Our sweet, sweet boy...

I was cooking dinner tonight, with Daryati helping me with the ingredients and also the washing up, and we were just talking about what Hilman did the whole day today while I was at work. Hilman had missed 3 days of school due to his asthma and he needed his Ventolin puffs every 4 hours, and the only way that he would get his puffs at a regular 4 hours interval was for him to stay at home. He's also on Prednisolone and Diphenydramine which can cause drowsiness. So, just to make sure that he gets the right dosage of all the medicines at the right times, and so that he would get the rest that he needed, staying at home was the answer.

And suddenly, Daryati said -

Daryati : Ibuk, Hilman lucu sekali siang tadi, buk! (Ma'am, Hilman was so funny this afternoon!)

Me : Lucu? Mengapa? Apa yang Hilman buat yang lucu? (Funny? Why? What was it that he did which was funny?)

Daryati : Tadi makan siang Hilman minta saya gorengkan ikan, jadi saya gorengkan satu ekor ikan kembung untuk dia. Kemudian saya hidangkan di meja. Siap duduk, dia minta pisau dari saya... (This afternoon, for lunch, Hilman had asked me to fry some fish for him, and I fried one spanish mackerel for him. After that I served the fish on the table. Right after he sat down, he asked for a knife...)

Me : Pisau?! (Knife?!I was quite taken aback by this)

Daryati : Iya...Habis saya tanya untuk apa? Hilman bilang, "Saya mau potong, mau simpan sedikit untuk Ayah, Mommy, dan kakak-kakak saya."

(Yes...So, I asked him what did he want the knife for, to which he replied, "I want to cut the fish and save some for my Ayah, Mommy and my sisters")

And Daryati continued -

Daryati : Jadi saya bilang sama dia - "Enggak perlu disimpan untuk Ayah, Mommy dan kakak-kakak kerna Makcik tidak goreng semua. Masih ada banyak ikan di dalam peti. Kalu Ayah, Mommy, Hanna dan Hasya mau, Makcik boleh gorengkan untuk semua yang baru. Jadi dia bilang dan tanya sama saya, "Makcik, ikan yang belum dimasak, cukup untuk semua orang?", Jadi saya bilang, "Iya, cukup...tak perlu dipotong ikan goreng punya Hilman. Hilman boleh habiskan semua..."

(So, I told him - "There's no need for you to keep the fish for your Ayah, Mommy and sisters because I did not fry all the fish. There are still a lot more left in the freezer. If Ayah, Mommy, Hanna and Hasya want, I can fry for them fresh. So he asked and said, "Makcik, those uncooked fish - are they enough for everyone?" So, I told him, "Yes, there's enough...there's no need for you to cut your fish. You can finish the whole fish...")

And Daryati said, after hearing this, Hilman then asked her if she wanted some. And when she convinced him that she didn't want any, then only Hilman took the whole fish....and finished it under 5 minutes!

Hilman is by nature a very considerate and a very sensitive boy who has a very soft heart, and always thinks of others before himself. What happened this afternoon showed that he could, if he wanted (and which he DID. Hehehe!) finish the whole fish himself. It was just a very small ikan kembung, but, he was thinking and was more worried that we would not get to eat the fish like he did, and that was why he wanted to save some for us.

That really brought a lump to my throat. And the lump got bigger, when I saw tears trickling down Daryati's cheeks while she was relaying the story to me. She was so touched by what Hilman did. She has always had a soft spot for Hilman. And I know that after what Hilman did today, her soft spot for Hilman has become tenfold now...


Our sweet, sweet boy - Hilman. Taken after one of his swimming lessons some weeks ago.