Friday 24 August 2007

A reason to celebrate

He was too casual about it. Too casual and too calm for my tattered nerves. He pulled the hood over his head, gave me a peck on the cheek and promised to be back within an hour. The tight knot deep in my stomach grew tighter by the minute and when the promised hour came and went and still no sight of him, I decided to do some retail therapy. I went to the mall to do some shopping.

Mak would have handled it differently. She’d sit patiently on the old trusty iron swing, handbag on her lap. Only the intensity of the swings hinted on what she must be feeling inside, waiting for my return.

The mall wasn’t quite the place to be in. Not on a day like this. Everywhere I looked, there were teenagers screaming and laughing and clutching THAT white envelope that holds their future. They had just received their results and were celebrating in the mall, planning the next course of action. My calls to the house went unanswered. There was no point calling him as he said he wouldn’t bring his phone to the school. By then, my shopping trolley was almost full with things I didn’t need; condensed milk, ready cut pineapple, loads of detergents and chocolate biscuits for comfort eating. And still no news from him.

I had just finished a big baked potato with melted cheese and butter when the call came. His voice told it all. He made it and he made it with flying colours! And there and then at the shopping mall, I wanted to shout out to the world that my sayang mama had made this mama very happy and weepy and the tight knot in the stomach had miraculously disappeared. I wanted to tell the old lady pushing her shopping bag that my son had done me proud, I wanted to hug the old tramp feeding the pigeons with stale bread, I wanted to share the joy with the group of giggly girls celebrating at the next table. I wanted to phone up his father to share the good news but couldn’t locate him. I left a message at his workplace and sms’ed the good news to my siblings across the oceans. And I wanted to rush home and give him the biggest hug ever.

Alhamdulillah.

My concern, which has been proven unfounded, was that he had had too busy a year. During such an important year when he should be concentrating on his studies he was appointed imam of his small congregation at school; preparing the khutbah during Friday prayers, solving disputes amongst the congregation, he was then made deputy head boy and went off on a youth exchange programme. He embarked on silat so seriously that it started to worry me. He was attending silat classes twice a week right up to the time of his exams until the silat teacher told him not to return until his exams was over.

Last night, he was back at his silat class, but not before attending our weekly prayer session where we joined other happy parents for a special doa selamat and doa kesyukuran.

Alhamdulillah.

70 comments:

AuntieYan said...

Kak Teh...Tahniah! tahniah!!!...macam tu lah kita ni...tiada yang lebih menggembirakan hati selain dari kejayaan anak-anak!!

Kak Teh said...

auntie yan, terima kasih. Leganya rasa hati. Anak ambik periksa mak sakit perut.

Typhoon Sue said...

congratulations to taufiq and yourself. you must be one very proud mama. syabas!

ZABS said...

Salam Kak Teh,
Saya ada seorang anak yang terlalu aktif especially in sports. Tiap kali nak exam kita mak bapak yang risau lebih2, dia releks je dan lulus every time. Alhamdulillah. Now studying in NZ., still active with his extra curricular activities.

Anonymous said...

And to think Akif is just starting school!

meandbaby said...

Alhamdullillah and congratulations to Taufiq and Kak Teh!dari baby sampai dah besar,sikit milestone pun,us mothers will beaming with pride,apatah lagi kejayaan macam ni. salam from all of us.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh,tahniah!Tahniah!Terharu baca,saya faham sangat2 perasaan Kak Teh tu!Tahun ini giliran anak saya dan giliran saya untuk bergelumang dgn berbagai perasaan,anak saya cool je,kita je yg lebih!!Sekarang dah start sakit perut dah!!

Kak Teh said...

typhoon sue, thank you - yes am grinning from ear to ear. I have heard him said to my siblings - mama is more excited that I am. and can you blame me? haha!

zabs, yes, there are others who lock themselves up in their rooms months before. His reason for increasing his silat activities was that, he could work out the tension away. Betuk jugak dak?

ailin, soon you'll have those knots in the tummy too. But akif is such a smart boy!!!

Kak Teh said...

meandbaby, thank you and wa'alaikum salam. tunggu dua tahun lagi, another hurdle.

nora, kak teh selalu teringat kata-kata mak kak teh, kalaulah mak boleh pi duduk buat periksa, mak dah buat. she used to wait up buat kopi, sandwich semasa kak teh revise. Dan senak perut ni entah macam mana..tu lah, sekarang kita sendiri rasai.

ManaL said...

And despite u being busy and doing outstations, u have such a close bond with him and ur prayers are always with him.

Congrats to taufiq on successfully passing his GCSEs. And congrats to u for being one loving and cool mum! Mustve run in the family this habit.

nyonyapenang said...

Hi Kak Teh,
CONGRATS! To your son and also to all in your family.

I can almost feel that familiar feeling that you described so well....the tummy all knotted up and the heart palpitations...just waiting and waiting and waiting for THAT call. And the relief and the joy and the happiness....oh, congrats, once again.

And here's wishing your sayang mama all the very best in his future endeavours.

You have a nice day. :)

Kak Teh said...

manal, oh the feeling of guilt when I had to leave him during crucial periods. But Alhamdulillah, cant thank Allah enough.

Nyonya, yes, i've read about the knots on your stomach as well. Do you think we caused our mothers to worry when we were young? Hmmm, my selective memory tells me no. haha!

jaflam said...

Congrats to Taufiq on the success and of course to you and Wan the great parents.

I will be having my butterfly now since my daughter and son will be sitting for their SPM & UPSR soon.

At this stage their achievements will reflects how successful we really are.

Don't worry KT all i can remember of you, Wan and the kids .... are great food and memorable hospitality.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations again to Taufiq. Well done.

Wow, he went to get the results himself? :)

I remember Megs and I went to get my son's because he was playing cricket for the club.

Megs got her GCSE results over the phone because she was in Malaysia but from then on, the kids always had us tagging along to get the results. :)

Kak Elle said...

tahniah untuk kedua ibu dan anak:)
tension kejap eh KT?

wonda said...

Kak Teh,
Tahniah! Congratulations! Omedetou! Kong Xi! Kiong Hi! (sorry, I don't know the Tamil word for congrats.) A brilliant Taufiq! His results sure loosened the knot in your stomach. Would he be attending college next? What's his ambition?

Anonymous said...

Taufiq, Liz & Mr.Gere...BIG CONGRATULATIONS....ketaq...jangan tak ketaq...makan..jangan tak makan...:) Mana Nona daaaa...she has my number. Laili said she was planning to bring her back to Penang but I have not met up with Laili yet so I assumed not.....

Kak Teh said...

jaflam, from what i read in your blog, you need not worry about your children. All the best to parents and children. And I am glad we meet up again in cyberspace.

Judy, he wouldnt allow us to tag along - not coool lah! and he said, he will not open the envelope at school but would bring it back within the hour - But he only called me three hours later. Thus all the knots in my tummy!

Kak Teh said...

kak elle, tak sekejap laah. Rasa sungguh lama. Tapi Alhamdulillah. Syukur!

wonda, he'll be in college yes, and the talk is about taking law. He has always been interested in politics etc..but we will see. He will do what he is interested in. Thanks for the wishes in several langauges! hehe!

Kak Teh said...

ms lambchop, she is there already!!! OK will ask her to call - she is busy finishing her assignment. Typicallah, kan? bawa balik assignment sebab tak habis lagi! I will certainly ask her to call you. I think she needs to meet up with Tuyaa and co.

Daphne Ling said...

Hi Aunty Teh,
A big congrats! to Taufiq...Sure lar, mothers and fathers are the proudest when their kids do well! I know how I feel when taking results...Macam jelly!
For big ones like SPM, I send my dad! And shiver at home with mummy, also shivering...Hehe...
So wow! Taufiq went cool as ice *Jealousnya*
Whatever it is, a big Congratulations! 8000 miles across the sea...

Faze said...

Hi Kak Teh!
Tell Taufik a fellow Gooner says Congratulations!

Kudos to you too Kak Teh for being a great mum.

Mior Azhar said...

Kak Teh,
One of those moments where us parents will get sakit jantung, eh? Anyway, tahniah to Taufik.

On another note, I really cannot picture you as a Liz, maaf ya! he he he

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh
I can imagine you are still glowing with “motherhood bliss”. Am so so happy for you and Taufiq. Do you know that when KI found out that he passed the Part 1 of ICAEW, at his first attempt, he screamed the place down. As far as I can remember, he didn’t open the envelope until he reached Queen’s Park, London, where I used to live in 1985/6.
aMiR

Arena said...

Kak Teh, Congratulations to Taufiq. You must be sooo proud of him. Alhamdulillah.

J.T. said...

Congratulations to Taufiq and to the proudest mama on earth.. Kak Teh. :)
Truly, a reason to celebrate.

Kak Teh said...

daphne dear, thanks. His 'coolness' is very much like his dad's and it can be so annoying because I am so impatient. Dad was actually not as worried as I was. Hmmmph!

Thanks Faze,but pssstm he is not a Gooner!!! Its the other one! Thanks anyway.

Mior, Liz itu gelaran yang diberi oleh Ms Lamchops aka Samantha..so, who am I to disagree kan? hehe!

Kak Teh said...

aMiR, oooh, guess what? I was with KI this afternoon and we had such a lovely time. We were both judges at a karaoke competition - he Simon Cowell and I was Paula Abdul! Hehe! we had such a wonderful time. Of course the judge had to sing a joget song while we had joget lambak...all in the name of merdeka celebration!

arena, yes, I cant say enough how proud I am of him. But being a Malaysian mother, i still said...you could have done better!

JT, we still dont have time to celebrate. I will be travelling again...aaaah! But we will, we will! Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh
Does the Malaysian community in London still celebrate Merdeka at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) Brickendonbury? We were there in 2001. What a carnival it was. Sumptuous food, lovely cultural show, huge lawn, and a beautiful countryside setting. I was really really Merdeka at that time. There was a spring in my footsteps. Earlier, my PhD supervisor called me from one of the holiday islands (in the Carribean?) to inform: “I’ve read your thesis from start to finish. Although I have one or two reservations, I think you can submit it as is”.

It must be fun to be one of the “Merdeka Idol Karoake Competion” judges, and got the opportunity to say unforgiving thing such as “The way you sing, you make Noor Kumalasari sounds like Siti Nurhaliza. Really”, and got away with it. Recently I was the chief judge at a Merdeka Essay Writing Competition, and the winners received their prizes from none other than The Diva Siti Nurhaliza. Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan.
aMiR

Rockybru said...

wow. congrats Ah. silat gayong ke?

Kak Teh said...

aMiR, yes, we have a big Malaysian Carnival in Brickondenbury on 1st September this year. It's going to be fun. It must have been a very memorable occasion for you then. KI did ask about you yesterday, wondering where you are.
Aaaah, about the malaysia hall idol judges? we were not that nasty..for fear of being pelted with left over karipaps! But it was fun.
Essay writing competition eh? I cant say I would enjoy it having to mark 400 + essays for an exam board every year. So, did the chief judge sake the hands of the Dato Diva?

Rocky, its some sort of silat but i dont thinkit is gayung.

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Kak Teh
I know of friends who took leave when their children were sitting for important exams.
Congratulations to Taufiq. You've made your papa and mama proud!

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh
It is Brickendon..., not Brickonden...
Anyone sang lagu korencong (hehe) at the Malaysia Hall Idol?
aMiR

Kak Teh said...

fauziah, ,i know - alas, I have been away so many times this year! Er, see you Nov/december? How I crave for Prawn Noodles at Little Penang.

aMiR, I knowwwww! selalu tersasul bab tu. Tu pun tengok dua tiga kali sebelum published. Thanks.

Kak Teh said...

oh sorry - no keroncong, but trust KI to do his asli number.

Theta said...

Kak Teh,
Congratulations dear Taufik and his family!

He must've done the both of you proud.

I could almost visualise the scenes in the mall where you nearly hugged the tramp and a gaggle of schoolgirls! :)

p.s. Can you please change my Sentraal's status from Holland to Malaysia? Thanks a heap.

melayudilondon said...

Hidup Batman!
meh saya upah nasi ayam satu.

Class Monitor said...

hmmm...

Salam Kak Teh,

Jane Sunshine said...

Many, many congrats to dear Taufiq. He's done his family real proud!!!

KT, see you when you are back.

LifeBloom said...

KT - I pun ikut sakit perut baca part mula2x tu....Alhamdullilah and tahniah to mum and son...Exams & results time are a bane for parents everywhere.

I rememembered what a ritual I had to get my Bar exam results....I guess all of us have a way to calm the nerves.

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

kakteh,

my salam & congrats to taufiq.

Anonymous said...

tahniah Taufiq. may you have the brightest future.

-atenah

Pi Bani said...

Congrats to Taufiq!

I tengok the title of this posting "A reason to celebrate"... does it mean a reason to makan, makan and makan some more???!!

Kak Teh said...

theta, you must be thrilled to be back! A pity we couldnt meet up. BUT there's a chance - and will let you know soon . Perhaps Nov or Dec, okay?

Melayu London, he'd love to have yr nasi ayam! He had been singing praises of yr nasi ayam since that day. Mak dia buat tak menjadi sangat.

class monitor, salam, hmmm, kak teh pun tak tau apa nak kata.

Kak Teh said...

Jane, see you and will let you know when there's a decent enough window. Am leaving today. But meet and eat we must.

lifebloom, yes, it happens all the time, with each child. and i have yet to find a way to calm my nerves.

dr bubbles..terima kasih. mana menghilang, bung? Nona ada di malaysia.

Kak Teh said...

tenah, thank you. Hope u are well.

Pi Bani, Thanks...ish ish ish, apa lagi kalau tak guna semua ini sebagai sebab untuk makan? heheh but we have been so busy - the celebration will only be held when we all sit down for berbuka puasa nanti - Insyaallah.

Unknown said...

KakTeh...Tahniah and alhamdulillah...kejayaan anak KakTeh menjadi sumber kegembiraan ibu bapa kan?

Saya tumpang gembira kak!

Kak Teh said...

raden, terima kasih dan ya, Alhamdulillah. Dah banyak berdoa, berleter, bersenak peur - lega rasanya. Until the next time, the next child....tak habis-habis.

Blabarella said...

Syukur Alhamdulillah! You and AG must be such proud parents!! Taufiq wants to do law? Aiyo, sure or not?

And imagine that, he's imam of his congregation at school. Reading that really moved me. :)

Tunku Halim said...

Congratulations to you, Taufiq and the family!

UglyButAdorable said...

mabruk kak teh!!!

i'm assuming his name is taufik.. congratulation taufik for the flying colors result and making yur mama a happy woman...:)

Ordinary Superhero said...

AlhamdulilLah, tahniah, congrats to your sayang mama and to the proud mum.

The good thing about blogging is you could share the great news to the whole world.

JBingkasan said...

Kak Teh...Congratulations from Borneo. Taufig must be a big boy now.

Nothing pleased parents than seeing their children's success in their studies.

Such was my wife and I felt when each of out four children received their respective scrolls.

wmw said...

Congrats...your son's success is also your success. :o)

Anonymous said...

congratulations to taufik.

Unknown said...

Hi Kak Teh,

I thought I left a note th eother time..hmm..electronics!!

Anyway, congratulations to Taufiq. Well done. Well done to the parnets too.

Happy Merdeka.

NorAiniJ said...

I started getting addicted and leaving trails at this blog when Taufiq was back in M'sia-Rembau for the youth exchange programme last year. And it seems like I have grown to know Taufiq personally thru your eyes/blog. I am so proud of him Kak Teh.

You and Bro AG have done a good job!

Anonymous said...

Dear aunty Z,

Congrats to Taufiq! That's all a mother can wish for, right, apart from good health and reasonably "good" behaviour . :-)

My eldest is about to take his UPSR (Year 6 exam). I'm the one who is a nervous wreck and he's so relaxed. Typical I guess...

Oh yes, Amran has just transferred Babah's website into a new blog. Do visit ....

Hi&Lo said...

Aunty Choc,

Heartiest congrats to Taufiq.

You were so dramatic in describing your tension, I gasped for every word and could hear my heartbeat. Then as the story unfolded Taufiq passed with flying colours, tears of joy wanted to come out.

Aunty Choc, your joy is also my joy.

Mulan said...

congrats taufiq, congrats..!!! u did it..!! congrats to mama taufiq too..!! let's celebrate..

Justiffa said...

KT - congrats to the son... and the son's momma as well. you must be soooo relieved happy sedih lega all rolled in one :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Taufik! I have fond memories of watching your brood grow up through the Nahar Cafe (downstairs) and Malaysia Hall years (when they were more grown up and less manageable). Wassalam to Kak and Abang Wan.

azam

D.N.A.S said...

congratulations Kak Teh. I can feel you. Kalau anak I periksa kat TADIKA pun I dah berdebar2 tunggu result dia, apa lagi kalau anak dah high school.

Mama Rock said...

kak teh, i have been in hyberanting mode lately. work up to my neck :) anyway, pat on the back for taufik.

Kak Teh said...

blabs- yes, he wants to do law - so what to do???

tunku, thanks.

uBa- am one happy mama! and sungguh bersyukur!

osh, oh yes, we can share anything with the world now. Thanks.

Kak Teh said...

jbingkasan - yr children already receiving scrolls? wow - u got cucu already or not?

wmw, thanks - but next year another heart stopping moment.

anon - thanks for the wishes.

ruby, sorry lama tak ber intouch,...been busy and i think u are too.

Kak Teh said...

nj, such kind works. Yes, i think i must written quite a few things abt my sayang mama. My other sayang mama is now in Malaysia...sigh!

ainun, please tell me the url of your babah's site! I know annura's but not amran's. Nona is in KL - pls call cik su and ask her whereabouts.

hi&lo, mamas ara always dramatic..hehe!

Kak Teh said...

mulan, thank you.

rk - its all emotions rolled in one!

azam, thanks for dropping by. yes, they have all grown up now and susah pulak nak ajak pergi makan sekali. unlike before.

dnas, hahaha - tu baru tadika - nanti tunggu periksa, interviews. sakit perut mak tak habis-habis!

mama rock, i am hybernating too in a way. lama-lama sekali baru update blog!

Anonymous said...

Aunty Z,

The URL is http://almanar-nuri.blogspot.com/ . Or you can click on my name.

Kak Teh said...

ainun, i got a lump in my throat reading it. Such wonderful work. Nanti nak baca lagi.