2006 in Retrospect

A fellow Malaysian and famous blog raconteur, Kak Teh’s touching review of her year so far, inspires me to also take stock of the major events that had taken place in 2006.

The indisputable life-changing event of the year is the joyful birth of our firstborn, Sadia Firjani, who came out from the womb with that big doe-like eyes of hers looking straight at us, as if saying “Where I am?”

Sadia has a bout of jaundice in the first few weeks which contributed to some weight loss, but she has now picked her weight up especially in this chilly climate. It’s jaw-dropping simply looking at her photographs at three-to-four months as opposed to the big lug that stares back at me, with that mischievous grin on her face. Equally unexpected is her transformation and personality development from a quiet, demure ‘girly’ girl to a boisterous, high-pitched, temperamental ‘tiny tot.’ Earlier on, we had thought we’d have easy it raising a timid petite princess. Little we know what we are (physically and mentally) up against!

Sadia’s unpredictable moods also manifest in picky eating habits that when mix with her active crawling mode calls for rapid feet action of her guardian, in order to be able to spoon-feed her efficiently. As for her high chair, it has a low success rate of keeping her tied down in one place, with an outburst of protests winning the day.

Without a doubt, the most important lesson with respect to parenting that I have learnt is PATIENCE. Plenty of it. And what is the most expedient and unavoidable way to attain a respectable level of patience if it is NOT by having a baby shoved to you. For a person who rarely gets stressed – even at work, I often sniggered to myself when Sadia’s antics got the worst of me. Now I know why my mom oftentimes utters her memorable line to us kids, “Please don’t make my blood pressure go up the roof!” I used to wonder what she ACTUALLY meant. Now I can wholly empathize.

Indeed, having your own flesh and blood is a continuous learning experience that will sow the seeds of positive self-development and unconditional love.

The second milestone that occurred in 2006 is bidding my adieu to the corporate world as a result of the third significant event of the year – moving to Delft. The decision was also attributed to Sadia’s indignant refusal of drinking (formula or expressed) milk from the bottle. Having explained my situation to a seemingly callous and heedless superior, I decided to throw in the towel of fighting for an extension of my maternity leave and sent in my resignation letter instead.

It was either coming back to work for a while before quitting the post on the basis of following my husband to study, or inquiring for a one-year unpaid leave from my position which my company had no qualms of considering.

It wasn’t the best challenging job ever that I’ve held but it paid an adequate amount of salary that assisted in paying the bills in our two-person household. I know in Malaysia works are hard to come by in recent times, but I take my chances. So if anyone looking for a quick-learning employee come late 2007, let me know! ;-)

As for the third highlight – residing in the Netherlands – I initially had mixed feelings uprooting from my motherland and more so from my mother who has been on dialysis since the year 2000. I am more at home now in Delft than I’d ever be in Ampang and with regards to Mama, I am grateful for the technological access of sms and phone that make it easier to constantly keep in touch with my loved ones. In some twisted ways, the long distance laid between us compels me to assess my relationship with them and look at things more objectively. I come to appreciate those moments that we’d shared and plowed through together.

With the curtains nearly lowered on 2006, I must say that it has been a roller-coaster year in terms of self-improvement, spiritual growth and physical exertion (in the sense of taking care of Sadia and walking all over the place). Here’s to another beautiful year with my loved ones, safe travels and a long healthy life (God willing)!!!Joie De Vivre Everyone!