Thank you, Kak Long

This post is a special tribute on the occasion of my sister Kak Long’s 30th birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Kak Long! Semoga diberkati dan diredhoi Allah selalu, dan dimurahkan rezeki. Actually what I really want to say is: THANK YOU. I know I have said this countless of times before, but I’ve never quite articulated it this way. As I told you earlier, sometimes we write what we don’t say. Or in this case, I try to write what I couldn’t express verbally.

Thank you, because you have helped me to become who I am, in ways that you probably don’t realize. I went to kindy early because I wanted to tag along with you. I can read early because I want to keep up with you. When you learn things that excited you in school, you came home and taught me. I learnt algebra at Standard 5, because one day you came home and quizzed me, “What is the answer for A + B?” I thought for awhile and answered, “Err.. C?” I remember that that was how you introduced the alphabets as unknowns to me. I also remember well the time you taught me indices on the whiteboard. The formulas on your cupboard. I guess it came as no surprise when you chose teaching as a profession - you have been a natural teacher from the beginning. These experiences had taught me, that headstarts does help. So, to spell it crudely - I owe you.

As the firstborn, you became the ‘experimenter’. Your experience became one of our references. From things as life-changing as tertiary education, to something as mundane as choosing my baby’s diaper brand, you have lead the way.

One of the things that you do really well is to connect with people. I always envy how you socialize with ease, how you maintain contact with friends and relatives. To date, I still prefer to do join-visits with you. You’re also so hardworking and rajin for example in house keeping, and I’m just plain lazy. You have gone through some hard times and survived. In fact, you’re going through a particularly hard time now. But I’m confident that you’ll be able to pull through, insyaAllah. May Allah ease your burdens and may He reward you for your perseverance. All the best, Sis!

With lots of love,
Kak Ngah

(And now I have to go and notify her about this post via email because she doesn’t read my blog often. She said it’s boring.)