Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Rambling: An Afternoon with My Kids



Last week on Tuesday…..

Edrin was excited for a swim at a swimming pool at the club house in our area, Saujana Utama Club House, some 200 meters on the straight line from our home, up on the gradient. It has been a while since the last time my boys went there swimming. He hurried with the gears, had the swimwear readily worn underneath his daily wear, a bottle of cold drinks, an empty laundry bag for wet clothes, and towels – packed in a sling bag, shared with Sam’s. Since the excitement was greatly in Edrin, Sam just sat there on the couch finishing off the game on his Nintendo GameBoy. Edrin was seen a bit pissed off when Sam teased him – jokingly threatens not to go if he fails to pack up for him.

“Kalau tak jumpa goggle Sam… Sam tak nak pergi…”
“Hehehe… I am the Boss… Kan Aesh?

(Edrin is called as Aesh by Fara & Sam, originated from his 1st name Farez but my wife and I call on his 2nd name, Edrin)

A glance from the corner of his eyes, tongue-in-cheek, demonstrating his annoyance with Sam and Sam continues laughing.

But Edrin packed up anyway.

“Cepatlah Sammm…” Edrin just couldn’t stand anymore when he was all ready with the bag hanging on his left shoulder.

“OK…OK… Nak siap ni…” Sam walked off from the couch while his eyes still glued on the Gameboy screen in his hands. Swiftly to the room, put on his swimwear before using back the clothes he was wearing on top.

“Kak Ana tu…” The boys call their sister Fara Liyana as Kak Ana. Before Edrin finished his sentence, the sister Fara already acted upon it, acknowledged his agitation.

Fara dashed to have her tudung on, almost bumped into Sam in the hallway, giggling, feeling triumphant in her prod to push Edrin to the edge. Their mom was in her usual self, smirked, with ‘I-am-ready-whenever-you-are’ conduct, lounged in the single-seater, clenching on her purse, timed her move off the seat. She then switched off the little indoor fountain, latched the sliding door and for a second or two gave an admiring look at the curtain of her choice for Hari Raya last year. While I, was at the rock garden leading to the grilled door with the shoelaces already tied up, adjusting my favorite black Levi’s cap, car keys in hand, smiling – amused with the play staged by them.

Edrin had his goggles missing during the last bashing at the river. We stopped over at 7-11 for a new pair. Since not much of choices available, I told Edrin to go without it this time around and promised him a better pair to be bought in SACC Mall, Shah Alam.

So there we were at the club, greeted by an Indian guy, a familiar face in charge of the security around the swimming pool. I am confused whether he is a security guard or life guard. Whatever it is, he’s always there for the club and around the pool. Anyway… You know what? It was 1st of May, Labor Day. Public holiday. The pool was closed.

Phewww! You can imagine the kind of look Edrin had posed.

So then we went to the Equestrian Club instead, right down the slope across the street from the Club House – watching horses in the stables. At least Edrin’s frustration for not being able to swim was compensated a little when he had fun patting and stroking the horses and commenting on the stained teeth of the horses. And I personally started to like what I was seeing up close, amazed with the sturdy build up of a horse. I never had ridden a horse before despite of having all the opportunities when I was abroad. My interest in it perhaps was drowned by my other interest in motor vehicles. I bet it is far different from riding on the back of a bull when I was a young boy for the bull that I hopped on turned nasty, threw me off ugly to the ground that made me think twice to ride on it again.

What so good about the Equestrian Club in our place? It is a place of choice for the King of The Country, YDP Agong for the horseback riding. In any weekend, if our secluded and quiet neighborhood is then busy with motorcade of police patrol cars and motorbikes, or the horses were seen being hauled into the area in the DBKL wagon truck the day before, it is a clear sign that The YDP Agong will be there for the ride.

I told my kids of my intention to buy a horse and rent out a stable there. At least it would liven up a chance for me to brush shoulders with the King. Sam looked skeptical and slightly raised one side of his eyebrows. No chronicle of words from him though. He was more interested to be out of the place fast, grumbling, it was blistering to still have the full-bodied swimwear worn inside. My wife knew it all too well and just sports a smile. Edrin took my words copiously, got his eyes popped out and his jaw dropped.

“Whoaaa…. Best tu Bahhh….!”

But Fara had shrewdly read my tone of voice and all too soon she replied over;

“Ya la tu Bahhh….” with an easily understood rhythm she used, to suggest the other way round.

And Edrin realized it was not true. His words then blended in the snigger.

“Ekk Elehhh…Ingatkan betul-betul le tadi…!”




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23 comments:

Anonymous said...

gab,

pi la beli.. u can afford one, i believe.. what a nice photo u've.. looks like another countryside.. wonder y u didn't ride one at that time..

Kak Elle said...

and all ends well even the pool was closed kan?

ya lor beli lah satu bolih kita menumpang nanti...

Makcik Runner said...

pergh! kat kedai 7-11 tu ada jual goggles ek? x tau pon?! brand aper ek?

cayalah! swimsuit dia ader jual tak? he he he

Doc said...

Gab,
Nice pic. Wonder if u flickered?

IBU said...

I quote, " .... and for a second or two gave an admiring look at the curtain of her choice for Hari Raya last year."

HAHAHAA.... I really like that - you're such an observant hubby. What was the damage to your wallet? Byr it's worth it kan? Ehehehe..

p/s Gab - that equestrian club tu ada horse riding class tak?

simah said...

aiii..ur kids memang comel la gab.. n happy mother's day ro rhir mom...mrs gab..:0)

NorAiniJ said...

Ur kids are so blessed to have a great dad like u.

Anonymous said...

Brader..nanti kalo terjumpa YDP Agong jangan lupa mintak autograph hehehe...tak pun amik gambor sekeping duaa..paling penting jgn lupa kasi tayang kat blog tauu.... :-)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hi Gab,

You've ridden on a Bull?? Whoa! What a brave young kid..he he. Best I dengar that story..cute habis. So you kena buang dek bull, sakit tak? Poor kid then. But adventurous indeed.

I have ridden on horses before for just a short time. I never graduated riding on my own, ya lah penakuuuut..he he.

You're a dedicated and committed lovely daddy. Keep it up.

That was me up there, my head must be somewhre in the clouds thinking of a short nap so too many typos...

UglyButAdorable said...

hehhh..hehhh..pandai anak you..tipah tak tertipu you...

ayang_mas said...

teringin nak naik kuda...tp sure kuda patah pinggang bwk ayg...heheheh...kalo swimming lak...sure terus tenggelam sbb xreti...pakai pelampung ler...waaaa...waaa.. (+_+)

nanies said...

salam...haaa..lama tak kesini..heheh tapi jet lagi lahh pernah mintak abah beli anak anjing sbb masa duk kat ipoh dulu jiran2 bnyak cina...kekeke pastu tukar nak kuda pulak...last naik gak kuda..motor kapcai honda 60 tuu...still ok sampai skrang..klasik dah moto tu..ape pun GAB mmg abah yg best..

m i n e r a l . . . said...

huahauhau seronok2...
jeles i auwww...
tringat dedulu pergi zoo, syokkk jer tgk kuda, pastu bila tahu lahir dlm tahun kuda mengikut kalender cina, wahhh lagi rasa cam kuda jerk,...err.r.r gab kuatkah lagi kekuda anda heheheh.

p/s : happy mothers day...errrrr gab bukn ibu kan?

dlt said...

eh! swimming pool pun cuti ka public holiday?
u have a great family, sir gab.

jaketbiru said...

..gallop...gallopp,
perhhhh best .. lajunya...
oiii break-break oiii...
oii kuda berhenti laaaaa.. oii
stop!!! stoopp!!!
pokok ler bodo...
oiiiii prakkkk
bedebukkkk atoiiiiii senak oooo..

huh banyaknya bintanggg...
apa ler kuda ni... tak faham instuction...
heheheheheheh

((nasib tak ada oang nampak)))

silversarina said...

horseback riding bestlah abahnya !! .... mesti ur kids akan jaga kuda tu dengan penuh minat kalau you belikan...

~ GAB ~ said...

SUE ALEEN --> That's not in our neighbourhood SUE, I took it from the net. If you buy one I will consider to buy one and we race in the weekend. ~ Smile ~




KAK ELLE --> Yeah, with a few other alternatives as well. I'll let you know when I have one, KAK ELLE...eheheheh




KC --> They (7-11) do carry goggles also. Only one brand. I can't recall the name though. Swimsuit weheheh... They need to have a changing room then. And if there is, I'd love see whether it fits you or not. heheh kidding




DOC --> Rather unfortunate I snatched it from the net... Thanks for dropping by.




IBU --> What is this life for if not for our loved ones, wife, hubby kids, parents and so on. Kan?

And yes, they do have lesson to ride also. If I am not mistaken it starts with sth like RM 490... until which level to be at, I am not too sure. And fun ride for kids is there too.




SIMAH --> When you said it in Malay, comel, for once I said to myself, when did she met my kids?And awhhh... comel means cute in that sense of bantering... Yes they are. I trained them to be as such; critical, speak out their minds but not to the extent of confrontational as it does not fit to our culture.




NJ --> I do not fish for compliments thru my writing but surely I thank you for your compliment. ~ I am blushing ~




DEA --> GAB akan sediakan T-Shirt saiz DEA, XXS utk Agong tandatangan nanti. And if I do have a chance, I'll snap a photo or two dear. Hehe




RUBY --> I was just a rascal when I was a kid. Scared of nothing. Ridden on the back of the untrained bull was not pretty. Threw you up in a matter of seconds, landed on the hard ground with scrathes, lucky no bones were broken. Not once you know. And thanks for your compliment. I try my best to be one.




UBA --> They are not easily fooled and the bottomline is always let them know which one is joke and which one is for real. Do not let it hang.




AYANG MAS --> Wahahah you are cute my dear. you can always arrange for a ride with NANI... may be TUN... ICE... or ARZOO....




NANI --> NANI nak naik kuda? Tapi GAB nasihatkan jgn naik satu kuda berdua dgn AYANG MAS... Kesian kuda...wehehehe Kidding baby... Anyway, have a good day!





TUN --> GAB sentiasa practice utk kekuda walaupun tak practice naik kuda... wakakakaka Come over to my place for a ride. I am sure ADAM / Dr Khalid can always arrange the activity in SU. After all he likes Saujana Utama so much.




DLT --> Tu lah... ingatkan buka masa cuti... Hari Pekerja punya hal kot? And err... Anyone in position to make the best out of what we have. And bet you too...




NIDE --> Must be from your personal experience there...heheheheh





RINA --> I think so. But I am afraid after sometime, they'd be loosing steam too...

simah said...

ur comment leads me to my next question.. a plea for advice actually...

u trained ur kids in such a way..

i have problem with baddin.. he is too shy of a type...when meeting a stranger he rund behind me (maybe coz i spoil him too much).. and he needs to boost up on his self confidence... i realize i have to do something... i have some ideas.. but from a father with much more experience... what do u suggest i do...? by the way.. he will be entering his pre school education after this summer... i am hoing he will overcome his shyness there to a great xtend..

~ GAB ~ said...

SIMAH --> Don't worry too much. He's still very young but this is the crucial time for PILES (PILES stands for Physical, Intellectual, Language, Emotional, Social) It develops with an amazing speed. Baddin or any other kids in that age bracket for that matter, may absorb things like a sponge.

As long as you can capitalize on your own personal skills in dealing with the him, nothing much to worry. I do believe you are at the place considering what education level you and hubby have.

Hiding behind upon meeting strangers, being shy and what not is just a matter of a flicker of a switch away to bring him out his own cocoon. All his life he experiences the comfort and security from the closest to him but later when he's introduced to a new social circle in school, it'll be different. Since we cannot generalize it'll be the same to all kids, take a step at a time. Eventually you'd see something good coming.

But don't forget, inborn attribute can play a factor as well. So it goes to figure between nature and nurture. Even though not all the efforts of nurturing can beat the nature but everything can be nurtured to certain extent.

Good luck and have a good life SIMAH.

Anonymous said...

dear gab...

thanks 4 ur point of view.. i really appreciate that.

yes. i agree. kids at this age absorb things like a sponge. Baddin for example, he is very bright in that sense. When he wants to learn something... zap... he listens n he knows it.

But my biggest fear is his self confidence..

for now i attribute that to the fact that he started to speak late... he suffered great emotional distress after coming back from Malaysia 4 years ago..thus affecting his language capability for a year...

nature vs nurture...

nature ... yes..i think he is also naturally shy... i mean hatice is robust n the social type while baddin is of the opposite type.. he reminds me of some parts of halil... i am shy too.. so he may got that genetically from both his parents..(halil n i)

still.. am trying to nurture him into a more confident person.. to get a balance between nature and nurture..

parenting will always be a learning process for me... :0) n thanks!

ayang_mas said...

fuuh....ayg tgk je lah...to ride i dont think so...cian kuda tu..xpasal lak kena sapu minyak angin..sure serik nak bwk ayg...heheh (+_+)

~ GAB ~ said...

AYANG MAS --> ~ SMILE ~

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