Saturday, February 27, 2010

ADIK IS ELEVEN

Adik turned eleven  few days ago...and as an advance birthday gift, we brought her along in our routine 3-days every three months trip of rejuvenating our faith, so to speak. Adik thoroughly  enjoyed it despite the negative preconception. Before the trip,always the one with sharp mind (and a tongue to match) she  pre-empted by making  Abah promised not to put her under any obligation to take up any duty.....

However, Alhamdulillah, she did manage to follow every program  on time . Did most of nafil prayers, daily zikrs and MasyaAllah, lots of khidmat...The only thing she missed out was tahajjud. She said she was  aroused from sleep when the makciks woke up one by one but didnt  have the strength to actually wake herself up and do it...But, in her own words, "nampak best sangat..., Adik teringin sangat nak bangun  tapi tak larat".

InsyaAllah Adik, in time, you will have the strength....

By the way, Adik has actually joined the school program that consist of sleeping at school and wake up for night-prayers but it was done in congregation with lights on. She said it was a whole different thing seeing the makciks tip-toed silently to the toilet under minimal lighting, made ablutions and prayed and made looong do'as  and crying while at that. Wow Adik! You must have stayed awake for quite sometimes to abserve all that!! Might as well bangun and sembahyang 2 rakaat....rugi lah Adik!

Anyway, Adik is now counting the day for the next trip.....

As for me, I hope to be able to always bring you with us but its all depends on the mesyuarah. So, Adik, ask from HIM, The  Most Benevolent Provider.

Post 3 days trip, Adik needs not much cajoling anymore to accompany Mama to weekly ta'alem program. It used to be quite a chore for Mama to plead with her every Friday morning and it always ended with some ice-cream on the way home. Very damaging indeed to Mama's ever-expanding waistline!! Last Friday, no pit-stop at Pasar Segar Kubang Kerian....Alhamdulillah, selamat duit dan pinggang Mama. She was in a hurry to get home to do 'tashkil' to Abah after listening to an enlightening and moving bayaan. Haha, kesian Abah...from now on, you'll have to contend with another feminine voice nagging you to go out there doing the work of  our beloved Prophet . 

Adik now is very consistent with the few amals that she picked up during the trip. One that I am really proud of albeit a bit envious of, is her determination to always make ablution before going to bed every night. And just before bedtimes, our nightly taalem sessions are more alive now that the girl who always complain of sleepiness is nowhere to be seen! In her place is a girl who keeps asking to do the reading as she said she could read the Arabic parts of the hadeeth better than Mama and Abah!!

I hope and pray, it will last forever and getting better and better.....May Allah choose you again and again...and if He does, please dont expect me to always be there to scratch your back, head, shoulder and everywhere because you couldnt feel with your gloves on...Yes, Adik chose to don the full hijab while on the journey, complete with khimar and gloves...and Mama has to be on her beck and call in case she feel itchy...Thank God it was just a  short journey! It got juuust slightly better on the journey back....

As a reward for the excellent conduct, Abah bought Adik a gold wristlet for her birthday......Happy eleventh birthday Adik...May Allah increases your ilm, beautify your akhlaq and showers you with the nur of  hidayaat. Always. 

 
 Adik at Aunty Niza's cute lil bookshop, following Mama's footstep, Adik is crazy over books and Abayaats. ( Kak Bashirah, thanks for the cute pink handbag, Adik is absolutely in love with it!)
 


And these are birthday presents from Mama, bought at discounted prices on occasion of Maribaca's Official Opening.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

MEEOOOW....

(Please excuse the title...I'm not very good at giving post title, given that this is only my second attempt at  blog-posting. Unlike 'someone' who usually put fancy title only to write about how she misses her son!!)

Annnywayy....
Here I am again, taking  over from Mama for this month lest she will bore you to death with her same old - same old stories of you know what la kan...

Hemm, what should I write about now...

Let me begin by sharing with you my ever-increasing duties in this household.

I still guard the house.
Here I am at the vantage point where I could keep an eye on everything that moves. (and yes, the car is YELLOW...with the word 'Dragon Sound' on it...sungguh tak seswai dipandu oleh a niqaabi, dont you think?)


And yes... apart from that important duty, I still have to entertain the naughty girl... mostly by playing hide and seek with her. Ah, she's easy to please...
                                My favourite hiding spot....where is she now?

Right after 'Asar prayer, off we go and jump on  to her new-found sanctuary.....

Yes, you see it right. Its a rambutan tree....These days, weather permitted, she can be found here, reading,  almost every afternoon. And I keep her company, always. To tell you the truth, it was ME who discovered this spot. She saw me crouching there,enjoying the afternoon breeze while listening to those birds chirping and those naughty squirrels jumping mindlessly , eating all Abah's bananas, snakefruits, papayas and everything edibles. I have quit chasing them after being severely reprimanded by Mama long ago. She taught me to love all things  breathing and non-breathing ...though I still cannot comprehend why she screams her lungs out whenever those cute smallish green snakes slither by every now and then. Well, this place is like a zoo sometimes, all kind of creatures can be seen here.....While at this, I must say that I am so aghast at peoples' reaction whenever they see me approaching the  fish bowl to have a drink.
yesss, this is my favourite drink. Fish flavoured water. I dont eat fish though!!

 They thought I'm gonna eat those tiny colourful fish. No way!! I'm much too civillised to do that okay!! Plus, I dont eat anything but my premium kibbles. Call me a food-snob, go on, but I stand my ground!

But I digress..... 
Back to Adik's adventure.

I have always known that you, Abang and Adik harbour a dream to have a tree-house. I remember how the two of you even tried to build one by yourselves after your request was turn down by Abah and Mama. They have their own valid reasons for turning it down though.

So, one day, Adik was doing her daily chores of putting the organic waste into Mama's compost heap  when I sort of meoowing at her from my perch. She came, she saw and she conquered!! Not one to argue over trivial  matters, I just let her.....Well, she still needs me up there as a company , so, no big deal. 
Since that day,she'll be here until the sound of  Qur'an reciting came from the nearby mosque indicating Maghrib is soon approaching. Nothing to worry here as the rambutan tree is actually in the backyard garden with chain-link on the perimeter.


At the moment she's reading Alice In Wonderland and I am being subjected to some kind of harrasment. She insists that I should grin like that stupid Chesire Cat!! She has  tried pulling my lips out and upward, cracked silly jokes, danced an  awful dance and  even threatened me in her attemp to make me flash a grin!! I feel like screaming, ADIK, STOP IT!! Yes, I could wink at you every now and then, but that's it ,okay,...I dont do GRINNING! Werent you and Abang believe that I am an 'aristocat' not too long ago? I am therefore, a lady-cat who must maintain her posture, stature and that nonchalant, indifferent look all the times. A grin will just wipe it away! NO CAN DO! Stop harassing me already!

In the morning, when she's in school, I take my much-needed rest...I used to sleep for hours and hours.
BUT, not anymore.
Recently I found Mama did something quite detrimental to the household finance. I observed her for a few days and concluded that I need to do something before it gets worse. Ah, what to do, duty beckons.
So, nowadays, whenever I see her sitting in-front of the desktop or her netbook for more than half an hour, I"ll just leisurely shashay  my catwalk over the keyboards. With my ample size, I just cover the monitor nicely and with my weight, everything she's been tapping away just vanish into the thin air. Abah is very thankful to me and applauds me for rendering a grrreat service to the household.

(I can only have my beauty sleep uninterrupted on mondays and wednesdays when Mama is not home,doing her so-called charity works.)

Yes, you guess it right.
Mama is on the slow but sure path of addiction to the on-line shopping!! I have seen packages arriving from all over the world for the last few months....THIS REALLY HAS TO STOP MAMA!! And she has a partner-in-crime. A cousin who shares the passion. They call each other almost everyday, comparing things, prices, web-addresses, whatever...This cousin, I happen to like her because she provides good advice to Mama regarding my well-being, otherwise I should ban her from visiting. I heard that her next visit will be on the coming CNY break, is it right?

I have to stop now...some noise is coming from the ceiling, gotta go inspecting.
And oh...Abang, if you read this piece a few years from now, please be informed that I DO miss you...I visit your bedroom everyday, sleep on your bed, on  your swivel chair and on your study-table where I can still sniff your smell....I know you miss me too. Dont worry, the coming weekend, Abah, Mama and Adik will go visit you and I'll make sure they wont forget to bring the camera to show you all my cute poses.

I end here with a picture of me wearing the bling-bling Adik bought for me in Seoul....very befitting me, if I can say so myself....


Signing-off,
Dr.M.Grey