Adik turned 10 on February 19th and Abang became 12 on March 5th. As usual, we do not make a fuss over birthdays. Sometimes we even forget about them altogether.
However, this year, Mama happened to remember ( actually, I always remember..) and wished or, more accurately, made a special do’a for both of you. Adik requested a home-made chocolate cake and to please bake it in a bundt tin. Abang, ever the thoughtful one, gave Mama a choice, either a cheesecake or a fruit cake, whichever is easier for Mama. ( Mama translate it to what ingredients do I have in my pantry).
It was weeks later before the cakes materialised. Better late than never kan!!
Here they are…..drool!
(Abang's fruit cake that he brought to school to share with friends)
(Adik's chocolate cake baked in bundt tin becouse she loves to see the topping running dow n the grooves...)
With 12th birthday, come the long-awaited IC. Abang was so excited by it. A few of his friends have already own one and been showing them off at school. Abang couldnt wait to have his….
Seeing how excited you were, Abah and me, took advantage of it……hehe..sorry ye Bang…we told you how you must now be more responsible and be a grown up in general…..otherwise, the JPN might deem you are not quite ready to own an IC and refuse to let you have one!!
We started with your waking up in the morning, as in responding to the alarm instead of sleeping through it nonchalantly!!! Abah stressed on the importance of going to the mosque for all 5 prayers regardless wether Abah is around or not. Mama stressed on less manja/merajuk/long face dan apa2 yg sewaktu dengannya.
So, I'm happy to report now that we dont have to wake you up in the mornings anymore!!! Soon as the alarm went-off at 5.30 am, Abang is all rise and shine!! By the time the mu’azzein calls the azan, Abang is all ready in school uniforms and goes to the mosque either walking or cycling, depending on the mood of that particular day.
Hehehe…it works!!! Err…cannot say the same about the manja part…he still need 3 good night kissing sessions before bed…..one right after ta’alem, another one coming out of toilet and teeth-brushing and last one, Mama and Abah have to go kiss him in his bedroom!! Either that or he’ll come knocking on our door…..deny him of that, a long face will greet us in the morning!
Abang now goes to the mosque for all 5 prayers, with Abah and alone if Abah is not home. Abah got him a kind of torch light that you wear on your head . So, Abang shines in the dark….literally. May Allah shines your way in the akhirah as He has promised to for those who frequents the mosque even in the dark.
Alhamdulillah….so much improvement in other areas too. Abang has taken full responsibilities on making sure all windows are shut by six pm. and taking out the garbage, both to the compost heap and to the big bin outside.
As for Adik, you are doing extremely fine with keeping your room spick and span. I am so please about this!! We got her a set of cute pink broom and dustpan ( YES,everything must be PINK) and hang it behind her bedroom door and she’s been using it every morning before going off to school. Well done Adik!!
And Adik has taken up the task of clearing up the table after every meal and has been doing it remarkably well. All these however, cannot surpass the happiness she brought us when she declared that she’s now going to be a full time hijabi……Alhamdulillah!! Now we see Adik putting on a tudung everytime she goes out of the house….
All things well and good…..but I cant help noticing something that never were there before…..and they’re bothering me!!
Abang used to be clueless about why girls kept throwing glances at him, kirim salam via Adik, sending to him small gifts every so often etc. Nowadays, he smiles sheepishly everytime one particular girl passes in front of him/us and blushes too!! Oh, how he blushes!!
Out of a heap of gifts he gets from girls on his birthday, ( it came from year 4,5 and 6 girls!!) he seems to like the one from that girl so much. Hemm…very disturbing indeed!! And, oh, dont let me start on the girls…they are so daring nowadays!! The girl from year 4 sent her gift, a story book, with the inscription, ‘untuk lelaki pujaan ku !!!
Adik pulak….keeps noticing her physical body changes and secretly wishing ( I just know!) that she’ll have her menstruation soon!!
If it is up to me, I want both of you to stay young forever….be my babies always…..
But,….I guess the time has come for me to start telling you about birds and bees…more seriously. I’ve been telling you bits of it every now and then, but now is the time to be open and all.
I am so worried about this. Working with the shelter home, make me more aware of this matter. Seeing three 13-year-old gave birth has changed me. I am now more committed than ever to do the work of da’awah. I have come to realise that what is happening to our society now is actually a bala from The Almighty. Every one of us has to do the work of amr maaruf nahi mungkar. It is the neglecting of it that has brought out this calamity that we are facing now. It really is not enough for us to just keep an eye on our own family and turn a blind eye on our neighbours, friends and society as a whole.
O Allah, give us strength to do this noble work and please, please choose all of us to be Your da’ie......
4 comments:
memang it's not easy when it's come to reality that our kids now going to be in transition from child to teenager! Scary! I feel so scary then ever.
At teh moment, alhamdulillah as they all homeschool, We manage to cut of unwanted influence. Walaupun ada anak2 neighbour dtg, main tapi the one who nice and can be trusted.
BAb cintan2 memang susah kan. My daughter now 13, and son 12 alhamdulillah at the moment, seems to understand lots about all this is non muslim behaviour. Tapi kat malaysia mesti susah kan sebab banyak sangat keliling pengaruh yg negative daro irg islam sendiri.
Make doa may Allah give us strength and help us.
Ummi, I really respect mothers yang able to homeschool kan anak2..... u r so lucky and indeed you have sacrificed so much!!
Betul apa yg u cakap, somehow it seems that it is easier to bring up our kids in non-muslim country....there are clear right/wrong things that we cud tell them....
Let us pray for each other ya.....May Allah makes our children turn out to be pious men/women.
Salam kak An, exactly why i always love ur post! its always nice to hear abt abang n adik =)
totally agree that teens nowadays are worrying! im dealing it with my sister and la hawla wala its really not easy. she's abang's age and ive been watching her growing by day, sometimes more closely than my parents. sometimes i ended up frustrated but i know partly its my fault.. too strict, too angry, too disappointed. not connecting thru the right approach etc. and yes bila amr bil maruf ditinggalkan thats when things happen..May Allah give me tawfiq. Sometimes i feel like one person struggling on my 2 feet trying to pull something against one really strong magnet (as big as the world).. mashaAllah. thats why kak an sejuk hati bila baca psl abang n adik. u need to share more parenting advice i guess =)
May Allah safeguard us, make every children the coolness of their parents eyes, the delight of their Rasul saw and their Rabb swt..and make every men and women pious leaders..indeed O Allah You are the Supreme Guardian..
Thanks for the kind words Jannah...
Ameen to your do'a...
And please, please be your sister's best friend...I know, high expectation make us too strict, always angry etc etc...but that will just drive them away from us and seek solace elsewhere with disastrous effect, Na'uzubillah...
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