No longer a boy but not yet a man

Abang Idin turns 13 today, 7th April 2009.

I thought of scanning some favourite photos from childbirth right up till Std 6 Graduation and upload them here - but then realised too late that the photo albums are still nicely packed in 2 boxes and stored in our 'old' house. So niat tak kesampaian.

Abang Idin was small at birth, only 2.48kg. I carried him to full term with very little hassle (no morning sickness whatsoever). Just one push and out he ventured into this world. He is still small size todate. Reminds me of my own dwarf days - no difference. I only shot up drastically after puberty. So there is hope for Abang Idin to grow into a tall, tanned & handsome boy one fine day.

But size does not matter. I would like to think that he fits well into the description of "kecik2 cili padi".

He WAS short tempered, to say the least. Kecik2 dulu, cepat sangat naik hangin. Kalau marah, he would shout until urat leher semua keluar. The tremors could be felt by the whole Taman Hijau then. We used to call him Mat Kilau Junior. (Note: Kalau ada junior, mesti ada senior kan? And Mat Kilau was not a female - so guess who handed down this trait? LOL!!!)

He's an early bloomer in puppy love though. He first fell in love with Ariel the Little Mermaid (the Disney cartoon character) when he was barely 3. I might have blogged about this before. He was watching Disney House when suddenly he shrieked out to ask me, "IBUUUUUU...kenapa 'kote' Idin rasa macam sakit bila tengok Ariel the Little Mermaid ni?". I panicked. Bagai nak rak punya panick. Didn't know how to answer or react. Ayah was away, posted to Jeddah that time. Later that night when I called Ayah, all he answered was, "THAT's MY BOY!!!!". Pulak ....

When he was 5, after starting Kindy at Tadika Sinaran Bayu, he had his heart for a chinese classmate. I didn't know until one Sunday when we had our regular nasi lemak brunch by our fish pond just outside the dining hall. He picked up a wild flower and gave it to me. I was so thrilled, eh... kecik2 lagi dah romantic jugak anak aku nih? He asked me to put it in my hair (selit celah telinga) which I did happily for him. Then he said, dreamily, with glow in his eyes, that I looked so sweet with the flower in my hair, just like 'Michelle'. Huh??!!! It was a short lived infatuation though. One day Michelle accidentally fell into the small gutter while playing during recess and her mother withdrew her from the Kindy. Abang Idin didn't quite find any one else to replace Michelle thereafter. When I asked, he innocently answered, "Yang lain semua gelap-gelap, tak cute macam Michelle!" GULP!!!

Since then, dia jadi pemalu sangat dengan perempuan sebenarnya. Saling tak tumpah macam Ayah dia zaman dolu-dolu.

He's also considerably matured in thinking for his age progressively. When he was 6, he approached his Pak Long who had just bought a new car and asked his Pak Long left, right & centre about not just how much the car cost, but whether that car was brand new or second hand, purchased direct from car dealer or owner, whether he purchased it cash or credit, how much the loan interest was, whether the car was insured and for how much, with which insurance company, how often the car needed servicing, did it come with AAA membership or not, if not who would tow the car away if it broke down along the highway, yadayadayya.... Suffice to say, Pak Long was dumbfounded and turned to us, "Korang bagi makan apa budak ni?". hahahaha....

He was once voted Best Story Teller at Kindy - don't know what he klentong his teacher & classmates la kan?

His primary school days were not short of typical childhood mischievousness and boyish pranks. Never got into any serious or succumbed to being bullied despite his small size. Why? Cerdik! He always have much bigger and taller friends as his 'body guards'.

His maturity in thinking persevered through the observation of others. In my last conversation with his tuition teacher just before PMR, Mr Shan said he had never met a 12 year old quite like Abang Idin before. When they have issues for discussions (as part of the reading & comprehension exercise), Abang Idin would come up with all sorts of reasoning, theories, hypotheses, comparisons and serious probing questions which often caught him off guard, unprepared. Oh well.. other than cartoon & sports, he likes watching the national geography and discovery channel, and he reads a lot from boys adventure stories, to sports almanacs and also history of the world, the planet, the universe and even the secrets of Pharaohs and Tutankhamen. So that sums it all I guess.

A die hard Man Utd fan, who still perhaps deep down wishes he can be a pro footballer one day. Actually Abang Idin, if you can't join them, you just buy/invest in the club in the future ok?

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12 years gone by in a blink of an eye.

Typically, we would have one or two months or at least a few weeks of anticipation in preparation for his birthday - what presents to give him, what kind of birthday cake he would like, should it be home made birthday cards or off the rack options, etc, etc. Every year we would crack our head; do we want to hold a party at home/elsewhere OR just send the cake to his school OR both? Almost every year, we ended up doing both. We would buy a cake & pack some snacks & drinks into little packages - like party packs minus the toys - to be sent to his school so that he could celebrate with his classmates. Then we would hold a "party" - most of the time just amongst us either at home or some eateries somewhere, sometimes with extended families (nenek, atuk, mak long, pak long segala... cum doa selamat), sometimes with our regular gettogether friends & their families (cuma baca doa sebelum makan...Allahuma baariqlana.....ehehe). And oh yes... these parties ... may not necessarily be held on his birthdate spot on. It's Msia, we do have inclement weathers kan?

This year, it is his first bday away from home.

I'm feeling blue. Can't hug, smooch & tickle him when the clock struck 12 as we usually did in the past.

My first born celebrating his birthday on his own, hopefully with his classmates or dormmates.

Alahai...sedih la pulak ibu sorang ni.

Nevertheless, we still bought him a cake, choc cappucino - his favourite. 3 birthday cards (off the rack) - one from Hafiz & Ameer. One from Ibu. One from Ayah. And a cute package with teddy bear print & little ribbon with mini birthday gifts inside - a mini wooden yellow pet cat from Ameer, a mini sunflower magnetized photoframe from Hafiz and a keychain with a mini black 'Converse' shoe from Ibu (it was printed as 'Conserve' though...hahaha). Dropped all these off at his school's guard house at about 6pm together with some snacks & drinks (not in little packages this time). Pandai2 la dia share ramai2 with his friends.

He called me right after Maghrib and thanked me happily. He sounded quite excited. I told him the yellow pet cat was from Ameer when he almost shouted, nanti-nanti....don't tell, he hadn't open the gift pack yet! Lerrrr.... anti climax betul la Ibu ni.

Ayah bought his gift during Abang Idin's outing on Sunday - a YONEX badminton racket - and Abang Idin brought it back to hostel same day, grinning from ear to ear. So the 'real' birthday gift is due only from Ibu now. He had hinted his boots were tight already. Hmm.... tunggu ek?

Meanwhile, I hope he would enjoy the cake, snacks & drinks with his friends tonite. And treasure the mini gifts from us. Mini they may be, but symbolic of our warm thoughts, well wishes and unconditional love for him.

By the way, Hafiz wrote on the birthday card, "Yo Bro! Have you found a new awek at SEPINTAR yet? Her name is.....?". LOL!!! Hafiz, hafiz..... he even said out loud his wish for Abang Idin when we signed the bday cards, "I wish Abang Idin will be FREED from Asrama!!!!" . Despite the sibling rivalry, he must be missing his not-so-big brother.

So there you go Abang Idin. We all miss you. Actually not just on your birthday, but everyday too.

May you find lots of success, happiness & healthy living for the years to come. Ibu doakan Abang Idin sentiasa dipelihara dalam keimanan supaya selamat dunia & akhirat. Many happy returns.



My 13 year old Abang Idin - no longer a boy, not yet a man.