The 8th. decade.

 Wed 4.1.2023.

4 days ago a group of us gathered at Md. Sham's beautiful Bkt. Jeluting bungalow. All were at least 78 (except for ND's grand-nephew and the OPA Sec who were invited) The oldest is 9 years older than me, and I passed my 78th birthday last month. You figure his age. (He's in great shape, notwithstanding his years.)

To me the biggest thing was that we, the selected attendees, enjoyed the long-enduring company, savouring the small talk, reminiscencing a few personal stories, all obviously enjoying the shared moment in the comfortable ambience of the luxurious abode. This was our chosen appointment to celebrate the new year coming the very next day.

And like the PD affair 2 weeks earlier, we ended with the glorious durian !

I was so enjoying the forbidden fruit (I'm diabetic) laid in the front compound of the house, that when those with me started to leave, I followed suit, and forgot to say good-bye to the gracious hosts. I whatsapped my apologies on the phone. And it opened a torrent of whatsapps to Md. Sham and the missus with the same messages.

2022 for me was memorable for many reasons. The passage of time is noted in my mind, of course. That I'm holding on, in mind and body, is a fact I treasure. Too many people around me, relatives, friends and neighbours, have left, leaving only memories,  of talks, and shared experiences. A few times, regarding family members, I wondered what was missed out in the past when  together.

My dad passed away 43 years ago at a relatively early age of 58. My mom outlived him by 30 years, leaving us at 87. All uncles and aunties from both sides are gone. Many first cousins are also gone, some at relatively young ages. You appreciate the health you still enjoy all the more, I think.

The inevitable can't be dismissed. I've been trying to adjust to that in any way I can. I try to put emphasis to what I can enjoy today, in terms of food and activities, and try put less importance to worldly things. I got rid of my troublesome "S Class", transferred my house to my daughter (against the wife's protestations - "what if she chase us out ?"), wrote a brief note of goodbye to the 4 children (they don't know this, they will have to find the note), and listed my current accounts and the numerous monetary obligations that need to be resolved against my small estate, if any, later.

I'm not an "ustaz", but whatever Islamic lessons that I've listened to, or studied about, make me want to resolve my obligation to my Creator accordingly. I accept that the daily prayers are obligatory. From age 10, they are compulsory. I performed the haj  when I was not yet 39. Rounding it up to age 40, I had to assess the quality of my "solats" back to age 10, a 30-year period. I have not entirely failed to perform them all this while, but I was certain many daily prayers had been missed these 30 years, to age 40. So for the last 30 years, I performed each daily solat twice. By 21.12.2022, arithmetically I had covered all 30 years of solats hitherto spottily performed ! In truth, the quality of the ritual, I don't know. I humbly leave it to God.

The fasting in Ramadhan I have not missed, but for a few days, in all these years. Still, I try to do the "puasa qada'" whenever I can, but the underperformance is not in the same magnitude of my solat misses.

The youngest grandchild will be 2 this year.. He's no. 12, an even dozen. My 4 kids are ok on their own, as far as I can see. The oldest grandchildren are a boy and a girl, both 18 this year and doing their forms 5. I will have to be 83 before I can see them out of college and working. Some of my golf-mates have working college graduate grandchildren already. But they are 5 years my senior, so I'm not far behind. I pray that I'll match them, in due age.

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