It's been a pretty hectic life since my husband met with that
unfortunate incident ... Started off with just a normal weekend routine, to
send our 12-year-old son to his tuition center, fell off the bike and he
broke his left leg joint (behind the knee cap). He had to undergo a
surgery that caused us RM10K. Lesson learned: Be sure to remind
your husband that he should always remember to pay his insurance installment
because shit happens and you'll never know exactly when it'll come your way ...
This evening, I just want to share a story on 'our' (Rizal and me)
conversation with our children. It's about our 'ambition'... Back in high
school, during our SPM & STPM years, Rizal wanted to become a 'Rock Star'
and I wanted to become the 'Prime Minister' (Don't laugh! I had my own reason
for wanting to become one!)
... and so, I confessed to my children and my husband that once
upon a time, I had an ambition to be the Prime Minister (or at least a
Minister / a Member of Parliament). I was really naive at that time ... Back then, there was no
Internet. I love to read English books, magazines, newspaper and the only
source I could get about the local politicians was only through reading local
newspaper, magazines and my 'circle of friends'...
Among the Malay magazines that I enjoyed reading were Wanita and
Jelita. My mom used to buy it every month to get the recipes ... and I
enjoyed reading them because my friends at school kept on reminding me to read
about their family success story, some coverage on their father / mom and their
siblings' wedding, etc.
Back in high school, I never knew that my friends were those VIP /
VVIP children. I attended high school in a convent and everybody wore
school uniform ... everybody appeared the same ... everybody read / did the
same things and went to the same places to hangout ... HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO
KNOW???
To cut it short, we used to hang out together. Sometimes, at home to watch video tapes
that we rented (for budget weekends - just make some pop-corn, buy some
carbonated drinks and fry some french fries) and voila! How much more fun
can we ask for? Number one rule, we must be extra polite when conversing
with our parents. Be it my parents or their parents ...
It's so happened that most of my friends were children of some
royalty or VIPs. They love to befriend me because they like to come to my
house and enjoy my mom's cooking. My house is the only place that their
parents would allow to go without much questioning. I guess, their
parents trusted my mom "The Great General" LOL (mak saya adalah manusia
paling garang dalam dunia, sampai sekarang saya takut kat dia) :P
I told my children, back then, I wanted to become a Minister
because they live a happy life and can spend money lavishly (bodohnya saya masa
tu, manalah saya tahu duit bukan segala-galanya). Sambung cerita kat anak-anak,
at that time, what I understood was 'to become a minister, you have to be a
university graduate'. You have to be a doctor (like Tun), or take up Economics
(like Rafidah Aziz or my Pak Adam), or take up Geography from UM (like my Uncle
Ramli). Those were the only 'reference' I had back then. Therefore,
when my parents asked me to apply for Teachers Training at Maktab, I secretly
trashed the form into the dustbin and enrolled myself into ITM instead.
Got my diploma as a stepping stone and along the way, I take up this
Bach. of Edu. in TESL bla bla bla and become and English teacher.
Hence, I told my children, parents normally know their children's potential better. My parents jenis takde masa nak bagi guide pasal belajar2 ni.
Tak macam kita di zaman skarang. However, my parents knew my
potential, they advised me to enroll myself into the Maktab Perguruan (Teachers
Training College) but I secretly defy them. Padan muka, akhirnya, jadi
cikgu jugak!
On the other hand, as the 80s teenager who grew up in the
countryside, the FELDA settlement to be exact, my husband wanted to become a
Rock Star LOL (tetiba, teringat movie Mamat Khalid yg kelakar tu)... My husband
told our children, despite of wanting to become a Rock Star, he did not defy
his parents. Dia masuk jugaklah maktab perguruan tu. He told our
children, he scored in all his examination because he worked hard, and prayed
hard too. Buat solat hajat setiap malam. Mak dia pun selalu doakan dia. Tak pernah study last minute,
kena tahu teknik belajar bla bla bla
Pokok pangkalnya, walaupun pada zaman 80an dulu, kami tak pegi
tuition, tapi kami boleh je lulus exam. Tonight, I told my children how
slow I am ... I told them I am not as smart as their father ... I re-emphasized
on SOLAT, on mengaji AL-QURAN, on the 'study skill' that they need to have,
pasal solat hajat tu pun betul (it's just that I only started doing it during
my degree years)... Jenis lambat dapat hidayah kot ... AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST,
DOA IBU KITA + NIAT BELAJAR TU, MESTILAH KERANA ALLAH ... pegilah kolej /
sekolah kat langit ke tujuh sekalipun, kalau niat tak betul , maka tak betul
lah hasilnya ... Bila dah kerja, kerjalah betul2 ... takut duit yang patutnya
halal, jadi haram sebab mencuri tulang, ponteng, kerja mengelat, etc.
In then end, I'm not sure if my children understood what we were
telling them ... Tapi, sekurang-kurangnya, mereka dah ada cita2 masing2.
Kami sebagai parents, kenalah bagi panduan kat mereka, doakan mereka and
tawakal... Sorrylah, harini, bahasa rojak sikit ... Niat di hati nak tulis
dalam BM sepenuhnya, tapi, malu pulak sebab tadi, masa nak cakap 'guide' dalam
BMpun tak ingat apa perkataannya, sampai anak2 pun gelakkan kita. Apa2
halpun, I love you very much ... semoga kamu berjaya dunia akhirat Amiiiiiiin
