Tuesday, November 25, 2008

MY MOTHER

She was so skinny. I could clearly feel all her bones as I hugged her. I always made it a point to give her a gentle hug whenever we met.

She did not eat anything much these days. "Things get lodged in my throat." That was her topmost complain everytime I told her to eat something.

She was also very fussy at how her food was cooked. It should not be too salty, too tasteless, too oily and too undercooked (especially veges). For this reason her daughters and daughter-in-laws all were very jittery when it came to cooking for her.

Currently she practically survives on half a plate of plain white rice (she normally uses Thai rice) and a deep-fried chicken or Indian mackerel. Baulu Kuala Kemaman was also one of her favourites. I always make it a point to get her supply whenever I go to Kuala Kemaman. She told me she could finish RM5 baulu in a sitting - there is nothing much as it is very light these Kuala Kemaman baulu!

Banana and mangoes are two fruits that she likes. She could no longer take oranges as the fibres would usually get stuck to her throat.

Talking and story telling were her favourites. Whenever we visited her it always end up in us having to hear her many stories - normally revolving around her personal experience and jumping from one story to another without comma or full stop. All we have to do is just to listen and listen we do, without much interruption in between.

Last Sunday we paid her a visit after Zuhur. She was wearing my old blue surgery outfit. My name was still well preserved, right above the pocket. She told me that the shirt suited her well and she still keeps the pant and the head gear.

She is my mother, Siti Aishah bt Ibrahim @ Putih bt Ibrahim. She is 70++ now. She is blessed with 12 children (from two marriages and three of them had passed away - all from her first marriage) and 40+ grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

2 comments:

RoyalTLady said...

WOW! YOU certainly have changed image. Just on time for the coming new year.

You must be fed up of the dull black background, ay?

I am not surprised at the complaints from both parties about food. Like it or not ALL involved have to tolerate her... just like how she had tolerated all of you when you were little. She has to cope with so many demands... not only food... remember?

Anyway, Allah is testing our patience at this stage. If you could endure, then the reward would be much more and full of Rahmat. Zikir a lot while preparing her feed and while dealing with her, then you would feel the unmeasurable pleasures rather than "stressful". Allah has worked it all out. Who He wants to take care of your mom, who He wants to be the cook and who He wants to test the most. Insyaallah, you would feel the pleasure like how she had felt while taking care of all of you before.

May Allah Bless all of us. Amiiiin.

azahar said...

It was accidental really. While playing with the blog I found the thing, so I just clicked and it changed, from the plain black to a more vibrant look.

As for my mother, I love her very much. She has done a lot for us. Imagine raising the nine of us with a meagre salaray of a police constable.

I remember her sweating it out baking baulu, pounding kacang hijau for making putu kacang, mmatik, siat pucuk (processing nipah cigarette wrappers from nipah shoots), weaving atap nipahjust to ensure us having enough food and money for school.

During those growing up years, believe it or not, the nine of us consumed 30 gantangs of rice per month!

Why? Because those days we did noty have junk food like now.

She was the one running up here and there all over Kemaman just to see that I made it to SDAR back in 1967.

I wrote the little story just because I pity her in her present state. How I was so helpless in many things to balas budi...money alone cannot do it.

I am always fighting with my conscience for not being able to do it. But she understands...