Here They Are...

I have two sets of children - the going pre-teens and the kids. Well, I don't know if there are such classifications but there are 4 years gap between the younger pre-teen and the elder kid. If there is one thing that I found I am not "quite getting at yet" with my two sets is communication.  No! Don't get me wrong - We are very close to our children but somehow their jargons make us feel so lost and of course, old.

The other day after a few cuddles, I asked Aqil, "are you my Baby?", Danish butted in and said "No, he's not, he is a dude!" "No, he's not - he's actually still a toddler - a 60 months old baby if you like." I said. "No! I am not a toddler! I am a kid!" declared the kid in question. "I don't care," I said, "you will still be my Baby - all of you are my babies!" Hakim apparently couldn't take it anymore,"Oh shush Ibu, get a life..!" in what he called his "grown-up" voice. You see what I mean?

A few months back we watched Shutter Island.  I was saying, "Why do they have to go through that hassle of getting to the island by boat? Can't they just hop on a helicopter?" To which Damia said, "Helicopter is not invented yet during that time." You see? Now who's the mother? I used to be the one giving that line to her.

Last week, Danish accompanied me to the office so that he can enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet - to revise for his Science test.  around 4.00 pm my collegue Aidil announced, "It's already 4 hours.I am leaving shortly." To which I responded,"Funny how our hypothalamus works - somehow it is set to 4 hours, and we sort of "not here" anymore - our in-built alarm clock is working it seems". Of course Danish added, "I thought hypothalamus is your wake up system". "No it does not only just do that!" I defended myself. "I learn that at school Ibu" "Oh yes, and I took Biology as one of my subjects in my Degree" (Mum can be so sad nowadays especially in the defensive department).  "OK. Let's google it." And as it is of course it says among others,

Quote."The main function of the hypothalamus is homeostasis, or maintaining the body's status quo. Factors such as blood pressure, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, and body weight are held to a precise value called the set-point. Although this set-point can migrate over time, from day to day it is remarkably fixed" Unquote.

Well, I rest my case.  Yesterday, we have a skype session with my Mum and many of my nieces and nephews and their children.  It is a very happy occasion.  It is a relief to see one's Mum looking happy and we  talked about nothing - well, if you asked me, I can't really remember anything very serious in our conversation.  We let the children sing for their Granny and told her things they did at school, showing her their certificates won at school.  Oh yes, we were also discussing some business proposals with my nephew, Said. Well, I hope he didn't forget the research that he has to undertake.

Everything went well until Danish blurted to his cousin, Khansa' (to be frank, both of them are fond of each other, hence the frequent teasing between them!), "language, Khansa', language" said him.  "what did I say wrong?" asked Khansa'. "You are an English teacher, c'mon, you know where you make your mistake." Danish kept on, Finally, not taking it anymore, Khansa' just blurted out,"Damn you!" And we take it in good manner. "You are sick, Khansa'" said Danish,... another of their jargon. "Sick?" To which I have to butt in. "It means, Cool, Khansa. It gets into my nerves when they first use that word. Not a single connection, but that's it!"

Hmmm... I am not sure really whether how I tackle the "language" problem with my kids are right.  But we are always very close with our children.  We talk about everything - though sometimes the topic are not to my taste, but I get along. I want soo... much to be their Mum and at the same time their friend.  I want them to come to me first when they encounter any of those teenage problem or problems... such, I have to instill in them the feelings that they can trust me. To build this, I need to understand them and to be in constant communication with them.  Praise to the Al-Mighty for all parents who has done the right thing in bringing up their children.  It is a hard hard work.

Till then.


(Sources of images : cartoon from Wikiedu; hypothalamus from psychedu; lavender with bumblebee from fireflyforest.com)