Condolence to Aya

A dear friend of mine lost her mom last night.

I had met her mom only once; and that too during a Raya visit to their home in Assam Kumbang Taiping. I thought she was a very soft-spoken and friendly lady, not unlike her daughter(s), I guess.

While I can still visualize her on that Raya day, inviting us to eat at the table and chit-chatting with us, I don't remember any specific. Years must have passed since that visit and typically I would have forgotten about it. But for some reasons, she is someone I would remember - not necessarily from that Raya visit, but more through her daughter actually.

From my interaction with her daughter, whenever the subjects of parents would appear in our conversations, and whenever I would relate the story of my own father, she would be able to tell me on how my father would walk from Taiping train station to our house on the night before he passed away. That story is an urban legend for our family; but we had never thought that someone outside the family would also know.

And especially her.

And how would she know (since she herself was away in the US when it happened)?

Her mom, of course.

Her mom obviously had related the story to her for her to remember that. I was surprised to be honest; but it was a pleasant surprised. Pleasant since her mom knew the story too.

I am sure she has many other good traits; perhaps not unlike our moms and other moms in the world. And knowing how she turned out, I am sure her mom would have done a great job with great.

When I invited her to visit a dear teacher of ours who was battling cancer a month ago, she responded by saying that she only has weekend to go visiting, and that all her time after office hours during the weekdays were occupied with visiting her mom daily.

I honestly did not realize the severity of her mom's conditions then, but she still volunteered to visit Cikgu Wari during weekend. The going back and forth between work, home and hospital (on a daily basis, and during peak hours of KL traffic), I would say, reflected her commitment and love for her mom. She did all that without fail, so I am told by another friend, and I guess she was there until the very end last night.

I am not sure I would have her strength do it for months, to be honest.

Good on you, Aya. I am sure your mom is lucky to have you as a daughter, then again, I don't think she was simply lucky. She had done a good job bringing you up too.

Moga Allah mencucuri rahmatNya keatas ruh ibunda tersayang dan dimasukkan kedalam golongan orang-orang yang beramal solleh.

Alfatihah.