Being Hostess

It is approaching to the last couple of days of the 2017 end of year school holidays. I had a very tiring but fulfilling time playing hostess to the guests who came to stay for the early two weeks of December. My partner's siblings and mother came one after the other and stayed with us. My task was to make sure they were comfortable and well-fed. It was cooking for the two weeks for about twenty people for any each session. Nobody wanted to eat out and with so many kids - ranging from eight months to thirteen years old - it was more conducive eating in. Alhamdulillah the house was large enough to accommodate all of them who came for breakfast and dinner. Lunch and tea was not provided as it was time they went out while I prepared the next meal with Syafiq's help. I was so grateful for his help and assistance. I only had a day to change the bedsheets and towels and cleaned the rooms before the next sibling turned up. I was just glad that my partner was very happy and satisfied with the hospitality rendered. My days would start after dawn prayers and ended up usually after midnight when the siblings nearby finally went home.

Thus, when the last sibling finally went off after a three days stay, I thought I would have my usual routine again. Allah had other plans for us. My sister in-law (SIL) from Kangar told us that her father in-law (FIL) had been transferred to the hospital in Alor Setar to have his biopsy on his kidney cancer. Initial findings confirmed a stage four kidney cancer. Since Kangar hospital did not have the facilities, he was transferred here. We offered our house as a transit house for her family of three teenagers (aged 10 to 14 years old) and her mother in-law (MIL). Her husband stayed at the hospital to care for his father at night. Syafiq and I became the baby-sitter for them. When she had to go back to Kangar to check upon her business, we took care of her MIL by sending her to the hospital after breakfast and picking her up at night to rest and sleep. The kids, surprisingly, got along fine with me so much so that they opted to stay home with me when SIL went to the hospital. I was not "aunty material" to my partner's nephews and nieces being serious most of the times. Syafiq and I took them to watch "Star Wars - The Last Jedi" as they were Star Wars fans. We took them jogging at the park with us and also to the book fair.

FIL had a heart attack when he was in the hospital here and he was sent to CCU for  three days to stabilise his condition. After that he was sent to CRW (Cardiac Recovery Ward) for a couple of days. Once he was stabilised, SIL's hubby asked to be transferred again to Kangar as nothing was being done for FIL's cancer. It was already ten days. Besides, it was easier if they were in Kangar and the kids started school next week. He had to go back to work too. Syafiq and I sent MIL and SIL's hubby to Kangar as FIL was accompanied by a doctor and two nurses for the transfer in the ambulance.

I had just cleaned up the house again and sent the linens and comforters for laundry. I had not done my morning walk or writings or readings. At the same time, I was also caught up with the Back to School program by Gooddeeds. Anyway, it only involved the few students that we had a personal interest in so it did not take up much of my time.

I was very grateful and pleased that the main intention when we built this house was realised i.e. being a transit house. Besides that, I was also able to help out although I wished I could have done more. FIL was still in delirium most times - maybe due to the pain - but I think he is much more happier being on home ground. I kept FIL and family in my prayers every day and although I suspected FIL would never get well as before - he also had diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension - I hoped Allah gave him strength and patience to face his pain. And to MIL, SIL and her husband's family too. Do say a prayer for all of them in facing these trying times ... Aamiin.

For Suri, Azizi and Makcik ...

Roses In Memory ...

Mak loved roses. She had a few bushes of pink coloured roses which were always blooming with flowers. She used organic fertilizer - water saved from cleaning fish), soil taken from burnt rubbish and fertilizer which was water saved from washing rice. I was the caretaker and gardener of her rose bushes. When I went off to college and Bapak passed away soon after, we had to relocate. She never grew any more roses after that. She never explained why. Yet, her talcum powder, her EDT or anything always had rose fragrance that we always associated the smell of roses with her. Thus, when she passed away, I refused to have anything that smelled of roses. It reminded me so much of her. Even though I love roses especially when we went to Cameron Highlands ... just to see and touch the flowers were enough to overcome the longing for Mak's memory.

When I got married and had children, I had no time for gardening. I had to juggle so many tasks at a time - mother, wife, cook, maid, driver, teacher, examiner, counsellor and other tasks that just left me no time for any other leisurely pursuits like gardening. Nevertheless, there was always time for a book .... hmmm ....

Hence, when we moved into this new abode with some space for a garden, I started imagining having the roses again. Thus, when my very few close friends decided to come over for housewarming, they had the decency to ask me what I wanted as a gift. I asked for a potted pink rose plant. This was what I received. It was beautiful that I could just looked at it and enjoyed its beauty ... This was back in October.

So, I decided to buy more rose plants as company to my pink one. One marketing day a month ago, I bought two more pots. That was in November. One whitish yellow and one in red.

The roses were very particular and sensitive to direct sunlight. The buds would wilt and bend forlornly. I was so unhappy and put them at the corner where they would not come into contact with direct sunlight. I talked to them and when we went off to KK, I made sure Zura, whom we entrusted the house keys to, to make sure to water them only once a day. They bloomed beautifully. Roses or any flowers for that matter, make you smile and feel good with yourself. Well, for me anyway.

Now I am ready to embrace the roses back into my life. I started buying rose fragrant talcum powder and EDT. It makes me feel Mak is around to guide me with the gardening. She had never left me anyway. Anything good I do in this world is always for her and Bapak.

What has happened to the pink roses? It has now started to grow new shoots ...

Now I have added the kekwa flower, jasmine, Japanese roses and the kesidang plant. It takes time for them to grow ... but soon enough, I will have a garden of flowers just as I used to have at my old house in Peringgit where I grew up. Hmmm ... maybe I should get another pot or two more ... ;-)
"Roses speak a language of love that only the heart understands".