Saturday 22 August 2009

While waiting.....

It is less then two hours to go and I have already done the chicken curry the way the sayang mamas like it and I have prepared the mackerels and the sambal, but it is too early to fry them. The house is so quiet, which is quite unusual as it is a Saturday.

Earlier, sayang mama number three phoned from work and he sounded very happy. Apparently, his workplace (a big departmental store) has provided a prayer room for Muslim staff, which is quite a development, I think. Before this he used to pray in the store room.

It is quite encouraging to know that these days, in spite of what we hear about the growing intolerance in some quarters, there are still people who are willing to make a difference.

It seems not too long ago that I was having a conversation with Taufiq, then only 7 and sitting on the worktop while I prepared food for Iftar. There were trying times for him especially when he could smell the food and the half an hour to go seemed like hours. He’d cry and burst out in anger at his siblings making fun of him. It was there in the kitchen that I told him what fasting is all about. It is not just about not eating but also about taming the temper. Surprisingly, at that tender age, he understood.

It became easier after that. He’d come home and regale us stories about what went on among those who fast in school. The headteacher had kindly provided a room for them to pray and there was almost always confusion during prayer times as everyone wanted to lead the prayer. There were arguments too about the number of rakaats. The headteacher then decided to take matters into his own hands and invited a parent a day to lead them, which I think was a very good move.

During his secondary years, Taufiq would stop at the local mosque to pray before coming home. His non Muslim friends would wait outside the mosque while he prayed and just before Ramadhan, three of them converted. And when the school decided that Muslim students could not longer go for Friday prayers because some inevitably go awol, Taufiq pleaded with the teacher to provide a room for prayers. We saw how Taufiq grew up and mature before our eyes. Come Friday, he’d prepare the khutbah for his small congregation. My sayang mama has really grown up.

While I am waiting to fry the mackerels, another thing about other sayang mamas comes to mind.

Since coming back from Malaysia, we have been trying to put on a brave face, when in actual fact, we are hurting inside. When we left for Malaysia, our two other sayang mamas, Tabby and Kissinger, merajuk and left home. We kept receiving sms’es that they were not back. I had sleepless nights wondering what had happened to them. I remember saying goodbye to Tabby; he was sitting upright on the bed and I cried, prompting the children to say that I was sadder leaving the cats then leaving them.

Tabby looked confused and he didn’t even follow us to the car. To this day, it would be about a month since we last saw him. My husband had gone out searching, calling out for him, but to no avail. I have included him in my prayers; to please keep him save and send him back to us. Some years ago when AG was back in Malaysia during Ramadhan, it was Tabby who woke up up, for sahur pulling at our duvet.


Yesterday, as we were preparing for maghrib, I saw Kissinger! He was lurking outside, unsure whether he would come in through the flap. When I shouted out his name, he knew we are back and dashed through the catflap. After we did our prayers, he just jumped on to our laps and started kissing us.

If only Kissinger could talk and tell us where Tabby is, and whether Tabby is alright. If only Kissinger would go and tell him that we are back and missing him. Please come back Tabby, everything is forgiven!

52 comments:

Naz in Norway said...

Awwww Kak Teh...I hope Tabby'll come home soon.
I'll pray for that too.
Selamat Berbuka. We are also waiting here :)

Jordan said...

I'll never forget the feelings of helplessness and despair I felt when my Smokey ran off for a whole month a few years back. To this day I wish I could have put some sort of critter cam on him, just to see where he'd been!

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Alhamdulillah Kissinger is back. It's heartbreaking not knowing the fate of Tabby; I share your pain. He'll come home soon, Insyaallah..

Kak Elle said...

KT tabby will find his way home soon I hope b4 raya and hope he is safe and sound.

I can smell that curry here mesti sedap.

anak si-hamid said...

Dear Zaharah and Hulaimi,
We know exactly how you two feel. About 2 weeks ago our sweet little black cat Hitam, disappeared. We hoped against hope she'll come home but we've given up. It's very, very painful, not knowing.
So we now have only 3 moggie friends left, from 6.
I hope your Tabby comes home soon.

Jard The Great said...

gumuknya Tabby tu?? ehehe. chumel!

Pi Bani said...

Hey, who knows... Kissinger may just find Tabby and tell him to come home. In time for Raya maybe?

KG said...

salam kak teh,
I respect cara you didik anak-anak di sana, i ni @ muslim ctry pun terkial-kial, selamat berpuasa kak teh!

Kak Teh said...

Naz, thanks. We have just come back from Terawikh. Quite late this time because Isya is at 10.15. Tapi bila nampak lontong untuk morey, mata terus terbuka!

Jordan, The last time one of our cats ran away, it was the late Jasper. It was only for three days but my daughter cried until her eyes were swollen. Then just before he died, he ran away to die but my husband found him. So, he died at home. I hope Tabby is being cared for by someone nice.

Kak Teh said...

Puteri, thanks. I have several of his pictures and cant look at them without crying. I know it sounds slly, but i know you;d understand.

Kak Elle, kari tu sedaaaap. Kalau i sendiri tak kata sapa lagi nak kata, kan?

Kak Teh said...

Ms Hamid, I am told that cats do this all the time especially when there are other people feeding them. If I know he s being looked after, I wouldnt feel so bad. It is not knowing that is getting to me.

I hope your Hitam comes home too.

Jard, yes, Tabby is fat - almost like a tiger - sometimes.

Kak Teh said...

Pi Bani, lets hope so, and then kita boleh bermaaf-maafan, kan?

Yani, I am sure you are doing well. Kita buat apa yang boleh. Yang satu ni ada initiative sendiri, jadi senang. Dia yang pimpin kita. Alhamdulillah. Selamat berpuasa!

Memorable trails... said...

Sejuk perut ibu yang mengandung k teh,melihatkan Taufiq begitu menghayati islam sehingga dpt menarik kekawannya walaupun hidup di bumi yang asing.You should be proud of him and hopefully his iman will increase each day.
Daughter Ifah experienced a loss too this few days.Her rabbit gone one morning when she woke up.Tengah bersedih tu..

Unknown said...

Aunty Z,

It's ok we didn't meet early this month. Know you're busy.

Alhamdulillah sayang mama no.4 boleh memimpin. Sejuk hati mama dia. Sometimes you never know, there are good deeds that Uncle H and yourself did, tapi dibalas pada anak-anak. That's what my Babah sometimes says. :-)

Ainun

Unknown said...

Kak Teh,

Selamat berpuasa, terlewat satu-dua hari ucapan diberi, ingatan ke Kak Teh masih telekat di hati.

Kalau jumpa T. Noriati, katakan padanya saya kehilangan e mail address dan phone numbernya juga, nak cuba contact tak berhasil.

Khabar duka, mak saudara saya Su, yang anaknya student Kak Teh, juga menghidapi kanser, paru-paru, sekarang menjalani rawatan dan agak sudah keluar dari keadaan darurat.

NanaDJ said...

Kak Teh,
Mesti kari you sedap being orang Kedah.Sampai sekarang I masih ada complex when cooking Kedah dishes, even my chekodok are not perfectly round like those made by orang Kedah, goreng pisang pun passable aja.
Kesian you, I can imgine how you feel missing Tabby. I hope he will return like Kissinger.Susahlah, bila sayang tinggal-tinggalkan tapi sekarang agaknya Tabby terus merajuk...agaknya sambil menyanyi lagu Jangan Ditanya Kemana Aku Pergi (one of my favourite keroncong song). By the way AG in Sunday Times today.
Salam to you both.

mekyam said...

oh gosh, this breaks my heart.

thank god kissinger is back. kt, i add my prayers for tabby to be safe and to come home soon...

DrSam said...

Salam Kak Teh. In this holy month, we hope HE will answer our prayer and bring back Tabby safely home.

ray said...

Komen Pak Malim kucing ray yg alim.

Saya nangis baca kisah Tabby. Saya harap, nanti Kissinger akan beritahu Tabby, agar cepat pulang, kata Pak Malim sambil memakai gelang.

Kak Ezza@makcik Blogger said...

Taby akan pulang kak. bila rajuk dia hilang...agak nya laa..tapi kalau dia dah dapat pakwe baru...susah lah sikit..sebab saya tengok si Puteh saya ni selalu bawak girlfriend dia balik rumah ni...beranak pinak kat rumah...leceh betul!!!

Yati-M said...

selamat berpuasa kakteh.. used to frequent ur blog but bz lately.. ehe..

hope u can read a plead from cancer patient.. and get this reach to the correct ppl..

here;
http://www.iamaprincipal.com/2009/08/friend-named-eairrin-hasshim.html

Anonymous said...

Kak Teh, I'm sure Tabby would be home in a flash when he realises that there's mackerels and sambal and more of where that come from, in the the freezer. Perhaps he may even bring back a "gift" or two for you *laughs*

Anonymous said...

selamat berpuasa. it's been a long time since i last visited your blog :)

Kak Teh said...

Madam Gold, I know how Ifah feels. Whenever we go out - mata mencari-cari, mulut memanggil-manggil. I can never understand how he could go away like that as he is so close to my husband. He was never away from his side. Taoi mungkin the time we were away, the house was empty most of the time. Dia memang merajuk.

Ainun, your Babah is a wise man and I have always loved him and your mum very much. They have accepted me like one of their own and you and your siiblings too. For that, I thank Allah. We will meet again - Insyaallah.

Kak Teh said...

Dr Hasanah, memang lama kita tak bersua,di alam siber tidak berjumpa, tetpai di hati teringat juga.

Semalam jumpa Dr. T semasa tarawikh. Malam pertama ramdhan pun jumpa. Tapi sekarang semua orang tergopoh2 nak balik sebab terlalu lewat dah. Kalau dulu boleh duduk bersembang lagi. Insyaallah, saya akan sampaikan pesan malam ni. Berseri-seri pasangan yang baru balik dr Umrah!

I hope your aunty is comfortable...I went back recently and saw a friend who is just a shadow of her old self. So, so sad.

Kak Teh said...

NanaDJ, thanks for that info on the article. Yes, they called up last week to talk to him.

Tabby is still missing, sigh! I hope someone is feeding him , he has such an apetite. When I went to buy catfood yesterday, I shed a few tears knowing that there will be less Whiskers to buy now that he is not around.

Kak Teh said...

Mekyam, thanks. i Know it is silly but it is like missing a close member of the family. I know AG is heartbroken, but he os not one to show. He is so close to his cats, you cannot do anything to them. You cant disturb them while they are sleeping, you can raise your voice at them...macam2!

Dr Sam,thank you for your prayers too. Tabby has a brother who left us some years ago, but he went to stay with the guy behind our house, we see him quite often. His name is stanley. Tengok stanley, hilang juga rindu kepada Tabby.

Kak Teh said...

Ray, kucing Pak Malim yang alim, tolonglah sebar berita kepada kawan-kawan ray, rayu kak teh sambil makan ikan stingray. Manalah tau kalau-kalau Tabby menghantar berita ke alam kucing, memberitahu di mana dia merantau, kata kak teh yang makan kueh pau.

Ezza, Tabby tu jantan, mungkin dia ikut girlfriend pulanglah tu. Pernah juga kak teh tengok dia dengan gf di tepi jalan belakang rumah. Dia tu memang hebat, tapi kalau dia nak bawa balik gf kak teh tak kisah, asalkan dia pulang.

Kak Teh said...

Yati, thanks for the visit, I will certainly go the site you mentioned. Thanks and selamat berpuasa.

Andrea, oh no, no gifts for me! the last time Snowbell did that, I had slipped disc. Yes, I hope the lure of mackarels will bring him back.

Kak Teh said...

thisisaireen, ya memang lama tak berkunjung - hope you are well and selamat berpuasa!

ilene said...

SELAMAT BERPUASA KAK TEH! Happy Ramadhan.

Kak Teh said...

Thanks Ilene!!

Shahieda said...

I hope kitty will return soon KT. My kids' Garfield also left home a while back. The youngest one is still pining, sigh.

Kak Teh said...

Shahieda, it has been almost a month and everyday that passed, my heart feels heavier and I might have to accept the inevitable that he is not coming back. He is too friendly.

Kenny Mah said...

I hope Tabby returns soon, Kak Teh. It's a time for forgiveness and family after all. Have faith. *hugs*

Ms B said...

eh KT, make over ka? I realised the pics are now strawberries coated with choc.

anyway, u hv to pujuk Tabby with his fav dish. He'll come home soon.

hv yet to go to our usual plc. will wait when isya is not too late. incovenient for the young lady at the mo. Pls eat on my behalf. *winks*

NanaDJ said...

Kak Teh,
Terliur tengok strawberry dip in chocolate. Sampai hati, kita tengah puasa macam nak cari strawberry hari ini juga!

Adliff said...

Salam,
Dear Kak Teh,

Hmmm... your curry must be very nice.
:) Dimasak dengan kasih sayang.

My pray for Tabby to come back soon.

I lost my dear Si Kuning when I was in my first year in USM. Maybe, the tuan(me) is not around, my neighbor take the opportunity to kill the cat by feeding it with poisoned food. My mom and dad knew this surely will make me run amok, keep the stories to themselves for quite sometime and asking my sibling to keep quite also.

It was a semester break, back in my village, I call out to my dear cat for a few days...

Almost Kak Teh, i run amok to this stupid pakcik if not soothing words from my dad upon he saw me clutching hard hulu of my parang lading. Paloi sungguh saya masa tu.
Tears runs freely from my eyes..

"Biarlah Allah balas nak."..those are words of my dad. The parang lading just drop and suddenly I felt my knee become so week.

The question is how the stories leaked out to me even all the precautions taken by my parents? Ha!ha! My other neighbors yang kucing dia kena bunuh sekali pecahkan rahsia kat I.!

From that day, until now, I never keep any cat even though I love cats.. My mom yes, my father yes, they can forget the episode but not me la...

Clueless said...

Hey... I remember this guy (refering to the Tabby). His was featured in an entry years ago.

Ramadhan Mubarak, K Teh!

D.N.A.S said...

Kak Teh,
banner mu yang bergambar strawberi itu amat menggoda dan meruntun keimanan.... hehe

Kak Teh said...

kenny, I think Tabby needs to know more than the fact that he is forgiven. He needs to know that we are not going away again...or perhaps take him with us. he is so spoilt.

Ms B, i was bored yesterday and didnt need to do any cooking as we were breaking our fast outside. So, I googled around - and then, a blogreader also kindly did the present one for me...baik, kan?

yes, now during terawikh we dont see little children anymore as it is far too late for them. see you around.

Kak Teh said...

nanDJ, pi cari kat supermarket, mesti ada! I am missing mangoes.Love mangoes with pulut.

Kak Teh said...

Aliff, what happened to your cat is horrible. These people are so heartless. I can imagine your anger.
We are lucky we have neghbours who love our cats. They do look after our cats and feed them.

But one of our earlier cats died as a result of cruelty, i think. That happened some ramadhans ago.

She crawled in and we noticed that she had either been kicked or run over and left to die. Her stomach was os flat but no blood. I took her to the vet and was told to take her to the animal hospital as they couldnt do anything. I remember crying all the way - it was quite along journey. She was given painkiller and so was in no pain, but i cannever forget the look on her face. she kept looking up at me from the box that i put on my lap. When we left her at the hospital and came home to break our fast, the hospital then phoned to say that they couldnt save her. My son was so hearbroken..
i cant stand nay kind of cruelty to any animal. they can feel as much pain as human beings.

Kak Teh said...

Clueless, yes, Tabby has been featured in so many entries. Thanks for the visit.

DNAS, hehe, satu godaan bulan posa!

Justiffa said...

Sian KT..if nico didnt come home me n the kids would be heartbroken!!

Hope he'll be back soon n KT.. slamat berpose ya {D

Kak Teh said...

justiffa, that is what i am feeling now - heartbroken - especially if he is being kept by someone and giving that person his affection. cant bear to think of it. selamat berpuasa to you too.

Salt N Turmeric said...

Selamat Berpuasa Kak Teh!

ala kesiannya your cat ran away. i hope tabby will come home soon. mamanya dah rindu kat tabby tu.

michael'd cat who is now staying w his mom, pernah sekali hilang for months. his mom called us to inform about it and we thought that's it. she's gone forever than like 6mths later she came back! very thin but she's back and now she just refused to go out. maybe sbb takut hilang lagi.

Kak Teh said...

Farina, the story of michael' cat has given me some hope. Six months and he still came back! I hope Tabby remembers his way back to our house. Thank you for this encouraging story.

Selamat berpuasa to you and Michael!

lenzaidi said...

Hi Kak teh, been a long time.I was prompted to post this as i was trying to digest what you have written.Mama sayangs are held up in Mama comforts and love but the two sayangs...
I know now so Tabby,Tabby wherever you are please come home.Kak Teh is home.Selamat berpuasa Kak Teh.

Kak Teh said...

Lenzaidi, it has indeed been a long time. Like Tabby you pun merajuk? Alas Tabby hasnt returned. We will keep on looking and carrying on hoping that one day he'll burst through that flap and all will be fine again!

Selamat berpuasa to you too!

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

Salam Ramadan Kak Teh, AG and family. I'm so sad to hear about Tabby and Kissinger (well...less now for K since he has come home safe). I know that you were very concerned about leaving them alone. I do hope Tabby comes back soon. InsyaAllah...

Kak Teh said...

thank MTTNM, they were all i could think of while away. I knew the house would be quiet and cats need company. I am still hoping and hoping.