Maryam’s Musings

Can you believe how time flies? It is May already!

The controversy over the immediate transfer of Datuk Jamry Sury by my Amirul Mu’minin Dato Seri Ir Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin was considered settled after the state government was forced to reinstate Datuk Jamry to his position. Sad to say that the joy over the initial news of the transfer was shortlived. A lot of friends couldn’t understand why I hated… no, disliked, Datuk Jamry. Well, my answer to them is, it is not that I hate or dislike him, I just don’t think he should lead a religious organization with his well-known ‘samseng’ character. For people who know him, or have worked with him would understand what I am trying to say. I think he would be a good leader in other departments, but not Jabatan Agama Islam Perak! The first time I worked with him for a project (alhamdulillah, it was the last one too), I had the shock of my life! How can a person with this character carry the image of Islam? Nevertheless, I still have to respect the decision of Tuanku. But I sincerely hope that some good would come out of all this.

I was just discussing with my friend the other day about how Ir Nizar is facing so many challenges at the moment. Every single thing that he does is news. I pray that he is careful in whatever he is doing or saying, and that Allah protects him all the time. The Perak Opposition team is not making things easy for him either (well, that is their job!). Of course, as one of my other friend stated, the closer you are to Him, the more tests and tribulations you will face. True enough, the controversies are just neverending. And, my heart goes all out to him.

Anyway, last week, I came across a nice homeschooling blog here – and I found many tips and tricks on activities to do with your children at home. We started out with finger painting on Saturday and the twins were surely happy with the entire process and of course, the results!

The younger twin was down with fever for the past few days. On the second visit to the doctor last Tuesday, he advised us to do a blood test. He suspected her of DENGUE! My heart almost stopped. Allah! 

So the next day, Wednesday, we took her to the hospital. My husband couldn’t get the day off so I had to bring my mom along. Alhamdulillah, all praises are due to the Lord of this Universe, Allah s.w.t. The blood test was negative. The fever was due to a viral infection. The best part was when I took her into the small room where the blood sample was to be taken. My mother and the elder twin was waiting outside, praying and crying. I was hugging her in the room, also crying. But this little 4+-year old girl, did not even shed a tear. I hugged her over the whole process, told her repeatedly that it would only hurt a bit, and told her that the pain would go away, and repeatedly read “Bismillah”. She was extremely cooperative and even the nurse (a guy nurse!) who sampled her blood said Alhamdulillah as she didn’t move even a cm! I was so proud of her! 

Anyway, when we left the room, the elder twin was waiting outside crying. She was praying so loudly, “Allah, please save my little sister!” And that made me cry again, I cried so hard!  It is really amazing seeing them together. One minute they are fighting over who gets to get out of the car first or who finishes her milk first.. and now, they are so close, that the hurt one feels is felt by the other. This is the beauty of Allah’s creation!

I am glad everything is over. Adik is getting much better, and she already went to school on Friday. Kakak has been so helpful and being ever ready to take care of adik.

And I, on the other hand, am now struggling to submit my PhD proposal… please pray for me!!

I am sitting here alone, 240 kilometers away from my twins. It is nearly midnight, and I just don’t feel sleepy at all. I miss them. Too much. Lately, they haven’t been very easy to deal with - probably because of the traveling. I called them this evening, right after the meeting, and they were crying - obviously after a fight. The younger twin didn’t want to speak to me. She’s probably holding a grudge against me for leaving her again. But the elder twin couldn’t wait to speak to me. And when she spoke with a very sad voice, “kakak nak mama” (i want my mom) - i just couldn’t control my tears. My husband, who was driving at that time, tried to speak to the elder one, “takpe.. nanti esok abah dan mama balik okay.. kakak jangan nangis ye…” (it’s okay, we’ll be back tomorrow, please don’t cry). But she just cried and cried. I cried too. I hate being away from them.And what makes things worse is that during the meeting today, the boss decided that I have to travel overseas again. Arghhh! Why me?? It won’t take long - only 5 days so it won’t be too bad. Yeah, right! I haven’t really decided if I want to go, but I’ll think about it. My husband has agreed to let me go though. He says that I should grab this opportunity. Hmm.. but what about the kids???

Anyway, I met an old friend at KLCC today. I think I last met her when I was in high school. That’s about 14 years ago! She hasn’t changed much though. Except that she is pregnant with her second child. Congratulations RMH.

And today, I was asked this question, “Bila nak tambah lagi?” (literally means, when are you planning to have another child??) I could just smile.

My husband left for morning shift at about 6 this morning, so I walked him out to his car. After a hectic day on Sunday, neither of us were in the mood to work, so we chatted for awhile before he finally drove off. I went back into the house hoping to get some office work done but to my surprise, my twins were standing in front of the room, and were sleepily saying… “Abah gi kerja…” (which means.. Dad has gone to work..) They don’t usually wake up that soon, so I laughingly took them back to the bed, slept between them as I always do (or else they will start fighting) and tried to lure them to continue sleeping.

And all of a sudden, the younger one said.. “Nak Mawi”.. (I want Mawi).. Of course, hearing the younger one mentioning Mawi, the elder one automatically asked for the same. I couldn’t control my laughter (we just bought a VCD of Mawi the day before and they couldn’t seem to get enough of him) and finally said, “Okay, tidur dulu nanti kita tengok Mawi” (Take a nap first, we’ll watch Mawi later). Alhamdulillah, they just agreed, and quickly closed their eyes. They were fast asleep within 10 minutes.

How time flies….. my two-year-old twins can now request to watch Mawi. Hmmm… wonder if I should be proud or get worried!

The trip to KL was extremely tiring. Mom and dad thought it would be a good idea to bring the twins along to their cousins’ home but, I think they got a little too excited during the journey. They must have thought.. “hmmm, it won’t be that far so let us have some fun..” Subhanallah, they just couldn’t sit still!! For three solid hours! Mom later commented, “The next time around, let us think ten times before bringing them along!” We learnt our lesson.

But, I guess that is part and parcel of raising your children. I mean, what fun would it be if we stayed home all the time? It was actually great having them jumping about in the car, screaming and laughing, teasing one another. They looked so adorable. Despite the fact that we are all, at the moment, almost half-dead, I, for one.. could still hear their adorable voices ringing in my ears. I’m sure that mom, dad and hubby feel the same…

Bridget Jones part 2 is out now. I might persuade my significant other to come with me to the movies next week (if the kids are in a good mood and if my mom agrees to take care of them for an extra 3 hours). I enjoyed Part 1 very much, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy Part 2.

But then again, the images of people in tears after discovering their beloved’s dead bodies and the images of the homes that were destroyed.. are still in my head. If I can get them out of my head, I’d probably decide to go for that movie. Or else, I’ll just wait for it to be available on VCD and watch it at home with the kids.