Eid'l Adha Away From Home

It was Eid’l Adha yesterday. We were in Shaffik’s house in Bintulu. I called mum early in the morning to wish her Eid’l Adha greetings. It had been customary for us to spend time with mum during the festive seasons but this time we had to take exception as we are in Bintulu and will be quite sometime yet before we return home. Anyway, we made it a point to go down and meet her couple of weeks ago.

The two boys woke up very early in the morning and got ready to follow me to the mosque for the Eid’l Adha prayers. They had some snacks before going but Dedek complained of being hungry when we were in the mosque. I think he was just bored at the prayer proceedings, not having understood what went on, and had his mind wondering to the good food that grandma was preparing at home, ha ha. Babang was attentive all the time though.

The mosque was full and overflowing. A usual phenomenon anywhere around the country. The mosques will be overfilled with people twice a year, (Eid’l Fitri and Eid’l Adha) almost full once a week (Friday prayers) and maybe just two or three rows of people praying five times a day!! (I am aware that most perform their daily five prayers without fail, and it is just that they do not do it in the mosque). Well, at least its testimony that people do still believe and submit to the Almighty, whatever reasons they have for not going to the mosque once a week or five times daily. The thought that there are millions in congregation in Mecca, Medina, Arafah, and Mina this time of the year, every year, shows the strength of beliefs and of the believers. May the Almighty be pleased and may He sow the seed of repentance on those who are unsure of their stand and beliefs.

The Eid prayers and the sermon that followed took about an hour and clearly Dedek was to his wits end with boredom. He was restless, changing his sitting position often and signaling to me that he wants to go home. Ha ha, I continued to ‘torture’ him and made him stay throughout the proceedings, and his displeasure clearly showed on his face. However, the moment we got into the car to leave the mosque after prayers were all over Dedek started yik-yakking as though it was a great achievement that he withstood the ‘torture’ that I put him through. Ha ha, true to a five year old mind, displeasures are soon forgotten in the face of fresh expectations and his expectations then was food waiting for him at home.

I met many old friends as we were getting out of the mosque, friends whom I knew when I was working here. There are a number of weddings being held before the year end and I got invited, by word of mouth, to a couple of them. Well, most of those I met have come to the stage where their children are of marrying age and some have just retired or about to retire. Being secretary of the Retirees Club I suggested that we should formalize some sort of arrangements for the group of retirees here and most of them agreed. We agreed to meet again, soon, to work out the details.

When we reached home and as soon as we entered the house Dedek went straight to the kitchen to take a look at the food that he is going to enjoy. Hmmm Yummy he would say and could not wait to eat. Later in the afternoon I took all the kids to the airport to await Sita’s arrival from KL. Of course Najla was the most excited amongst the kids. The moment she saw her mother, she was a changed girl as usual. She slowly started to whine and turned sensitive as compared to being playful before this. She remained that way for the rest of the day although her whining is not so bad now showing signs of maturing, I hope. All the kids got new toys from their Tante Ta (that’s Sita) and played their toys the rest of the day, Najla included but she insisted that her mother sits near her all the time!! A real demanding three year old!!

We had dinner at a family friend’s house. There was food galore, theirs and ours combined, spread full on the dinner table. The four kids together with our host’s kids played together. Najla however did not forget that her mum was around and showed her demanding streak….

This day was one day when I exceeded my food intake limits. I must remember to balance it out in the next few days. It is difficult, as I like food and I usually succumb, but I will endeavor to control my desires….. hmmmmm I need to exercise, exercise and exercise to work them out…. how I wish that it is as easy as A B C…………

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Bintulu