kalau Abang yang kena tu, mesti dia cakap, “Then it was your fault ! Why did you get angry at me just now ? Mummy tipu ye ?”

He he…. Sorry….

Wee morning fight….

Dunno why Mummy and Babah were awake so early today. Mummy knew Babah was awake, but decided to savour the time on her own. She felt Babah slipped away from her, went down to watch the telly. 5 minutes to 6 am, Mummy followed suit, feeling lonely in the big empty bed.

Watched telly awhile then we went upstairs again when we heard the adzan. Woke up the kids too, and by 6.30 they were already in the kitchen having breakfast.

6.45 am Babah opened the room door to hang the towels when we heard a loud bickering going on downstairs.

Hmmm…. hudak-budak ni… Sighed Babah.

The noise got louder and louder, footsteps heard. Babah waited at the top of the stairs. Mummy was slapping cold moisturizer on her face decided to listen from where she was.

“Adik ni… She thinks that she is sooooo smart !”

“But I am smart !” Came a little voice. Little but audible…

“See, Bah ? See ? She said I am stupid…”

“No… I said I am smarter than you !”

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHH !

Mummy was glad that she was not visible to her children. They needed discipilining, not laughters.

Babah by then was in the room again, looking at them from the door frame. He widened his eyes to Mummy, asking for help. Mummy just shrugged her shoulders.

“Babah yang paling pandai dalam rumah ni, okay…!” I expected that. What lah… doesn’t he know I am the smartest in the house ? Takpelah, bagi chan…

“Nak tahu siapa yang pandai masa exam nanti… Sapa yang dapat nombor 1-5 tu yang pandai…. Sekarang toksah cakap banyak … Pegi pakai kasut !”

He he…..

I wonder now how the fight got about…

Tak boleh gaduh ke ?

So… Mummy and Babah had a small fight.

We took all the necessary precautions to ensure that the kids were oblivious to it, protected from it, but the closed door and hisses weren’t enough.

Adik knocked on the door as we were concluding the matter. “So… sapa yang start ni ?”

I pointed at Babah. “Bah… you started it ? Why are you so garang ?”

He he…

Babah said he was hungry but Mummy was all tired from the fight, declined dinner.

“I nak pegi Up Town tau….” I simply nodded, pulling the duvet up to waist, book within reaching distance.

Babah harrumphed.

Babah went down then 5 minutes after that came back up again, doing God knows what before going down again. Then there were more footsteps.

“Mummy… you are not hungry ?” I shook my head, looking at my children. Abang was wide eyed, Adik was all-knowing.

“I don’t want you to starve…” Sebek, followed by the waterworks. He leaned over to hug me with so much feeling, even Adik got sad.

“I don’t like hearing you fight…” He said. No sobbing, just tears flowing freely. Hmm... I made a mental note to get a more sound-proofed door. Or maybe I could tampal bekas teloq all over the room to muffle the sound.

“No lah… we didn’t fight. Mana ada…..”

“Yes you did ! Just now you said Babah started it first !” Yeah Adik, thank you for that.

“Mummy…. You will die if you don’t eat….”

He he… No I won’t I explained. Mummy has plenty of fats to keep her alive…..

But I got up anyway, seeing how much it meant to him. Plus I know Babah asked them to come and get me. Well hey, if he is extending the olive branch, than I am making olive oil with them… No I can’t. I can only produce oil from the fruits itself.

Anyway, got ready and we went on our way.

It had started to rain as we neared our destination so we got out with brollies. When dinner was done, the rain was getting steadily heavier.

Adik and I shared a brolly while Babah shared his with Abang. As we waited for Babah to buy his rojak (teringin after tak dapat lepas watching Men in Tutus), Adik looked up at me and asked, “Do you want to share this umbrella with Babah ?”

I shook my head, frowning at her.

“Are you still angry with him ?”

I shook my head, smiling at the sight of her cocked head and raised eyebrows.

“If you share… you won’t be angry anymore… You will like each other again….”

Hmmm…. our dinner wasn’t a frosty affair. Sure I was still a bit peeved, but I thought we did really well. Maybe my kids knew better.

“You and Abang would not be able to manage this payung yourselves, okay ? So one adult for one little people….”

She shrugged.

Then as we tackled the stairs, she suggested, “If you are falling down, you can hold Abah’s hand, okay Mummy ?”

He he……. Can Babah and Mummy live a life without fights ? No lah, my darling babies, we can’t. Fights are actually quite healthy. It is recommended by the experts.

We went to get VCDs. Then as we waited to cross the road to get to our car, Adik screamed every time a car passed by.

“Adik, please don’t be dramatic….”

She answered with “Oh Mummy.. I am a Drama Queen….”

Well… what more can I say to that ?

Nanti Adik bising

Monday morning Abang woke up complaining about his tender left foot. He had been complaining whole of Sunday really but we can’t do much but sapu Counterpain and wait for the next day.

So of course Babah said he could skip school. “When I get back we go to the clinic, kay ?”

Since I am the one who sends Abang to school, I took my own sweet time to prepare. Well, I will still be early if I leave at 8 am, so why want to start my journey at 7.15 ?

“Anak awak pergi sekolah tau….” Said Babah when he saw me dilly-dallying

“Why ?”

“He has to. Katanya nanti Adik bising….”

He he….. I snorted. Typical. Why am I not surprised.

“Bah… we really have to find his wife for him. Adik bising pun dia ikut aje, bini bising lagilah… Kena Queen Control anak kita…..”

“Aah… and we have to give duit hantaran to Adik’s husband… as compensation….”

He he… So true.

In the car, I asked Abang why he decided to go to school.

“Sebab kalau saya tak pegi nanti Adik bising. If she sees me in baju biasa when she comes home, she will definitely cry… And it will be entirely my fault… ” Alahai kesiannya.

Then Abang asked, “Mummy… Adik has a lot of issues, kan ?”

“Errr…. yeah… probably.” Fuh ! Issues.

“She does. She has a lot of issues…” he said with a deep frown. I love it when he does that. Then,

“What does issue mean ?”

He he…. “Well, in this context it means, problem or concerns….. So you are saying that Adik has a lot of problems and non-satisfaction about something to deal with…”

“Like macam she has a lot of things that can make her upset lah….. Which is sooo true… A lot of things can make her upset. That means she does have a lot of issues….” His voice trailed….

Hai… Sometimes Abang, that means being a girl.

Thank you, Abang.

But next time keras kan hati sikit... Jangan asyik dengar cakap Adik..

Dulu dan sekarang...

Last year,

“Ana nak Mummy pukul kakak ke ?” A question I post to her everytime she came crying to me because “Kakak buat shaya !” Usually when the crying went on and on and on and on.

Geleng kepala.

.

Sayang kakak kan....

.

"Nanti Mummy nasihat kakak okay....?"

.

"Okay...."

Half a year after that, “Ana nak Mummy pukul kakak ke ?”

Nodded her head this time.

“Sampai darah ?”

“Eh jangan… Tak yah Mummy, tak yah…”

Sayang kakak kan….

.

"Nanti Mummy nasihat kakak okay ?"

.

"Okay...."

Last week,

“Ana nak Mummy pukul kakak ke ?”

Head nodded in agreement again.

“Sampai darah ?”

Fully expecting the conversation would end, I resumed watching the telly.

“Sikit aje darah okay ?”

Hmmm…. tak jadi tengok tv…

Teruklah Ana ni….

This morning Cik Ta reported that yesterday Ana had wanted to eat fried chicken with her nasi goreng for breakfast. Cik Ta asked her to wash her hands first. Alih-alih, Tigger dah ambik. Last piece pulak tu.

Naughty Tigger.

Nothing could be done as chicken in the fridge pun dah habis.

Cik Ta naik atas and saw Ana like 10 minutes after that climbing up the stairs, holding a piece of fried chicken in her hand.

“Ana, where did you get that ?”

“Ana punyalah. Tigger punya dah habis dah….”

Cik Ta screwed her eyes suspiciously. She knew there were no more fried chicken anymore in the house. Nada.

“Ana… cakap betul-betul… sapa punya ni… Ini Tigger punya kan ?”

Her smile faltered, body slumped.

.
“Yelah… tapi Ana nak !”

He he… Cik Ta forced her to throw it away and washed her hands nice and clean.

Well… Mummy took one before Ana woke up. Tu lah, bangun awal sikit…

Tomorrow she will be four. He he… dah besar anak Mummy ni…

Happy birthday Ana Banana…

.

Sayang Mummy dah besar...

“What instrument you think I should play, Mummy ? After piano ?” Asked Abang one day.

“I dunno. What do you think ?”

“Errr…maybe drums ?”

“Drums has no volume control. Pick another one.”

“Yang macam gitar besar tu.. ?”

“Okay... a cello you mean or double bass if it is bigger...”

.
“Atau inilah… clarinet ke, macam Squidwork… Mummy tahu tak Squidwork kan…*story about Squidwork that I just cannot remember*… HAHAHAHAHAH ! Kelakarkah..”

“Or maybe guitar ?”

“I don’t knowlah… guitar looks a bit hard….”

“Sure but guitar is great because you can take it around with you. Nanti if you go camping, then you can play the guitar in from of the fire and entertain your friends…” Tak sah kalau aku tak mengusik kan, “…pastu all the girls would go ‘Awww…. Abang is like a rock star…’ and they will like you and think you are handsome and all….”

I waited to hear him go “Mummy !!!”. Dulu-dulu he would cry but usually dah besar-besar ni dia buat muka fed-up aje. However… when I turned to look at him, he was smiling, eyes wide with anticipation and nodded his head eagerly.

Oh, anak ku dah besar.

I only want to hear happy stories...

I love to read newspapers with my children.

They love it too, especially kalau ada gambar yang mencengkam jiwa.

Anyway, we were having breakfast at Ani Sup Utara, before going to the cinema to watch Sherlock Holmes. As we have plenty of time still, we took our time at the restaurant, opening the newspapers and taking short sips of our tea… He heh…

Anyway, the news of the day was a child died in the hands of her/his parents. So I explained to my kids about capital punishments and hanging. They don’t understand hanging so I had to explain, making it as vivid as I could. Luckily, Sherlock Holmes had 2 scenes of hanging so my children should understand it by now.

Anyway, it took quite some time for the kids to understand, plus Abang had a lot of question and his own theories but then suddenly Adik shivered and said, “Mummy, can you turn the page…? Can we talk about something NOT creepy ? Can you tell us a nice story ?”

Ha ha…. As it so happened, it was the day UPSR results came out and I showed my children the pictures of anak petani, and pengayuh lanca that was successful. I of course painted how hard it was for the fathers to find money to afford schooling and how now the successful children had managed to repay all the hardwork.

“Bayangkan lah, Babah dia naik basikal, keliling Bandar cari orang nak naik beca dia… Pagi-pagi, okaylah… Masih redup, the sun not so high up… But by tengahari when the sun is high ? Peluh-peluh Babah dia. “Encik…. Nak naik tak beca saya ?” Sapa yang nak naik beca sekarang ? No air-cond ? There are plenty of taxis with air-conds nowadays. Pusing-pusing lagi and then adalah one passenger. Tapi because beca is slow and no air-cond, he got like 1 ringgit after cycling for 1 hour (sorry, exaggeration to the max). So bila dia balik rumah, dia punya wife mintak duit nak pegi pasar, he can only give her 1 ringgit aje.

Nasi lemak kita makan ni 1 ringgit. So kalau dia ada 3 anak, campur mak and bapak sekali, ada 5 orang. So 5 orang share 1 nasik lemak ? You had 3 Abang… They had to share 1 with 5 people…..(Aku taulah things are not that dire for them but I have to make a point… Lagi sadis lagi dia paham… ha ha....)..”

I was about to make my conclusion when Adik butted in, “Mummy… I thought you are going to tell us happy stories !”

He he…..

Two days ago I read in the papers about Sharlinie, about how she should be in Standard 1 now. I got so sad when I read the article. She got a baby brother now. A brother that she didn’t even know exist.

So that night instead of reading from a story book when I tucked the kids in bed, I talked about her. I talked about what could have happened to her. Abang silently was shedding tears. Hai Abang….

As I got up to leave, Adik pesan, “Mummy, tomorrow apa ni, aaa… apa ni… don’t talk about this anymore okay ? Apa ni… can you talk about something happy ?”

He he…. Ko ni….

Nanti Abang penat

“Mummy…. Why are you using this road ?” Adik asked me just now when I picked her up from school. Because Adik finishes at 12.10 and Abang at 12, and the distance between the 2 schools is like… er… 15 minutes drive ( I cannot give you in km or m to save my life… Sorry…), I have to split the chore with my sister.

“Balik lah…”

“Mummy ! Abang ?”

“Err… I dunno. Jalan kaki kot ?”

Keh keh…

“Mummy ! Mana boleh ? Penatlah dia….”

“Takpelah… Once in awhile… apa salahnya…”

I turned to the road leading to our house. Minah ni bukan main panic.

“Mummy ! Please ambik Abang… Please….”

I answered with a lopsided smile.

Then, “Ha … I know… Mesti Abang dah kat rumah… You picked him up just now kan ?” Eyes looking at me from the side, lowered lids, head cocked a bit, face all knowing.

“No….I didn’t…”

Spine straightened.

“Mummy… just tell me the truth ! Where is Abang ?”

Ha ha….

In front of the house, she said, “I know… Abang is inside already. I know already… You like to do this…”

Aku sengih aje.

From inside the car she craned her neck trying to see the array of shoes in the porch. She then quickly jumped out and raced to the door.

“There ! That is his shoes ! Mummy ni !”

Then, “I can hear his voice ! He is inside ! He is inside !” Jumping up and down happily.

“Mummy ni suka saja macam ni tau. You picked him up just now kan ?” One hand on hip, the other one with 1 finger up, waving at me, face all smiles.

“I really didn’t Adik…. Maybe he walked …”

“Walk ? I don’t think so. He will be tired, Mummy.. I will ask him !”

“No !” Said Abang after Adik’s hug and barrage of questions.

“Cik Yin yang ambik saya….”

“Told you….” Said I. She who was walking in front of me towards the kitchen, turned to look at me and smiled.

Ha. Aku suka buat pasai….

Ana buat Mummy susah hati

I still feel guilty today about not making any effort to bake cookies for Ana last weekend. Bukan apa, teringat what my mom told me last month, after Ana left my house.

“Ni Ana cakap, dia kata ko buat cookies ?”

“Ha… kenapa ?”

“Taklah, dia cakap, ‘Tooookkkk… kat rumah Mummy kan best. Mummy buat cookies. Shedap shangat. Shaya shuka !’” My mother is a not too bad storyteller. Keh keh…

I laughed. “Mana tak suka, habih dia makan…..”

“Ye ke ? What cookies did you make ?” Mum asked.

“Chocolate chips yang biasa tu je… Tapi masa tu baru buat lah… Itu yang sedap sangat gamaknya….”

“Haaa… ko kena buat lagi… She kept mentioning shedap, shedap, nak lagi…..”

Of course I didn’t immediately because cookie making is usually reserved for weekends (except for 2 nights ago when Kamil angin-angin kan nak chocolate cake with strawberries…. Buat jugak… Pukul 11 malam dia makan….). Pastu lupa. And then one weekend I made chocolate cake instead of cookies.

SO now, I feel guilty, knowing how much she loves it. Luckily I stocked up the fridge with butter so nampaknya, one batch of cookies coming up for Ana Banana !

Anak pegi sekolah..

Monday I sent my kids to school.

Adik dah boring duduk rumah. After 2 weeks of holiday she had started asking when school starts. So Monday morning tak sempat nak gerak, she jumped of the bed.

“Is it school time already ?” She jumped happily at my yes.

Ha ha… sekejap je tu.

I was quite sad when I helped her pun on her clothes. Dah besar anak mak. Takde dah baby lagi… WAAAAAA !!

Aku tanya dia, "Awat tangkap gambaq muka macam Yoda ni ?" teruih wooo mintak cermin and belek-belek... Hmmm....

But then, well… kalau aku ada baby karang, lagi 7 tahun pun aku tensen gak lagi… So kena tambah baby baru lak…Bila nak habis ? Ha ha…

Send Abang to school first. I got a bit teary when he walked towards school. “Bye baby…. My baby…. Bye baby boy…. My little boy ! My little boy….!” Luckily he didn’t roll his eyes but smiled indulgently at me. Aww…. My sweetheart….

Adik was excited. Super excited. Sampai-sampai, there were loads of parents milling about. Sekolah baru kan, so mak bapak yang anak dah season pun masih tunggu lagi.

Anak DR was already seated on the second row. Sampai awai kan. But when she saw Adik, teruih angkut bag and pindah to the last row. Sorry aa DR…. Nanti aku bagitau cikgu suruh pindah kat depan. They need it pun. Dari mula sampai habis sekolah dok pot pet pot pet. Hai…. Macam mak depa gak.

Orang lain dok termenung ingat mak kat romah, depa dua dah buat havoc...

I had high hopes for the school, it being under JAIS and all but to know that JAIS had forgotten about the new school wasn’t very encouraging. The students had no books and no teachers. NO TEACHERS for standard 1 okay.

Also, asking the stand-in teacher and getting “Saya tak tahu…”each and everytime was very frustrating. Tanya rehat pukul berapa pun tak tahu. Hari Jumaat balik pukul berapa lagilah.

Babah being a nervous parent wasn’t happy. Things were bad even during recess. Makanan tak cukup. My friend Jubei got upset when 10 minutes before recess, seeing the dwindling amount of food left asked the makcik kantin, “Cukup ke makanan ?” was answered by ,”Tengah nak masak ni…”

Apa dia tu, Bah oi...

Ada ke. As expected my daughter didn’t get any food. Nor DR’s daughter. So when the bell rang, none of the kids went back to class. DR’s daughter got her plate of meehoon almost 30 minutes after.

Sigh.

We went to Abang’s school after Adik’s first recess to pay his school fees. Seeing my niece Esya sitting in a very calm classroom, colouring and all was quite despairing when I thought of the chaos at Adik's school.

Sigh again.

It was Abang’s recess time when we got there. I couldn’t locate him in the canteen at all, so I started shouting his name. Baru nak jerit kuat sikit, Babah covered my mouth. “Ish awak ni… Malu dia nanti…”

I turned around and my heart soared when I saw him walking towards the canteen. Pegi toilet rupanya sayang Mummy ni…..

With his friends, dok bersembang apa dia tak tau...

We left him to his friends. Babah and I sat on a chair at a walkway connecting the canteen to the school. There were a few pengawas standing near us. Imagine our shock when a sweet girl wanted to pass, they started interrogating her. She must have not given satisfactory answers as she was turned away.

What could a sweet little girl do ?

“Dik… dik…” I called to them.

Tak jawab.

“Yang.. yang…”

Tak jawab gak.

“Pengawas…”

Teruih pandang.

“Tak boleh lalu ke kat sini ?” I asked.

“Tak boleh… Cuma boleh pegi kedai buku atau tandas sahaja..”

Hmmm..... Yeah... I remember this. I was a pengawas twice. Keh keh… Saja je…

“Makcik ngan pakcik nak lalu boleh ke ?”

Terkulat-kulat budak 3 orang tu, but then tak sempat jawab, the bell rang. Cess. Would be interesting to know their answers.

Anyway, we went to Abang’s class to pay his fees.

And I had a glimpsed of how very different today’s 10 year old are when compared to when I was that age.

While Babah talked to Abang’s teacher, I saw a boy trying to unbutton the collar of a prefect classmate. When he was unsuccessful, I of course offered my help. Malu budak tu but he agreed. Must be suffocating for him. Sian.

As I struggled to help him, a classmate (well Umar’s classmate too) passed by and said, “Gatal bang…”.

Excuse me ?

Berani nya hang ? Aku ni ada depan hang ni. Tak takut langsung ke ? Tak hormat ? Aku of course kerut muka when I looked at him tapi tak sempat because he had already taken his seat. I hope Abang tak kawan dengan budak tu. I am sorry. But having no respect for your elders is something that I do not want my son to catch.

Anyway, we went home for awhile before going back to Adik's for her second recess. Haluihnya anak aku…. Seriau tengok. I wouldn’t let Babah help her, so it was excruciating to watch her calling the makcik kantin but makcik kantin tak nampak.

After watching her walk back to class for… well…playing, we rushed to pick Abang up. When we went back to the school to take her home, we weren’t allowed to as all students must perform their Dzuhur first before going home. Then why lah you tell me her class finishes at a certain time when it is not ?

All in all, I wasn’t happy but I take it as a dugaan from Allah SWT. I had wanted my daughter to go to this school, for her to be in an Islamic environment which I feel could save her from what ails the world today, so I must be patient. This is just a glich.

Babah wasn’t happy the next day either. He was thinking of taking another day off just to make sure everything is okay, the teacher in place, but then he can’t. Plus, Adik was shooing us away as we stood watching her. 2 boys were crying their eyes out for their mums and my daughter was asking for privacy. Hmm… baguslah. I of course felt very sad that these 2 boys love their mummies more than my daughter love hers.

Anyway, crazy self-depreciating thoughts aside, we must hope for the best, Babah. Allah will guide us.