Maid of Honour

Handsome, handsomer, handsomest, drop-dead handsome...which????

Syawal has just passed...with its open house, scrumptious food and girdle-busting temptations (am not just talking about food). Now noses should be back to the grindstone not only to lose the inches lost during Ramadahan and double-gained during Syawal but also with my thesis. Started reading after two weeks of just letting the dust collect on my articles and laptop. Talking about Syawal, it's the usual exodus back to the hometown (hubby's parents have passed so it's back to Newcastle every year). The usual cooking and gathering on Raya night complete with the constant background sound of my mother telling me, my sisters, my maid or her grandchildren how to do things around the house...well mom without her "siren' would not be complete and Raya without mom would be silent.





My sister was rather melancholic this year. This was the first year of Raya without her husband who passed away in an accident in front of their house in July. Although she is much stronger, she still feels the missing. I can't begin to imagine how it feels like. All I can decipher is the longing and unspoken sadness in her eyes. So this Raya was more gentle and less chaotic than the previous years (even the "siren") as a tribute to my late brother-in-law, though a quiet man, whose abscence is felt profoundly by our family.





Then the maid...this year it's the fifth year she has celebrated with us and has become a part of the family (although she's really "scared" of my husband...no he has not done anything, just doesn't speak that much with her). Her maid friends keep calling and texting her asking her about her Raya money. I told her not to tell anyone anything and she hasn't. Why am I talking about my maid? Basically because alhamdulillah our rezeki with this maid has been good. She has been with us even before Baby was born and I hope she'll remain until he is old..he...he. My friend hasn't had such luck. In the time my maid has been with me she has had 4/5. One was ill, another was psychotic, the third wanted to get married, the fourth just stayed for 2 months and the latest has a "BIG" head. I told her to write a book about maids once she completes her PhD..he..he..If you hear some of her stories it's funny but scary at the same time. I told her yesterday..maybe you've not met "your jodoh" in terms of maid. I'm sure at times she feels like quitting her job to take care of the children. But like me without the mental stimulation of work and deadlines, we'd be "tortured souls". That's why I'm thankful for the "rezeki" Allah has bestowed upon my family and I in "sending" us this maid of honour. Even if she changes..she has done her part real well and I'm thankful.