Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting on April 29, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Edrick was telling me how his knuckles hurt a bit after the soccer training the other day. I reassured him that it is normal when one takes up a sport and how it takes a toll on our body.
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Mom: But the main thing is you enjoy it.
Edrick: Yeah. I know Mom. I’m not complaining.
Mom: I know, I can see how passionate you are about soccer.
Edrick: Mom, no pain no gain.
Mom: Hey! That’s my line!
Edrick: I know, you’ve taught me well.
Mom: Awwwwwww!
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[Photo Credit to Little League Soccer]
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Posted in Monchies, Sense, tagged Parenting on May 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
It didn’t ideally start with an excitement of driving Monchies to school this morning, to be honest. I had missed the kids despite knowing they had fun walking from Sofia’s house who lives just across the road from school the day before, when I was in Singapore. I wish I could keep them at home to make up for yesterday. But there was something about our supposedly-routine drive to school today that awakened me and had not put me back to bed.
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I was quietly cursing the driver in front of us for signalling but didn’t inch in to our lane by the ‘which-planet-did-you-get-your-license-from-Pluto-or-something’ curse, when Kitreena was scolding her brother for finishing his previous day’s lunch money on a snack. I thought she wasn’t paying attention to my Italian-driving skills on Jalan Tun Nazak.
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Kitreena: Ma, Pluto is not a planet anymore. It’s a dwarf planet.
Mommy: Yeah, I know. See? Nothing lasts forever. Not even a fact!
Kitreena: What do you mean? They just discovered it.
Mommy: Pluto was a planet for… like, forever. It was a known fact. I was born to that fact. And I thought I was going to die knowing that for a fact Pluto was going to be a planet forever. But even that fact could be changed on us, you see. Just like a person you trust to be honest forever. To you, that is a fact. Until… the next thing you know, they change.
Kitreena: Ya. True lah, Ma. If facts can change, what more people.
Mommy: Yup, and that’s the thing about forever. It has its ‘until’.
Edrick: Hmmm… that’s new.
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Monchies and I agreed today that there is no such thing as forever. And that is a fact. For now.
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Posted in Monchies, Sense, tagged Parenting on December 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Some time in October…
It was just him, these two days. His sister is recovering from the battle with the haze. Today, to distract us from thinking too much and being bothered by the pollution, I asked him about the most interesting lesson he learned at school.
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Edrick: Mom, I think microbes are amazing.
Mommy: Oh yes they are.
Edrick: And it is amazing how many diseases they can cause.
Mommy: That is because they are super duper tiny, they can get into anything.
Edrick: Yeah, I know. Mom, have you ever had wumps?
Mommy: You mean, mumps or lumps?
Edrick: Hahaha sorry, not wumps. I mean mumps.
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I had a big laugh that I forgot to tell him the story of my humps.
Uh! I mean mumps!
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Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting on August 31, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Among the very first things I was taught by my parents when I was in grade one was how to wrap the school books. We could not afford the plastic wrapper, so my parents made do with the brown/grease paper. I didn’t know how lucky I was until I saw some other kids’ book wrapper, which was old newspapers. I still felt bad for many years for not getting plastic wrappers, but I learned to be grateful.
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Today, I finally forced Monchies to start wrapping their own school books, instead of me doing it — Kitreena is already going to grade seven, Edrick to grade five. We got 43 books wrapped under two hours, with me doing most of them, as eye-rollingly expected. I wasn’t overly pleased with the neatness, but I learned to let go.
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Kitreena asked me about my experience wrapping school books during my tender years knowing how strict my dad was. “What if you didn’t get it right, Mom?” It took me a while to answer her. Little did I expect that the question would trigger some bitter-sweet memories.
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I remember how my dad ripped off and crumpled the wrap of one thick Maths text book because I did not do it properly. It wasn’t easy for a little kid to wrap an inch-thick book without any guide, and I remember being angry at my dad. He then showed me how to do it while I was busy holding back my tears. “Wrap it like a gift! You are lucky to get text books, I never had a book when I went to school! I had to borrow and sometimes steal! Wrap it like a gift!” And so, I learned to wrap it like a gift.
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Today, I learned to teach my children to wrap it like a gift, almost like the way my dad did it. Probably a little better… we now have plastic wrappers and I didn’t have to rip or crumple any. I embraced my anger as a child when my book-wrapper was ripped and crumpled in a bitter-sweet lesson to be thankful.
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I learned to love books.
And that, to wrap it up, is the best lesson and gift my dad has given me. Ever!
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Posted in Inside Enida, tagged Parenting on May 16, 2015| 5 Comments »
Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting on November 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »
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I used to get unnecessarily overworked with my own unnecessary worries over Kitreena’s handwriting. At 3 and a half, she decided that her letter ‘b’ should look like a ‘d’. But the theory that people change is proven correct. She has changed. She has grown. Beautifully so.
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Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting on August 6, 2013| 5 Comments »
Exactly like last year, shopping for Baju Melayu for this anak mat saleh took only 15 minutes at Metrojaya The Curve. On the way out from the store going into Borders, to distract him from his thirst, we had this conversation.
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Mom: Do you know how much your baju raya is?
Edrick: No. How much, Mom?
Mom: Forty-one ringgits and ninety-nine cents.
Edrick: What?! That is almost forty-two ringgits Mom!
Mom: Yup.
Edrick: That would take me longer than the puasa month to pay!
Mom: Yes, it would. But don’t worry, I’ll pay for it sayang.
Edrick: Are you sure, Mom?
Mom: Oh yeah, I’m very sure. Your allowance is only one ringgit per day. Don’t worry about it. It’s raya anyway. I’ll pick up the baju cost.
Edrick: How much is YOUR allowance per day, Mom?
Mom: Oh my allowance is enough to pay for your baju and Kitreena’s baju.
Edrick: What about YOUR baju?
Mom: Nah, I’ll just go bugil this Raya.
Edrick: Hahahahaha! Nooo, Mommm! Don’t go bugil. I can pay for your baju.
Mom: Hahahahaha! You are too embarrassed to have a bugil Mom on Raya huh?
Edrick: Yeaaaah. But I love you, Mom.
Mom: Hahahaha! Of course.
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Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting on July 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »
It was Wednesday, six o’clock in the morning. Edrick knocked on the door gently and came in for our daily good morning wishes and kisses. I was away for training in Penang for four days and just got home the night before.
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Mommy: Hiiiii sayanggg, good morrrning! How are you doooing? I missed you soooo much! *mwahhh mwahhh mwahhh huggy wooggy boogie*
Edrick: I am great, Mom. How are you doing? Did you have a good sleep?
Mommy: I slept like a log and ohhh, I feel good!
Edrick: Awesome. Errr… Mommm, are my eyebrows too bushy?
Mommy: Hahhh? *but she hears him loud and clear*
Edrick: Do you think my eyebrows too bushy?
Mommy: Your eyebrows? *but she hears her son loud and clear*
Edrick: Yeah, do you think my eyebrows too bushy?
Mommy: *dumbfounded but has to come up with a real quick response at six o’clock in the morning* Uhhh…
Edrick: *touches his eyebrows, bulges his eyes looking for an answer* Are they?
Mommy: No, they’re not. I think they look good just the way they are.
Edrick: So, you don’t think I should pluck ’em or sum-fing?
Mommy: Heavens no! You wouldn’t look like you if you did that!
Edrick: Yeaaah…I think you’re right, Mom. Okayyy, see you downstairs at breakfast. Bye!
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I couldn’t go back to sleep. The question was quite a wake-up call.
Was I gone too long?
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Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting, Single-Parenting on February 27, 2013| 2 Comments »
A little rub on her forehead and a gentle touch of brushing her hair with my fingers was enough to make her feel good. It was a scorching hot afternoon and there were just the two of us in the car waiting for Edrick to finish his after-school guitar class.
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Kitreena: Mom, you told me your Dad used to do this when you were little.
Mommy: Yup, and it was enough to put me to sleep.
Kitreena: Oh yeaaaaa… I am falling asleep here.
Mommy: I know.
There was a long pause, and there was the look on her face again. The look I have not written about for so long. Too long.
Kitreena: So Mommm…
Mommy: Here we go, I knew you were going to ask me a question.
Kitreena: *chuckles* When you get married again… what kind of man would you like to be your husband?
Mommy: “When“? You mean… “if” I get married again. Right?
Kitreena: No, when you get married again. You are going to get married again, aren’t you?
Mommy: I don’t know. I might not.
Kitreena: Awwww well, okay. Let’s say you are going to remarry… what kind of man do yo want?
Mommy: *feels almost embarrassed* I don’t know.
Kitreena: Are you going to marry an Asian man, or a Caucasian man?
Mommy: Does it matter, baby?
Kitreena: No, Mom. Not really. As long as he loves you.
Mommy: As long as he loves me and my kids.
Kitreena: I think you should marry a man who would give you the forehead rub. Sure feels good, Mom.
Mommy: Hahahaha yeah, you are right! I should!
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Posted in Monchies, tagged Parenting on January 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »
It is known, that I don’t like silly questions. Therefore, I have now taken one step higher and more divine in not liking silly questions. I have become creative in answering them.
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I give sillier answers.
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06:30am Monday of January 14th, 2013 — at Cucina Mesra table — Edrick was eating his breakfast and I went straight for the Nescafé Gold jar to make myself some… duh, coffee.
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Edrick: Mommy, are you gonna make yourself some coffee?
Mommy: *turns to look at Edrick with a BIG smile on her face all ready with a very very silly answer and says* No! I’m not going to make myself some coffee. I’m going to make SIRAP BANDUNG!
Edrick: Hahahahahahahahahaha Mommmmmm!
Mommy: How’s that for a silly answer Edrick?
Edrick: That was a good one, Mom. Hahaha a very good one!
Mommy: Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! *tells herself, her day was made — thanks to a silly question*
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Questa è Enida 