looking back over the years

it seemed only yesterday when her children were small. 

she remembers vividly with fondness, when all of them turned to her for almost everything. she juggled being a mother, a wife, a career woman.

she held them in her arms when they were little, holding them close to her heart. although often scolded for holding them too often, she persisted for she believes that children need the closeness to a mother. giving them strength, making them feel so safe.

she was like a fierce mother hen, terribly protective of her offsprings that annoyed some people no end. but she didn't care. she had her maxims. she stood by them.

each nite she will put each of her kids to sleep by turns. often lying by their sides till they were fast asleep. and waking up again three or four times every night to feed the little ones milk. from 1984 to 1993 she never had a single uninterrupted night's sleep. but she didn't mind it. never at all. she slept in the office surau each day during lunch break lost to the world.

for those were the best times of her life! although at the time she was like in a circus. 

Alhamdulillah The All Mighty gave her the strength. and the perseverance. against all odds.

she gave her children her all then.

now that she is in her twilight years she only wishes them well. the most important thing to her is that her children will in turn love, nurture, and take the best care of their own children. her grandchildren. 

and that they will learn from the mistakes she made. and never repeat them.

such is a mother's love.

unconditional. everlasting. no matter what.

a mother prays for the well being of her children after every solat.

the children will understand when they are mothers themselves. and fathers.

home by the sea

it must be heavenly to wake up each dawn to the music of waves of the South China Sea dancing onto the white sandy beaches...  and to savor each tranquil eventide's gloaming the splendor of ephemeral colors awash on the western skies...

a home by the sea... in between the gentle swaying palm trees... and whispering casuarinas...

and silvery moonlit nights gazing onto shimmering water.... 

the bunnies

each morning she lets kiko and koko run merrily in the garden. they stay out in the open till after maghrib. how happy the bunnies must be...

when the sun is high in the sky, both kiko and koko rest in the shade under the car. it must seem like a cavern to them.

then she feeds them their favorite snack, the sunflower seeds. she loves hearing the crunching sound they make as they munch the seeds hungrily.

both kiko and koko run to her as she hands out the seeds on her palm.

they have their pellets too. and the ever loved galangal leaves.

in the cool of the evenings kiko and koko ran madly among the ferns and heliconias. biting the soft carpet grass, the water spinach dangling from big pots, the jasmine leaves as well as pineapple leaves!

so she spends the whole day in the living room doing her research or just visiting some favorite blogs. every now and then she'd check on the bunnies.

after maghrib kiko and koko would be by their cage, ready to come inside! they are so clever, they even know the ime she'll come out to take them into the house!

she'd ask kiko to go into the cage softly and kiko would immediately obey. she'd say 'thank you darling! and she takes him in first.

then she'd call out to koko, placing the cage in exactly the same spot each evening. koko would then run into the cage. 'thanks koko dear!' she'd coo and takes him in.

there'd be water spinach, carrots, pellets, dried leaves for their dinner. sometimes lettuce too.

they're so sweet, kiko and koko.