Questa è Enida

Between Sunday and Thursday last week… I hibernated quarantined myself with Edrick. He caught cold and cough from a few unwell kids at school. So no going out in -20°C until his nose stopped running and his Mommy stopped running for Kleenex, Aquamarine Mist and cough syrup.

Edrick had been healthy ever since we came back to Moscow. He was sneezing and crowing a little before Christmas, but after just a dose of Tylanol, a rub of Vicks and a night of steam, he bounced back the very next day higher than Pokrovsky Hills’ highest peak. But this time around, he was badly affected. And my Ventolin/Nebulizer machine has gone AWOL. But that’s another novel to write. 

Ni lagi satu saya tak faham. Well, I bet you know what’s coming lah bila saya dah mulakan perenggan dengan ayat, “Ni lagi satu saya tak faham” ni kan? Dah lama tak guna ayat fully-loaded cenggini.  Dan yang peliknya kita orang biasa ni, asal tak faham je nak marah. Bila tak faham je nak marah. Inikah fitrah sifat manusia?

Yang tak tercapai di akal saya ialah… sampai hatinya some of these parents menghantar anak yang badannya panas, hidungnya berhingus hijau pergi sekolah. Don’t they sense that the child would rather be in his/her own comfy bed at home nursed by mommy with  TLC?

Dan yang saya tak faham ialah, these moms are mostly homemakers sepenuh masa. Kebanyakannya pulak are ‘maided’ with inang pengasuh barang seorang, dua orang, tiga orang, (empat, lima, enam, tujuh dan lapan lagi). Sending unwell kids to school should be declared a crime lah di zaman moden ini. Bila ada H1N1 tau pulak takut.

Saya pun sebenarnya taklah marah sangat sebab I had good 5 days with Edrick. We had a lot of meaningful mother-and-son conversations. And I got thinking today, I’d better make a little compilation of those little chats sebelum saya lupa. These kids are growing so fast. Faster than the rates of my brain cells meninggalkan diriku.

Edrick: Mom, I know kememel les mim burse!

Mommy: Kemam who?

Edrick: Kememel les mim burse.

Mommy: *frowns, squints her eyes and has the who-what-where-when-why-how kind of pelik look on her face*

It was a short but long enough to be an awkward pause.

Edrick: You’re not listening to me!

Mommy: I am! I just don’t understand what you’re saying Monch.

Edrick: It’s ke… me… mel… les… mim… burse! *losing his patience with Mommy*

Mommy: Is it a he or a she?

Edrick: It’s not a he, it’s not a she. Kememel les mim burse is the big cloud that has lotsa rain and lotsa storm, Mom!

Mommy: Ohhhhhh! I see. You mean Cumulus Nimbus, just like in the UP show?

Edrick: Yyyyeeaahhh! You know what I’m talking about now? That’s the kememel les mim burse I’m talking about! *disgruntling his ‘satisfaction’ that Mommy finally got it*

Mommy: Okay, okay! Easy boy. Don’t strike your lightning at me.