Thoughts recorded on February 27, 2007...
I just got off the phone with my kids. They were just having dinner before their Tuesday night mengaji session with Ustadz Hadi, so we didn't get to chat long - just long enough for me to get the daily updates that I needed. Today's update - their monthly tests...
First, it was Hasya Sofea -
Me : Hello sayang...how are you?
Hasya : Hello mommy...I'm fine, thank you (munch, munch, munch)
Me : Oooops, are you having your dinner? (like I didn't know that she was?!)
Hasya : Uh-uh...I'm having rice, with ayam kicap and bayam...
Me : Wow!! That sounds really nice...(cut the crap, woman - go straight to the point). How was your test today?
Hasya : Good...It was soooo easy!
Me : Oooo...okay, did you get everything right, then?
Hasya : Hmmm...I don't know...wait till I get the results la!! What la you....Chuckle, chuckle... (She must be thinking - duuuuhhhhh....)
Me : What do you have tomorrow?
Hasya : Agama and Science.
Me : Have you done your revision for those two subjects?
Hasya : Science dah. Agama belum.
Me : Why Agama belum?
Hasya : Mmmmm....dunno! Because Ayah has not done the paper for me to practice yet?!
(Both Ayah and I always prepare mock papers for the kids before their tests/exams, by the way...Kiasu, eh?)
Me : Well...you can always read your books...
Hasya : Ok la! You want to speak to K.Long now?
(Ok, ok...I knew you wanted to get on with your dinner)
Me : Ok...I love you, I miss you...Mmmmmmuaaaahhh! Make sure you baca bismillah and selawat before your tests tomorrow and check your answers if you have time...Good night, sayang! Make sure you get No. 1 again! (Kiasu?!) Good luck for tomorrow!
Hasya : You know I always do la, Mommy....Good night! I love you, too. Mmmmmuaaaaahhh!!!KAK LONG!!!!! MOMMY WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU!!!! (At the top of her voice - as usual!)
(Talk about one very confident choleric child...)
Then, it was Hanna Suhaila's turn -
Hanna : Assalamua'laikum Mommy...
Me : Wa a'laikumussalam, sayang... How are you?
Hanna : I'm fine, thank you...Mommy okay?
Me : I'm okay, thanks. Have you had your dinner? Better have it quick before Ustadz comes...(yeah, right...like how is she going to have dinner when she's on the phone with you, woman?!!!)
Hanna : Dah, baru aje habis... Mommy, Pemahaman was SOOOO, SOOO difficult, Penulisan was okay and Jawi, was okay, too... Even Michelle (that's the girl to beat in all her exams, by the way) had difficulties in the Pemahaman Paper. The rest also said that paper was tough. They were asking us about all these words which were very vague and seakan-akan sama, you know?! Tomorrow I have Agama and B.I. I'm not worried about B.I., but Agama....even though the teachers said it's gonna be easy...I still think it's not...I'm so nervous!!!! But, I'll be okay...(giggle, giggle...) And you know that for Jawi - we have to know all the jenis-jenis Khat and all? Well, luckily I went through them just before the test...(giggle, giggle again...)
NO PAUSE AT ALL IN BETWEEN!
And then she started telling me about all the Khats under the sun....
So, you see...with Hanna - you don't have to ask...She will tell you EVERYTHING...I guess because she knows that even if she does not want to talk about it, her Ayah and Mommy will never fail to ask her how she does in her tests/exams. So, might as well just tell everything in one breath - get it over and done with, so that she can go on and enjoy whatever she wants to enjoy after that!
That's one sanguine kid!
Me : Ok...well, you could always beat Michelle, you know....(Kiasu?!) I know you can do it, just that some times you can be a bit careless...Just be careful and check your answers if you have time, ok?
Hanna : Ok, Mommy...and oh ya...I will baca bismillah and selawat, and all...don't worry....Giggle...giggle..
(See what I mean about Hanna?)
Me : Ok, sayang...I love you, I miss you...Good night... Good luck for tomorrow, dear. Mmmmmuaaahhhh! Can I speak to Hilman, please. Thank you.
Hanna : I love you, too. I miss you! Thanks! Good night! Hilman, come on, come on! Mommy wants to speak to you!
And I waited for about 40 seconds before Hilman got to the phone...
Hilman Syauqi's turn.
Me : Hello sayang!!! How are you?
Hilman : Hello, Mommy...fine.
Me : Hilman dah makan?
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : Hilman makan apa?
Hilman : Chicken.
Me : With rice?
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : How was your test today?
Hilman : Good.
Me : (Phew...what a relief...Considering that three days ago, he didn't even know what a "test" was!!!) Did you get everything right?
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : Good...you are such a clever boy..
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : What do you have tomorrow?
Hilman : What?
Me : What subjects do you have tomorrow?
Hilman : What??!! I don't understand.
Me : Errrr...you have some more tests tomorrow, right? Are you going to have Maths, or Science, or Agama?
Hilman : Errrr...I don't know...
Me : (Alamak!!!! Panic....panic!) It's okay Hilman, don't worry...(it was me who was sweating profusely, by the way!!!) You just ask Aunty Adek (that's my sister-in-law) to check your timetable and she will help you to revise tonight, ok? Make sure you read bismillah before your test okay?
Hilman : Ok.
Me : I love you, I miss you...Good night...Mmmuuaaahhhh!!! Can I speak to Aunty Adek, please?
Hilman : Ok...I love you, I miss you, Mommy...Mmmmuuaaahhh!!Bye Mommy....(in the background ) Aunty Adek...Mommy wants to talk to you...
(How phlegmatic can one kid be?!)
And I had to brief Aunty Adek for a full ten minutes on how to do an intensive revision session with Hilman tonight!!! Kiasu?!
See? I have three kids with three different personalities. A choleric (Hasya), a sanguine (Hanna) and a phlegmatic (Hilman). But, the same with a lot of you parents out there, with all three - I have the same KIASU attitude when it comes to their quest for knowledge - which, at the end of the day, means gaining of confidence : which, in turn, I believe IS the key to becoming someone with a wholesome, positive personality... But, of course, we also have to balance those with the things they don't teach in school, to make them a wholesome, positive, humble and likable personality...
So to all mothers out there who have a lot of personalities to handle - wherever you are, wherever THEY are - (i) just enjoy them; (ii) be a bit of choleric melancholic mom (a.k.a 'KIASU') every now and then; and (iii) do a bit of balancing, too, while you're at it. I just did all three, all under twenty minutes, all over the phone...
Wassalam...
I just got off the phone with my kids. They were just having dinner before their Tuesday night mengaji session with Ustadz Hadi, so we didn't get to chat long - just long enough for me to get the daily updates that I needed. Today's update - their monthly tests...
First, it was Hasya Sofea -
Me : Hello sayang...how are you?
Hasya : Hello mommy...I'm fine, thank you (munch, munch, munch)
Me : Oooops, are you having your dinner? (like I didn't know that she was?!)
Hasya : Uh-uh...I'm having rice, with ayam kicap and bayam...
Me : Wow!! That sounds really nice...(cut the crap, woman - go straight to the point). How was your test today?
Hasya : Good...It was soooo easy!
Me : Oooo...okay, did you get everything right, then?
Hasya : Hmmm...I don't know...wait till I get the results la!! What la you....Chuckle, chuckle... (She must be thinking - duuuuhhhhh....)
Me : What do you have tomorrow?
Hasya : Agama and Science.
Me : Have you done your revision for those two subjects?
Hasya : Science dah. Agama belum.
Me : Why Agama belum?
Hasya : Mmmmm....dunno! Because Ayah has not done the paper for me to practice yet?!
(Both Ayah and I always prepare mock papers for the kids before their tests/exams, by the way...Kiasu, eh?)
Me : Well...you can always read your books...
Hasya : Ok la! You want to speak to K.Long now?
(Ok, ok...I knew you wanted to get on with your dinner)
Me : Ok...I love you, I miss you...Mmmmmmuaaaahhh! Make sure you baca bismillah and selawat before your tests tomorrow and check your answers if you have time...Good night, sayang! Make sure you get No. 1 again! (Kiasu?!) Good luck for tomorrow!
Hasya : You know I always do la, Mommy....Good night! I love you, too. Mmmmmuaaaaahhh!!!KAK LONG!!!!! MOMMY WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU!!!! (At the top of her voice - as usual!)
(Talk about one very confident choleric child...)
Then, it was Hanna Suhaila's turn -
Hanna : Assalamua'laikum Mommy...
Me : Wa a'laikumussalam, sayang... How are you?
Hanna : I'm fine, thank you...Mommy okay?
Me : I'm okay, thanks. Have you had your dinner? Better have it quick before Ustadz comes...(yeah, right...like how is she going to have dinner when she's on the phone with you, woman?!!!)
Hanna : Dah, baru aje habis... Mommy, Pemahaman was SOOOO, SOOO difficult, Penulisan was okay and Jawi, was okay, too... Even Michelle (that's the girl to beat in all her exams, by the way) had difficulties in the Pemahaman Paper. The rest also said that paper was tough. They were asking us about all these words which were very vague and seakan-akan sama, you know?! Tomorrow I have Agama and B.I. I'm not worried about B.I., but Agama....even though the teachers said it's gonna be easy...I still think it's not...I'm so nervous!!!! But, I'll be okay...(giggle, giggle...) And you know that for Jawi - we have to know all the jenis-jenis Khat and all? Well, luckily I went through them just before the test...(giggle, giggle again...)
NO PAUSE AT ALL IN BETWEEN!
And then she started telling me about all the Khats under the sun....
So, you see...with Hanna - you don't have to ask...She will tell you EVERYTHING...I guess because she knows that even if she does not want to talk about it, her Ayah and Mommy will never fail to ask her how she does in her tests/exams. So, might as well just tell everything in one breath - get it over and done with, so that she can go on and enjoy whatever she wants to enjoy after that!
That's one sanguine kid!
Me : Ok...well, you could always beat Michelle, you know....(Kiasu?!) I know you can do it, just that some times you can be a bit careless...Just be careful and check your answers if you have time, ok?
Hanna : Ok, Mommy...and oh ya...I will baca bismillah and selawat, and all...don't worry....Giggle...giggle..
(See what I mean about Hanna?)
Me : Ok, sayang...I love you, I miss you...Good night... Good luck for tomorrow, dear. Mmmmmuaaahhhh! Can I speak to Hilman, please. Thank you.
Hanna : I love you, too. I miss you! Thanks! Good night! Hilman, come on, come on! Mommy wants to speak to you!
And I waited for about 40 seconds before Hilman got to the phone...
Hilman Syauqi's turn.
Me : Hello sayang!!! How are you?
Hilman : Hello, Mommy...fine.
Me : Hilman dah makan?
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : Hilman makan apa?
Hilman : Chicken.
Me : With rice?
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : How was your test today?
Hilman : Good.
Me : (Phew...what a relief...Considering that three days ago, he didn't even know what a "test" was!!!) Did you get everything right?
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : Good...you are such a clever boy..
Hilman : Uh-uh.
Me : What do you have tomorrow?
Hilman : What?
Me : What subjects do you have tomorrow?
Hilman : What??!! I don't understand.
Me : Errrr...you have some more tests tomorrow, right? Are you going to have Maths, or Science, or Agama?
Hilman : Errrr...I don't know...
Me : (Alamak!!!! Panic....panic!) It's okay Hilman, don't worry...(it was me who was sweating profusely, by the way!!!) You just ask Aunty Adek (that's my sister-in-law) to check your timetable and she will help you to revise tonight, ok? Make sure you read bismillah before your test okay?
Hilman : Ok.
Me : I love you, I miss you...Good night...Mmmuuaaahhhh!!! Can I speak to Aunty Adek, please?
Hilman : Ok...I love you, I miss you, Mommy...Mmmmuuaaahhh!!Bye Mommy....(in the background ) Aunty Adek...Mommy wants to talk to you...
(How phlegmatic can one kid be?!)
And I had to brief Aunty Adek for a full ten minutes on how to do an intensive revision session with Hilman tonight!!! Kiasu?!
See? I have three kids with three different personalities. A choleric (Hasya), a sanguine (Hanna) and a phlegmatic (Hilman). But, the same with a lot of you parents out there, with all three - I have the same KIASU attitude when it comes to their quest for knowledge - which, at the end of the day, means gaining of confidence : which, in turn, I believe IS the key to becoming someone with a wholesome, positive personality... But, of course, we also have to balance those with the things they don't teach in school, to make them a wholesome, positive, humble and likable personality...
So to all mothers out there who have a lot of personalities to handle - wherever you are, wherever THEY are - (i) just enjoy them; (ii) be a bit of choleric melancholic mom (a.k.a 'KIASU') every now and then; and (iii) do a bit of balancing, too, while you're at it. I just did all three, all under twenty minutes, all over the phone...
Wassalam...
No comments:
Post a Comment