Birthday party

We held DD’s birthday party on 24th April 2010. It was supposed to be held on the 17th but a few guests said they wouldn’t be able to attend so we shifted the party to one week later. But we later on found out that it clashed with Kem Bistari Solat organized by DD’s school. 24th also turned out to be a replacement school day for many schools.

This time around, only family members and DD’s friends were invited. The intention was to make it an intimate affair where we could sit down with the guests for small talks. But as it turned out, it was almost impossible to do that. There was always something to attend to – the food, the kids, the cake, and what nots. So to my dismay I didn’t manage to catch up with the going-ons in my guests’ lives (except that I found out that IWA had finally obtained a driving license. Bravo! Vroom! Vroom!)

Anyway, thank you very much for the wonderful presents, and most importantly, your presence. In this day and age, we are always pressed for time. The fact that you were willing to sacrifice your precious Saturday evening means the world to us. Without your presence, the party wouldn’t have been as lively. Adik & Co, Abg Mad & Co, Aini & Co, Kak Yah & Co and K. Long & Co – thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts. I’m not mentioning other guests as they are not readers of this blog, but we appreciate their presence too.

We apologize for any shortcomings. As I said, I wish I could chat more with all of you. I hope despite all that, you’ll come again next time.

I’m relieved now that the party is over, but my body is still aching from the long hours of standing and walking. But it was all worth it. To be honest, I had a couple of sleepless nights before the party worrying over the details. What I didn’t know is that my DD had her concerns too. One day before the party, I found a message that she wrote to Allah in her note book. It went more or less like this: “Ya Allah tolong lah saya. Janganlah cikgu marah saya kerana saya ada majlis harijadi. Ya Allah saya sudah sembahyang. Berilah saya kekuatan. Jangan jadikan saya malu. Tolong lah bagi saya happy di majlis hari jadi. Ya Allah terimalah surat saya ini.” I felt a heaviness in my heart when I read that note for 2 reasons. Firstly, I thought it was not a big deal for her that she had to miss out on the Kem Bistari. I didn’t know that she was worried that the teacher might scold her for not attending. Secondly, I had reminded her to greet her friends who would be attending the party and to play with them. I didn’t realize that it would be a huge effort for her to overcome her shyness. Sometimes I forget that her shortcomings are not intentional attempts to annoy me. Gosh as I’m writing this down, it becomes apparent how self-centred I sound.

Anyway, DD was a happy little bird that day. I wish I could freeze that moment in time and etch it in my memory. Like other mothers, the most important thing for me is her happiness.

After all the food were devoured, the presents unwrapped and the guests gone, I said to DD “next year we’ll just do this at McD.” But DD reminded me that we can’t do that because adults don’t like McD and Alim won’t be able to attend because he’s boycotting McD. DH then asked whether it is still necessary to have a birthday party next year. My response was yes, at least until she’s ll. So my dear relatives, please make yourself available during the month of April for the next 4 years. In the mean time, DH and I have to go find a suitable present for DD. We haven’t bought her a present yet although her birthday was almost 2 weeks ago!