Back to school

 Mon March 1, 2021.

Dekna took leave and her mother to take Wafa, her eldest, and the 2 twins, Muaz & Miqdad, to report for school for the first time. It's KGV Primary at Gedung Lalang. I shed tears when Bang Jat went to kindergarten for the first time at Jalan Tun Razak, KL, 1975. But it was as I watched him entering class, and only for a brief moment. Dekna cried at home the night before, as she prepared the school uniforms for the 3 kids, and cried again at school this morning, this time joined by her mother, too.  Adik posted a pic of Aya, smiling his toothless smile, in school uniform for the first time, too, but no accompanying story of tears.

Non-parents may not understand the tears. They are not of sadness. The emotion is one of realization, how time has flown over care and parental love showered from birth to now, and the kid suddenly has become a school-boy or school-girl, and the world churns on, and you're part of that.

I take note of the date, Monday, the first day of March, 2021. How very long ago was 1975, how relatively far it was from here, how different were the circumstances, today in the middle of this baffling, deadly pandemic.

I take note how difficult was the birth of Wafa, back in 2014, rushed from GH Seremban to Sultan Ismail Hospital, JB, in the hospital ambulance with doctor & nurse, and making the OT just in the nick of time, and Wafa came into the world almost 2 months early, weighing less than a kilo. Now she's in real school and nothing premature about it. And she's already speaking English and spelling Malay and English ! And her handwriting is not much worse than her mother's !

I take note that when I came back from golf today, the 3 were chirpy and showed-off their handphones recording the happenings of school's first day, and when I woke up for Asr all 3 were asleep in different parts of the house, obviously fatigued from the day's event. Miqdad seemed comfortable enough, on the long bench. Wafa was very cosy in grandma's bed. Muaz was just as sound asleep even as he laid, face down, on 2 chairs joined together at Dekna's writing table.

Tomorrow it'll be back to school.

Life goes on.

...................................................................................