Are you coming or not?

I remember during my early years living in KL. I was 10 years old then, attending Methodist Girls School in Brickfields. We all siblings were always looking forward for every weekend, when my parents would bring us everywhere, all over peninsular Malaysia, including Singapore. Having 10 children (then), and a grandmother, we had to take turn in order to fit in a car. Those who left behind never complain though, as there were always activities in Bangsar, where we lived. I never forget our picnic in Morib Beach, at the riverside along the coastal road to Penang, the trip to Penang Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill), journey to Singapore, playing ice-skating at Asia Jaya and Ampang Park, to Chowkit for dinner, ice-cream treat at the revolving restaurant on top of The Capital Hotel, riding cable car at Bukit Nenas (then), to the museum, to the zoo, to Melaka and many more places. Too bad we lost all the photographs to fire that vanished everything in our village house, but I remember every moment.

It wasn't the outing that registered in my mind, but the moment being with family which I missed and the time sacrificed by my parents to entertain us that I valued, no matter how busy there were. Thats what I've been grumbling to my husband.

Our Kids are growing. Soon they will no longer be around us. In a matter of months, Nadia might be in University and Adri might be living in a dorm. And in a matter of years, we both might be too old and tired for outing. The hell with 'we cannot afford the time'. Time will never turn back.

This coming weekend I've planned to take my kids for vacation. With or without the father, thats what I told him. We are going. I don't care where, but we are going. Who is in the 'WE'? Oh.. I'm sure he had enough of my grumbling.