Post-Raya Posting

Hi again! It’s the 6th day of raya already. My God… how time flies! I only managed to check my blog today. Read all your comments on my previous posting. All I can say is “Thank you” for your kind words and encouragement. This year’s raya is not that bad after all, you know… :)

I see there are several new readers making their appearances on my comment box. Thank you. I’m glad to know that you enjoy my stories.

Now, back to my cerita raya.

After I wrote that last piece and read some of your comments, I was telling myself, “There’s nothing much that I can do about this balik kampong for raya…so, why don’t I make the best of what I have?” With that in mind, I decided to just enjoy every minute of it and don’t complain too much. And that’s what I did. And you know what? It felt so much better than the previous rayas.

As usual, malam raya was spent at my MIL’s place. I stayed until late and waited until my MIL siap masak ketupat when usually, I would balik rumah dulu sebab tak larat nak tunggu dia (pukul 10 malam baru nak masukkan beras dalam ketupat, siapa larat tunggu?!) But this year, I persevered. Thankfully, my MIL also started early on her ketupat. So everyone went home happily just after midnight.

Back at home, MrNordin stayed up to cook his rendang ayam. I slept, but woke up early on raya morning to cook my ayam masak merah. Both turned out well (last year, I tak masak apa pun). Went to my MIL’s house after sembahyang raya, we spent the whole morning eating and ambil gambar.

In the afternoon, pegi ziarah kubur ~ MrNordin’s late wife, late MIL and late FIL. MrsN #1 is buried next to her father in Jln Ampang while her mother is laid to rest in Bukit Kiara. She passed away last year (a very nice lady), so this year, we have one more kubur to ziarah. After kubur, usually we would visit MrsN #1’s sister’s family, but this year, she’s celebrating it with her daughter in Melbourne. So, there’s one less house to visit this year.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at my MIL’s house again before saying goodbye at 5pm. Balik rumah, pack barang, dropped Seri at her auntie’s house, and we left for Ipoh at 7pm. Reached my mum’s house at 10pm. It wasn’t too bad. My parents were happy to see us. We went out again for McDonald’s that night because my mum’s kitchen has run out of food. Finally slept at close to midnight. Really tiring…

The next day, we went back to my kampong in Parit. This was my maternal grandparents’ house (both have passed away, unfortunately). My mum’s youngest sister lives in that house now. All my uncles and aunties came back this raya, so it was nice to see all of them again.

I'm sure some of you are wondering how are my stepchildren's reactions towards this balik kampong business. Well, all I can say is they are taking it very well. This raya, especially, they are such sweethearts. Usually, one or two would show their long faces whenever we all balik kampong but surprisingly this year, they are very accommodating. I didn't hear any complaint or silent protest.

And this year too, they didn’t seemed awkward sitting there in the living room of my opah’s house, surrounded by my uncles, aunties and many cousins. They seemed relaxed and I was so happy to see them behaving that way. We are talking about these 3 city kids sitting there in a rumah kampong, ok? They stood out in the crowd like a sore thumb! Seumur hidup diaorang, tak pernah masuk kampong – all their aunties and uncles duduk rumah batu in the cities ~ but their stepmum here grew up in a rumah kampong. What to do… kena belajar lah tentang penghidupan orang lain.

Was I nervous? Honestly, I was a bit apprehensive the first time I brought them home to my kampong (this was in 2005) ~ afraid that they wouldn’t know how to behave and they would look down on my relatives. Fact is, these kids have spent all their lives in KL. Their kampung is KL and they’ve never set foot in a real kampong house before this. Who wouldn't be nervous?

But they did me proud the first time around. They seemed uncomfortable at first (of course, that’s understandable), but they didn’t do anything that would embarrass either me or their father. For that, I was very thankful. This time around tho', I had nothing to worry about. They just knew what to do.

Sometimes, these kids surprise me in many ways, when I least expected it. That’s why I kept on saying they are good children…

As for MrNordin, he was as sweet as ever. "Sentiasa menurut perintah" (as he likes to tease me..) I didn't cry that much either when I kissed his hands that raya morning. I told him maybe I tak banyak sangat dosa with you this year. But truth is, the fact that I decided to take things positively this raya do make a lot of difference towards how I feel this raya. No resentment, no heartache, no anger. Just happiness. And I like this feeling..

Here are our raya pictures. Hope you can post yours too. Cheers!

In my MIL's garden

In my MIL's living room, with some of my BIL's children

"Sorry, Baba... I always kicked you out of bed.."

" Selamat Hari Raya from Mr & MrsNordin