What Nuaim Did

Dearest Abang,

How are you in the land of camels and kharuf? I hope you're keeping well, and the sun is not too harsh on your skin. Yeah, yeah, I know it's not macho to wear sunblock and moisturiser, especially for a big guy like you, but skin cancer doesn't discriminate, kan?

How far away are you staying from the Red Sea? In a proper house or a cabin? And what time does the sun rise in Port Sudan? Just so I can visualise you jogging all the way to the beach in the morning, that's all. SMS doesn't provide enough space for very descriptive missives, and keeping Nuaim and Nu'man company doesn't leave enough time to SMS either. And it really bothers me when your handphone goes dead just when I'm describing Nuaim's latest antics. I never get to the "I Miss You" bit...

Nuaim was really restless yesterday. It started in the morning, when Mak's neighbour dropped by with her baby on the way to the store. Their house is one of those Nuaim visits in the evenings, because it has a fish pond. When they left (actually while they were still in Mak's living room), Nuaim wanted to go visit them at home to see the fish, despite there being no one around. He was getting very close to Tantrum Territory, so I decided to take him for a stroll at one of the shopping complexes, anywhere that has fish of the breathing & swimming variety. Does 1 Utama have a petshop? I must have confused it with Ikano Power Centre, because when I searched the shop index I couldn't find anything on pets or animals.

Luckily enough the Rainforest section had an aquarium of local freshwater fish, so that appeased him. And then we discovered there were actually several koi ponds and waterfalls there. So many fish, of all sizes and colour! I was content to just walk around with Nuaim until he saw two kids walking on a narrow wall between the trees and tried to literally follow in their footsteps. I had to lure him away with promises that we were going to see aeroplanes next. Fortunately there was a big styrofoam model of a jet fighter hanging in an atrium near GSC, and it was close enough to a juice bar so I could get some liquid sustenance.

We had to go through the toy section of U Parkson to get to the carpark. There were miniature cars, trucks, aeroplanes and space rockets in a glass display cabinet which caught his eye, and I had to hoist him up onto my shoulder so he could see the toys on the top shelf. I would have bought him a toy, but the pieces were either too small or too expensive. Tunggu balik Kelantan beli kat Rantau Panjang lah. Or when you come back with more moolah than you can spend.

Nuaim has somehow developed an aversion to being restrained in his car seat. He flipped and flopped on the back seat, and I didn't have the energy nor the patience to deal with him in a humid carpark, so I just made sure that the doors were locked and drove off with him lying on the floor. As we neared the exit, he clambered onto the passenger seat next to me, but still refused to put on the seat belt. It wasn't until we reached the traffic lights at the TTDI junction that I could finally strap him in. Of course, he was really tired by then (after two hours walking about, so was I), and fell asleep before we got home.

Now I understand why you always take a long nap after Nuaim's Sunday morning Tumble Tots session. I'm so sorry I nag you for it.

We went to see the house in TTDI Jaya in the afternoon. Mama and Bapak wanted to see the house too, and Apet roleplayed as a QS to help Azzam take measurements. Everyone was throwing ideas, and my initially simple plan of extending the kitchen and dining room started to grow bigger and bigger.

"You can extend the living room all round right up to the edge," said Mak.

"But then I'll have no verandah," I responded.

"You don't need a verandah."

"But I want one." I was starting to sound like a petulant little girl.

See, this is why I prefer to do things on my own. Mothers mean well, but sometimes they can be so... imposing. And that's when I start to act childish. It's not really me, I'm just responding to external stimuli.

It wasn't until Azzam pointed out that the column in the living room corner couldn't be removed did they drop the notion. Yay, I get to keep my verandah!!

Bapak had taken Nuaim to the playground in front of the house, so he didn't get to see the house properly until after we had finished discussing the renovation plans. By then, it was 6.30 pm and we had to rush home for Asar prayers. Bapak, Mama and your brothers stayed for a late tea and Maghrib prayers, but when they were about to leave Nuaim wanted to go with them. It was heartwrenching to hear Nuaim's cries, I was tempted to let them take him, but Bapak insisted that 'we shouldn't take the boy away from his mother. It's bad enough his father had to go away.' He's so considerate I almost feel guilty.

I've gone through all the videos of Nuaim in my PC and renamed them with more accurate descriptions of the contents. Going through his pudgy baby moments left me feeling nostalgic. How quickly they grow up! Soon Nu'man will be rolling, crawling, walking and running around too.

You may have noticed I don't write much about Nu'man. That's because he spends most of his time sleeping. Two nights ago, he went to sleep at almost midnight and didn't wake up at all till 8 a.m! He's such a happy baby, all you need to do is smile at him and he'll be grinning away! The only time he cries is when he's hungy, or Nuaim tumbles over him.

Oops, I promised to bake lasagna today and it's almost 4.30 so I better start now before the kids wake up.

It's been 12 days since you left. I miss you. How many weeks more before you come home? Is it 60 or 100 days before you get R&R? I hope things are improving over there, then you can come home sooner and we can all go stroll in the Rainforest together.

Lots of love,
Dian