happy birthday, mother!

2nd February - Happy 70th Birthday, my dear mom.

My mom was born as Safiah @ Siti Meriah binti Haji Abdul Rahman. The only daughter of three children. Being the only girl in the family, she was quite pampered especially by her step-grandmother and aunties. we call her "che".

How would i describe her? dia adalah orang yang paling baik dan berhati mulia, penyabar, amanah, bersangka baik and always positive. when i was small, i didn't really fancy her. i always thought my father was great and she always come second to him. but as i grew, i slowly realized her sacrifices, her inner strength and the depth of her love.

i have to admit that i'm not very close to her. our relationship is really mother&daughter and never as friends. but i love her, no doubt. cuma kadang2 kasih sayang itu tak dapat diluahkan dgn kata2. she was not an expressive person, she kept her feelings to herself. and as a working mother, a teacher, her time was quite full. so, i spent most of my time with my siblings.

nevertheless, she is a great mom! sesibuk mana bekerja, we never left home without breakfast, and it will be roti bakarnya yang sangat sedap bcoz she letak banyak gula over the margarine, sometimes roti kukus. no wonder till now, i still found roti paling sesuai for me as breakfast. she would cook fresh lunch after school and never forget to prepare some kueh for our evening tea, and her tea is the best. a family dinner is a must. we always dine together, and i think that brought the family together! during weekend she will cook something special - roti canai, my favourite nasi lemak n nasi kerabu, nasi dagang. the smell of her nasi goreng will always woke me-up in zest, her fried meehoon semuanya sedap. and kami adik-beradik akan makan berulang2 dari pagi sampai tengahari.

mom will always do the cooking, but we were trained to do the cleaning dari kecik. we have duty rosters (siapa2 paling senior yang ada kat rumah will be the boss) for each day and a different one for the weekend. daily roster would concentrate on cleaning the kitchen, where as weekend roster will be on cleaning of the house. since 8 or 9 years old, she would train us to do our own laundry and iron our own clothes. lipat kain tu kerja routine time tgk tv. tapi yang penting she never deprive us from pergi main ngan kawan2 or tgk tv.

she is a wonderful wife. she never argue with dad, at least not infront of us. tak pernah bergaduh. and she is the traditional kelantan woman yang sangat2 mengutamakan the men in all things, sampai kadang2 buat kami (the modern ladies) rimas!!! dia paling mengutamakan tetamu, and kami kalau balik, akan sentiasa rasa dirai, the tea and meal would always be ready. no wonder all the menantus suka balik kb.

now, at 70, mom and dad tinggal berdua aje in that big house. none of us stays in kb or kelantan. maybe sesekali rasa sunyi bila anak cucu kembali ke rumah masing2 after cuti, but i think they are happy that way. they have activities to keep them busy, and our neighbourhood pun sangat bagus. as one of the nearest to them, i make sure that i balik kb at least once a month, and i can see the happiness in their eyes whenever we come home.

Mom, your birthday means so much to me;
To have you in my life another year,
The time I spent enfolded in your love,
Each day, each moment with you is so dear.

I cherish the very special bond we have.
You lift my spirit in so many ways.
I celebrate your life; I honor you,
And send to you my love and care and praise.

I love you, mother!