What The Family Is Up To

Hey everybody!

I know I've been slowing down in blogging these past couple of months but I've been quite busy lately. Today is Saturday and Sophie is not working so here I am sitting and writing for the blog.

Sophie is working? For those of you who has been following my blog would know that she was in college for the past two years. Yeap! She had completed her two and a half year course last July. Her graduation day will take place next month, that is October.

She told me she wanted to take a break for a month, doing nothing, laze around the house and meeting up old friends. She did all that. By mid August, she confessed of being bored to tears.
"I know you will say that at one point", I teased her.

Who in their right mind (especially youth) would want to stay cooped up in their room with no social calender whatsoever to attend to? She spent the next one week applying jobs everywhere. Within two weeks she got the reply. It was from a firm that she was familiar with. The firm that sent her to U.S for student exchange program in 2011. Thus she started her new life as young working adult. Next come another problem.
"Ma, I got nothing to wear". Story of every girl's life.
I go with, "Just put on whatever you got in your wardrobe". (wardrobe???? sounds like she got an extensive line of clothing).
Anyway, we mixed and matched her clothing and whaddaya know. She looked great in any one of them.
One problem settled. Next comes the daily trip to her office. At first we agreed on her taking the train which was very convenient. One day after she got home, she told what to me was a chilling thing, four foreign guys who boarded the same train as she does, rode the same bus as she does and at the same time. They exchanged some kind of weird handshake and stole glances at her way.
What scares me the most is they got down at the same place with her and it usually is very quiet and still in the morning. (Most businesses or offices open at 09.00 or 10.00) These guys probably worked at a nearby construction site.
Not taking any chances, I became the hero in diving through the massive jam by sending her every morning. Oh by the way, she finally managed to sit for her driving license and passed the test last month. She's got a valid driving license together with Sara. Both of them sat for the test together.

Sara was in the college up south when she had to take two days leave to attend her driving test. Like I said before, she is our little Miss Prim and Proper. She loved the idea of getting the chance coming home and snuggling next to me yet she hated having to skip her classes, but she got no alternative. Good thing she passed the test.
In our family, Sara got the best brain when it comes to mathematics. Don't expect much from her singing though, or dancing for that matter! But last Tuesday when we spoke on the phone, she said she got a B+ for her Additional mathematics. I was slightly taken by surprise with her latest result. I asked her what happened.
She said, " I don't know ma. I thought I got all the right answers. There must be some silly mistakes that I didn't realize I made."
"Ohh". I knew I sounded down and she felt it.
"Ma, please don't get upset.. I got As both for my physics and chemistry. You know how I was in these two subjects before."
"Wow, that is something. And I wasn't that upset for you not getting the A in your maths. It's just that you always got the A for that particular subject. Whatever it is, you did great and I am so proud of you.
But knowing Sara, my "Oh" respond had left an unsettling sense of failure within her. I shouldn't have said that but it just got out.
Do you people want to know how she got an A for her physics? Not only she got the A in physics, many of her classmates did well in that subject too. The credit had to be given to their lecturer, Ms Sali. She knew she is a genius in physics and she nicknamed herself Sali Einstein. And it seemed she had led her class from previous years to score the highest marks throughout the college. A great gift for students to having a teacher like this one.

Soffian, my number two child is still working in a hotel in Langkawi. He now lives with his brother in the house that we used to live before moving up here, Selangor. Every now and then one of them would call me and complain about the other. One would say the other one was not cleaning up the dishes. Next day, the other one would call and said I need to use the car, but he's gone without telling me where he's gone to.
Can you believe that?
I am glad that he's now trying to change his life for the better. He is not your normal mischievous next door boy. He is a highly strung person, can't stand losing to anybody and always had to have his way.
I've done my very best to bring him up the way I think it should be. I truly hope and pray that he will one day change and be a better person than he is today.

The big brother to them all, Ariff, my eldest son has finally been promoted to Chef De Partie. I was so proud of him. He called me three days ago and told me that the sous chef called him to have lunch at the chef table the other day.
"Ma, it felt awkward. I never dreamt of sitting down together with other chefs on a working day."

I said to him, "Well you earned it. You are good at what you're doing and they know that. But you still never showed me your real skill in making any of those pastries or cakes. And I am still waiting for your ciabatta bread."

I can hear him chuckling down on the other end. Tongue in cheek! He teased me saying my kitchen was not well-equipped as his hotel kitchen. He's lucky he's hundreds of miles away from me, else I could have knock his head.

At time, I missed my two boys so much that I became moody. I know this is the best time for me to enjoy my life. The two boys are up in the northern state while Sara in the south. That leaves the three of us at home here in Selangor, Sophie, my husband and I. One of these days, Sophie will have to leave me too. The thought of this alone is devastating.

I am enjoying my life but I still can't let go any of them totally. All these years, they had been my world, the center of my life, and now to let them go is hurting me so much.

Ariff, Soffian, Sophie and Sara, no matter where you are and who you become, I will always be right next to you. Ma loves all of you with all of my heart. I'd do anything for any one of my children. Please take care and be good. May Allah bless all of you. Ma sayang semua banyak-banyak!

That's all for today folks. Thank you for reading. Have a safe day everybody!

Rose
20th.Sept '14