The Wife's birthday & other commentaries.

26.5.2008.

Last Sunday, 25th. May, the missus and I drove to PJ Hilton for an evening with the kids & their children, to celebrate her birthday. I had wanted to have everybody back in Seremban for the weekend, but No.2 Son suggested the hotel, and since he also offered to foot the bill, all agreed to it. 

The wife and I left early, at about 5.30 p.m., to avoid the Sunday evening KL-bound traffic snarl on the Plus highway. Sure enough, as I passed over the overhead to the Seremban toll plaza, I saw the vehicles already bumper-to-bumper down below. So instead of turning into the highway, I drove straight to the LBJ-Sepang road through KLIA to Shah Alam. Even this was having heavier than normal traffic, especially at around the LBJ section into the Sepang F 1 circuit.

We arrived in good time at the hotal, about 6.45 pm. Since the buffet opened at 7, and since I had only a light lunch that day, my wife and I started eating ahead of the children. No.1 Son, and Adib, his wife with Iman, my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, came at about 8, No.3 Son, and his friend Ezi a bit later, and No. 2 Son and his wife Ija, with Acad, my two-and-a-half-year-old grandson, at about a quarter past. They had left Acad's one-year-old brother, Ameng, at home with their maid. 

After everyone had their fill, at about quarter to 10, No.2 Son had the restaurant bring a large slice of cake with 3 small candles, and we all, helped by the staff, sang "Happy Birthday"to my wife. The buffet closed at 10, but we only left at almost 11. Later No. 2 Son called me to say the dinner cost him more than 700. "So ?" I said. "So I'm sending you the bill". "OK, then I'll send you my bill for your studies in Australia", I said. "My education is your resposibility". "Only the basic costs". Anyway, it's not my mother. It's his mother.

I brought No. 3 Son's Examination Admission Docket for his ACCA paper on 4th. June. As with his other papers over the last 3 years, He showed a distinct lack of excitement about the whole thing. He still has 3 papers to complete his studies and has promised to complete everything by this December. We can only pray. When I asked about his driving licence which expires this month, he feigned surprise, although I have reminded him dozens of time.Instead he pretended to show more interest in my latest postings in my blog, and said he's a Mahathir man. 

No. 3 Son, of all our children,  is relatively the most gifted, academically. Compared to the others, he has also given the least effort for all of his scholastic achievements so far. He hasn't done too badly, from primary school to the fifth form. He did well enough to be selected for MRSM in Jasin. He was subsequently selected to go for an engineering degree in Japan. But at the University of Malaya, during the matriculation prior to leaving for Japan, unknown to me, he cut classes for one whole year. The UM lecturers, however, took pity and had him transferred to UiTM for the Diploma in Accounts course, which he eventually completed. Now he's doing his ACCA.

Considering we have only four children, my wife and I have found that we have our work cut out, in bringing them up as well as we could. I myself have 9 siblings, and my wife 11, and wonder how our parents coped. Our four had four different needs, and although I was more or less able to provide for their physical comfort, I'm not sure if I had fulfilled all of their psychological needs. The objective of giving each one at least a tertiary education, thank the Lord, I have been able to achieve. Whether I've provided for everyone the all- round character development remains untested.

Notwithstanding everything, my wife can feel proud that, in her own way, she had been able to bring up her children well enough. In spite of No. 3 Son's tantrums ( during primary school my wife would fetch him from school, but when she sometimes came late he would roll on the ground to show his unhappiness), I thought the children all grew up nicely. They don't rebel too much against their mother's pestering, they are polite to the older relatives, and most gratifying, they don't seem to care too much in talking about their cousins or their friends, some of whom my wife has distinct dislike for.

Now that all are grown up, they don't all congregate around us all the time, the way that some of their cousins are forever hanging around their parents all the time. The grandchildren are also coming around seemingly quite well. They are all still too young to take from their parents for rides and stuff. Acad is especially attached to his mother, who works from home. Iman is quite different, because she is left at day care when Adib goes to work. This makes her more outgoing, more approachable to strangers. Ameng is still too young to show any preferences. We would probably offer to send Iman to kindergarten near our place in Seremban when the time comes.

No. 1 Son returns from work at dusk, and Adib sometimes travels outstation. No. 2 Son's sons are too attached to Ija. My wife is not really too keen on the idea of a fresh round of sending kids to school again, but No.1 Son and Adib, I'm sure, will have their schedule shot, with their distant places of work and the impossible KL-PJ traffic.

When, and if the time comes, I'll reorganize my golfing schedule. In the meantime, I'll be at the Club at 7 tomorrow morning. My wife can linger late in bed, enjoying her birthday morning-after.

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