One Fine Day

Its almost the end of the Eid Holidays for school kids. Back to school on Monday. And back to the daily grind for most folks. Back to horrendous jams too in Kuala Lumpur. I am sometimes quite glad i am back at a small town and our small town jams.

Dad's been quite quiet lately. Bored and lonely. In this household, we all have our own things to do. Even Dommy, he has things to do. Well.. sorta.. urmm.. if you count checking his daily doggie mails a thing to do. He has to do it in the mornings, sometimes in the afternoons and most of the time.. (if it doesn't rain) the evenings are crucial mail drop times.

Dad's been just keeping to himself. Quiet. With youtube and spider solitaire. He even refused to eat dinner yesterday. Just quietly with the headphones at the computer. Being old is not easy. Your motors are getting slower. You forget things more easily. On some days, he forgets where he leaves his glasses. Sometimes we all stop what we are doing and look for his glasses. hahahahhaaa... Sometimes it is in his trouser pockets... once i found it on the roof of my car.. sometimes in weird corners... usually its at hard to look for places. Even Dommy joined in our search. I told my dad to just leave his glasses on top of the tv each time he takes it off.. even if he has to walk a bit to get to the tv. Now he does and less searches for all of us.

Both Boy and i were wondering why dad is so quiet these few days. Grumpy and quiet. Boy got the brunt of most of his naggings. Dommy and i were just hiding in the room.. *LOL* Finally he said it while i was taking them out for lunch. He was looking for lemang and found none. Since it is the Hari Raya/Eid Holidays, usually we can find lemang sold by the side of the road at some places. If he had told me earlier, i would have scooted everywhere to look for lemang.

I spotted some lemangs on my way back from town and just shouted lemangggggggggggggggg.. and screeched to a halt... hehehehehe.. We bought some and went on our way home with our prized bamboo. When he saw the lemang, he was quite happy and promptly ate some. Then he started to talk more and was happy again. But he's back to his grumpy quiet self again. I guess he's just tired.

Well.. at least we score a little today. He's also sad because the kids did not come back at all during this long Raya holidays. It doesn't really take a lot to make an old man happy. Grudges should probably be put aside because life is really short. Would you want to hold a grudge against your father or your mother for a long time? They are old. One leg is already in the bucket. Everyday they wake up is a bonus day for them. Why hold grudges against old folks. I don't understand. I wish i could punch someone's face now. hahhahahahaha.. err.. but i am not a violent creature.

Living a life full of grudges and revenge will just eat your heart. You can never be happy. When they leave you one day... you'll just be filled with so much regret and what ifs. That will probably take a lifetime to forget. If my mom was still here, she'll probably tell my dad to not worry and just let it be. Forgive and forget. Me sitting on the fence here is not helping things. I guess its time to just punch someone's face now.

Be a forgiving creature and you'll leave a happier life.

lemang ~ Lemang is a traditional food cooked in bamboo that is lined with banana leaves. It is made from glutinous rice and coconut milk. Usually its eaten with some rendang/curry chicken especially on Hari Raya.