Hello Dad

i was waiting for iftar yesterday when the phone rang. as usual, AZ rushed over thinking that it was her friend again. ' abah, grandpa wanted to speak to you'. oh my gosh, i should be calling him and not the other way round. in between the faintness of his voice, i could sensed that he was very lonely. in between his sob, i heard him asking 'balik raya tak tahun ini'?

i know we have not been back to terengganu for the hari raya for quite sometime. last year i was in mekkah, the previous year in KL and the year before in JB. following mum's death early this year, dad is a different person. he's more sensitive and at times appeared depressed. can't really blame him for that as we know how much he love our late mum. though mum suffered from depression, alzheimer and brainstem stroke during the latter part of her life, dad has been very supportive, loving and caring. ever since then, dad insisted that he's staying put alone in his house in terengganu. been in his 70's, and staying alone was enough to get all the children worried. more so he's hypertensive, diabetic, and had 2 stents inserted for stenosed coronary arteries. he also has gallstones which on at least 2 occasions flared up into overwhelming acute choleystitis. and of course we have to respect his decision for not consenting to laproscopic cholecystectomy. on a lighter note i'm bless to have an adopted sister who visited him on a very regular basis. for the bottom of my heart, i can only say thank you very much kak Ha.

we have always tried to convince dad to stay with us but his typical answer was ... i miss my house , my friends and my masjid!. despite that he'll always make a point to visit his children either in KL, sungai buloh, seremban or bangkok at least once a month. if not for his deteriorating health, it would be wonderful if we could take him for a holiday again. the last time we have a great family holiday was in Beijing in 2003. despite some hindrances, he was full of excitement as he was finally able to scale the great wall. and to a wonderful and understanding dad, insyaallah we'll be back next week for the hari raya.