May Allah Bless All Teachers

Teacher's Day was last week. During last week and the week before it, Daughter A had been busy reminding me about it. Finally, we got her cards, chocolates and a vase for her to give to her teachers. She was happy, of course. She said few teachers had actually hugged her when she gave them the cards. She did look a little bit embarassed though, but still she was happy.

When I was in school, primary and secondary, Hari Guru was usually welcomed with Pot-Luck parties. We would bring food from home and have makan-makan with the teachers. This was especially when I was in primary school. I don't remember giving any gifts or cards. That was because I didn't have money. But I remember singing and dancing for them.

Looking back, I sort of miss those times. Happy times indeed. School was so fun. The teachers were great. The one I remember the most even until now is Cikgu Wan Yusoff. He was my first grade teacher. Firm but friendly and jovial, and very dedicated. My first impression on school was very much influenced by him, I must say.

My first 'public-speaking session' was in his class, when he made me read AEIOU loudly and clearly. You see, I had not attended kindergarten, and thus that first class was my first formal ABC lesson. But weird, I don't remember feeling shy or afraid. In fact, I remember reading the AEIOU clearly and confidently. For some times, some parents who had sent their children and been present during the 'first public-speaking', would sing AEIOU whenever they saw me in the kampung. It gave me a nice feeling and sort of encouraged me to do well in school. The credit should go to Cikgu Wan Yusoff. He had helped me enjoy school days.

I don't know where is he now and wonder if he's still 'around'. The last time I saw him when he came visit us on the day M left us to see God in 1989. He gave Mother money in an envelope donated by school teachers. He had been close to M too like he had been to me other brothers. In fact, I saw tears in his eyes and remember him muttering that it was a pity someone as brilliant as M had to go that way. Such a dedication, a mark of a good and committed teacher, whose profession went beyond classroom.

He was 40 something when I first entered school. Maybe Cikgu Wan is about 70 something now. If he is still around, I hope he is well and happy. I hope Allah bless him with good life in this and after world. I also hope to see him one of these days.

Other teachers that have left me (or I left them) with interesting memories (good and bad) are Cikgu Sulaiman, who taught English, Cikgu Jabedah (Bahasa), Cikgu Mohd Nor (Mathematic), Cikgu Norwawi (English), Cikgu Norizan (English), Gurubesar, also by the name Cikgu Mohd Nor (Moral), Cikgu Wan Hassan Wan Dagang (Bahasa), Ustaz takingatnamabutingat wajah (agama) and others.

In secondary school, there were Cikgu Maimunah, whom I remember most due to her dedication in teaching us English, Cikgu Halim (was so dissapointed I didn't well in Geography), Cikgu Mohd Ali (smoked like a dragon although he was a disciplinary teacher), Cikgu Latifah (so garang in teaching us Math skills), Cikgu Rohaiza (Bahasa), Cikgu Johari (so 'liberal' in his 'science' approach), Cikgu Juwariah (who became blind and given clerical job), Cikgu Saripah (also hostel warden), Ustaz Man and Cikgu Bob or Iskandar (who coached me Ping Pong and Badminton). Others I still remember their faces though not all their names.

Also, I will not forget Ustaz Daud or Tok Su Ud, who taught me Agama for the afternoon class. And Tok Cik Hajar, who helped refine my Quranic reading although I didn't Khatam with her. They are also Grandma's friends and neighbours.

These are all people who have helped shaped me to be who I am today. May Allah bless them all.
Teachers used to be very respected those days. They still are although, to a certain extent, the respect has diminished a bit. I'm glad that my daughter holds her teachers so dear in her heart.

To all teachers, Happy Teacher's Day. Thank you very very much for your good service. May the dedication and committment ... and the PATIENCE continue.

Five Years Have Passed By

Tok passed away around 9pm on March 31 2004. She collapsed in the village's mosque after Isyak prayer. It was a Thursday night. Doctor said it was due to heart attack. But nothing was confirmed as we didn't do a post-mortem.

A was just three months old then. Alhamdullillah Tok got a chance to hold and take care of her for two weeks during my maternity leave. She had also managed to hold 'aqiqah' for A back in Trg despite being quite sick.

It has been five years since she left us. I don't always cry anymore every time I think of her. Time heals, they say. But honestly, sometimes I miss her love and attention. She was very vital to my growing up. She was instrumental in making what I am today. She was a disciplinarian who always pushed me to acquire knowledge. She was my 'mengaji' teacher who made me khatam the Quran when I was 8 years old. She was of so many roles to me and so dominant in my upbringing that she continues to be alive in my heart and mind although she was no more here.

I still regret many things that I did or didn't do for hers. But these days, I have also learnt to accept that everything that happened had been fated that way.

Of the many things she taught me, I really hope, at least, I could hold to one thing. Islam and its teaching.

But I don't remember when was the las time I read the Quran ...

What's Inside The TV

Do you know what is inside your TV? Yes, I mean INSIDE. Not what you can watch on TV, but rather what you can find inside your TV when you pry it open.

In our case, 40 color pencils of different sizes, one hair band, one chopstick, one comb, two toy knives and few other unidentified things. Wow, it's like magic. A 21" TV could actually keep so many things. If only a TV could be used as a drawer or storage area, I would have been more than happy to throw small things in it. At least, it had other functions than just an 'idiot box'.

Our children seemed to be very good at 'storing up' things. No wonder, color pencils kept disappearing and couldn't be rediscovered no matter how hard I had combed our small apartment.
It started with A. Once she had the ability to touch and hold things, she started using her fingers to full use. Among her success was digging out the channel buttons from our Philips TV, leaving two holes and making it impossible to change channels without a remote control or a chopstick. I know 'very good mothers' would have scolded me for letting the child touch the TV. But if you were a normal mother like me, you would understand how, despite my 'round-the-clock' effort to keep A from a TV, she would still manage to lay her tiny hands on it. So, finally, having a TV with a horizontal white line on its screen that refused to go away and two empty holes for its channel buttons was like a milestone to us, as that was when A reached 2 years of living.

When Sy started to be mobile with his hands and feet, he added more effect to what the sister had done. Making the holes deeper and stuffing the TV with whatever item that could go in. The final straw was when he inserted a coin. And that night, now that Sy is four and A is six, the TV finally blew for good. No matter how many times we tried, it didn't turn on. So I resigned to the fact that my Philips TV that was among the first electrical items that I bought, in 1999, with my own money, had gone forever. It was quite sentimental ... Well, I always found it hard to part with old stuffs.

So we got a chance to live without TV for two or three days. It was so quiet and I admitted I found it easier to communicate and get the children do what I wanted without a TV. They also didn't ask for TV. I think they also felt guilty and dare not mention about it because if they did, then they had to taste their own medicine (huhuhu ... a mother can be so bitter, sometimes). But, ironically, Am and myself coudn't really stand the silence. So one Saturday, we headed to our favorite shopping centre in Subang Jaya (in Subang Jaya saje ye) with one mission, only to 'look-look' for a TV, without wanting to buy it. It didn't take long for us to set our eyes on one, and within an hour, errr ... we bought a new Philips. Another Philips ... only this time it was a LCD 32". Well, I was soooo like me, a brand loyalist who always sticks to one brand. And it was sooooo like Am to just agree to whatever I want.

So, now our home and life have returned to normal.

When bathing Sy, Am was having a few words with him. The conversation went like this.

Am: Sy a good boy kan?
Sy: Ye
Am: Kalau ada TV tak boleh ....
Sy: (continued) rosakkan.
Am: Kalau dah rosak ......
Sy: Ibu dan ayah akan beli yg lain.

??????

I am not sure what kind of life-lesson we're actually teaching our children ...