The Reunion

I’ve been trying to write about the reunion I had with my primary school friends last Sunday. But every time I do that, the words get in the way.

For some reasons, I’m feeling sad. When I look at the reunion pictures posted on my FB, I can’t help wishing that I’m 12 years old again. Back in my small hometown, riding bicycles in the evening and climbing trees with my friends.

Why do I feel this way? Did I miss anything?

The meeting we had last Sunday was a blast. It provided an avenue for us, 11 good buddies when we were small, to catch up on lost times.

I met B again after 30 years. I must confess, I used to have a huge crush on him in Std 6! Who wouldn't? He was a popular boy in school, being a school runner and all. I thought about him all the time after primary, sometimes even dreaming of him. But in my dreams, he was always the 12 year old boy looking at me with a smile. And I remember that smile perfectly...

So when he walked into Melting Pot last Sunday, I was very nervous. I dared not look him in the eye for I was afraid he would notice how edgy I was. He recognized me straight away. We exchanged hellos and he went on to sit at the end of the table. I wonder if he felt the same way about me. He still looked the same, though, like he never aged. Perhaps, that's why I felt it was a bit of a letdown.

Then I met the love-letter boy. Also nervous the first time we shook hands, but after a while, things just jived in. We joked about the time when he was called in by my mother to the staff room. He was teased by the girls for being such a naughty boy in class.

I recalled the time when we went to mengaji with the same ustazah whom we called Wan. Wan lived next to Shera’s house and all of us mengaji with her. Me and my two brothers, Shera and her sister, a few other friends and him. I remember, he used to cucuk the al-Quran with the penunjuk until berlubang. Don’t know why he did that.. sampai berlubang Quran tu! Tapi tak jugak pandai2 mengaji! Hee.. hee…

My two Angels were there too... Nani and Shera. Nani still looked the same after all these years. Her face looked exactly like how I remembered her when she was 12. The way she walked, the way she talked, the way she laughed... they were all the same. Amazing!

And Shera, I don't remember her being so quiet but that was how she was then and now. She just sat there next to me observing the others mostly unless she was spoken to. She had kept her hair straight and long, very elegant. This was the only thing that was different about her as she used to wear her hair short last time.

Jamilah, the one who I remember as someone who liked to pick a fight with us, is the only one who still maintain a slim figure despite having two kids. She looks a bit different now from the last time, more refined, I would say. Had I bumped into her on the streets, I wouldn't have recognised her.

She hugged me so hard when we first salam each other. It was so hard that I just broke down and cry. I didn't realise how much I've missed her.. I couldn't contain my feelings at that time because I felt so happy to see her again and be reunited with my other childhood friends whom I haven't seen for so long.


Jamilah & me


The rest who came were Sayed ~ we called him Cili Padi last time because he was short and small. The shortest boy in class. He has grown taller a bit now, looks more mature and holds an important position in one of the investment banks in town. Very well done. His parents still live in Bota. They were teachers, just like mine.

Then there was Nizar ~ oh yes, how can I forget about him? He was the boy who I always competed with during exams. If it was not me, it would be him who would get No. 1 in class. My mother would always grit her teeth whenever Nizar's marks were higher than mine.

When I was choosing a name for my little ultraman, "Nizar" was in the Top 3 because all the Nizars I know are either a very important person or is very clever. MrNordin's ex-boss was En. Nizar, there's a doctor, who we usually go to, known as Dr. Nizar, and this friend of mine, who was very clever in school, is also known as Nizar. Hence, the name Nizzar for my baby, but with a double zee.





Me and Nizar


Besides them, there were Zaida and Meor. Zaida was one of my close buddies too, her parents were teachers as well and I used to go to her house with my father dulu. Her mother has passed away recently but her dad still lives in Parit.

Zaida has one daughter who she brought along during the meeting. I heard, she had just gone through a divorce but I did not ask her about it. I think it was too personal and that kind of question should be reserved for another occasion.

Meor ~ he was the second shortest guy in class. We didn't expect him to turn up but he was a surprise arranged by Nizar. Like Sayed, Meor has grown slightly taller now. Very nice.

So, what's next?

We are planning to meet again during another classmate's wedding in April. It is his first marriage, to a 20 something girl. He missed the boat earlier on, I guess.

Someone shouted, "Jom buat kat Parit lah!" Yeah.. that's an idea. Then we can invite some of the teachers who are still around, including my mother. I'm sure she would love to see her old students again.

As for now, I'm still trying to digest this wonderful feeling I had since last Sunday. I suppose, reunion does this to people: It makes us feel nostalgic, and it's good for our system.


Us then...


Class photo Std. 2, 1976 (I'm seated at no. 4 from the right). The class teacher was my mother.



Us now....



L to R: Isham (LLB), me, Bakri, Sayed, Nizar, Meor, Jamilah, Zaidah & her daughter, Nani, Shera




More photos at http://www.facebook.com/#/nmunit?v=photos

More stories on my childhood at http://mrsnordin.blogspot.com/2010/01/childhood-memories.html





Comments

zaitgha said…
Mrs. N, ur hair style sama lah now and then....seronok baca ur entry nih....gonna have mine end of the month...cant wait...
Anonymous said…
Exactly my thot!! Your hair looks the same..just a bit longer now perhaps.

I miss my childhood too, those carefree days...

Busybody
DadaIQ said…
BJ
Remember our conversation about a year ago when I told you about IQ's primary school reunion? I guess he must be feeling the same. Harap2 the crush masa primary school tu remain as a sweet memory.

Your pix masa std 2 looks similar to mine :-)
MrsNordin said…
Zai,

Ya ka? I never realised that!

I'm sure you're gonna have so much fun during your reunion. It'll be a blast!
MrsNordin said…
Busybody,

Habis tu, dah memang rambut I macam ni, nak tukar pesen apa lagi..?

Yes, childhood days are the best. I miss them, I guess that's why I'm feeling blue. :(
MrsNordin said…
Dada,

It'll just be a sweet memory, that's all. Reminiscing about zaman persekolahan ni memang best. It makes you feel good about yourself. Ingat kita ni masih muda lagi.

Actually, in my earlier posting, I did mention about IQ's primary school reunion tu. Go read again.
ohmygawd sayed was your CLASSMATE??????? I worked wiht the guy! cilipadi is right man!

I pun nak nangis baca,,,sebak sebab sebenarnya rindu sangat...rindu apa I pun tak tau...rindu old times kot....

Perasan tak sekarang dah 40s ramai reunion..masa 30s tak dalah sangat kan?
MrsNordin said…
SW,

You worked with him?? How come??

Yes, it seems, as you turn 40, you start looking for old friends. To make one feels good about oneself? I don't know!

You should try and look for your Labuan friends!
Spices of Life said…
BJ,
lovely entry. I have no idea where are my sekolah rendah friends. How did all of you get connected?
BJ, what a cute 10 year old your were! I could clearly recognise you in the photo. Rias tu kuat sangat.

Lucky you for still remembering and meeting your primary school friends. I can't really remember mine very well. I doubt I could recognise any if ever I bumped into them on the streets. I'm so glad you had a wonderful reunion.
Oooppss..that photo was a photo of you in Std 2= 8 years old. Blame the error on my mata tua yg dah ke'ro.
Mama Rock said…
isnt it nice after all these years kan?
MrsNordin said…
Azieda,

It was through Facebook!
MrsNordin said…
Gina,

Hee.. hee...I was cute? Thank you!

I was like you a few years back, didn't know or can't remember my primary school friends. Until that chance meeting with one friend on FB, terus get connected with a few others. That's how it started.

We hope to find more in the future. You try too!
MrsNordin said…
Mama Rock,

Yes, it is very nice indeed... :)
mummy-mia said…
Mr Arputam!!! I remember him!!! Hahaha... and is that Meor brother of Fatimah and Faridah? Please ask him.
IBU said…
MrsN

My first thought, after reading this was: alamak.... would my hubby have any spark of jealousy if I were to attend any reunion wth old mates (kot2 la ada old flames....). But my reunion semua with girls only, SIGS primary, then STF hi school. HAHAHAHA!!!!

Reunion KPP ...errr... x pernah pegi. Ada ke? Ntah..

Reunion uni kat US ...oh well... I married him. So end of story. hehehe...

Then it struck me, ALAMAK!! He was the one from co-ed primary & hi school. And he attended a reunion not so long ago. And apparently they hv follow up sessions thereafter. He didn't attend any of the follow up (at least he had not made it known to me). Adakah sebab dia malas nak pegi OR ...jeng jeng jeng.... don't want to reignite any old flames?

URGHHHHHHH!!!!
Spices of Life said…
facebook. i went thro it to look for them, i have forgotten their names and also i couldnt recognise them at all..
LOL
MrsNordin said…
Mummy Mia,

Nanti I tanya dia. I don't have his number, but my friend does. Will let you know.
MrsNordin said…
Ibu,

Janganlah syak wasangka yang bukan-bukan... hee.. hee....

I'm sure each one of us ada "old flames" masa back in school (if co-ed lah). Infact, when I was telling my husband about my primary school punya cerita, he did mention to me that "Masa i sekolah rendah dulu, the most popular girl was xxx (i can't remember what he said her name was). Very pretty..." I suppose, he also got heart for her.

But tak kisahlah, that was an old story anyway. No such thing as "wanting to reignite" the old flame lah! I'm sure your husband feels the same way about his friends. So chill, babe!
MrsNordin said…
Azieda,

Try again, you may be lucky the bnext time.
AuntieYan said…
Salam Mrs.N,

Cutenya you masa kecik-kecik!...and your mum pun lawa & sweet!

Laaaaa..1976 you were in std. 2..alamak!!!..mudanya you all ni.....rasa beno I dah tua....

pssttt....during that year...I already putus cinta daaaa!!!...wakakakaka!!! :-)
MA said…
MrsN :

I am still in touch with my kindy friends. And that was way before FB or Internet days. We did lost contact after school but then, got back in touch through many 3rd parties info.

One fine example was way back in the late 80s I knew that a schoolmate that was working and staying in HK, we had lost touch after Form 5 (in 1981) and what I did was to tell my dad to let her dad know I would be in HK on sekian, sekian haribulan.

Guess who greeted me at the airport??

It was a wonderful surprise. And we remained fast friend until today. We do make effort to meet each other up for our respective festive days (my friends are all multi-racial).
MrsNordin said…
Auntie Yan,

1976 already putus cinta? Ha! Ha! I can learn a lot from you, then!!

Gambar masa kecik memang lah cute, semua orang punya gambar pun macam tu. Tapi bila dah tua ni... erkk... seganlah nak ambil gambar! Semua dah mengembang!
MrsNordin said…
MA,

That's nice of your friend to wait for you at the airport! Actually, parents are a good point of contact. Thanks for the idea.

When it comes to friendship, one must make an effort to touch base every once in a while. If not, akan lupa terus.

I figure, you are one such person. You can be a friend for life!
Spices of Life said…
old flame can flamed up...hahahhahahaha

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