The Prodigals

It’s been five month since I was with my wife and a year since I was with my children. Our children are now with my wife in Singapore spending their summer vacation and will be back to school again in June.

I’ve been through rough times and have fallen out from my wife and my kids, with each of their own issues. And during my solitude in the quietness of my room, I took a step back and have a different perspective of the situation. In any case, the fact remains that I miss my family, their presence, their showing of affections, their voices first hand and their laughters.

My issues with my wife are more of a “family matters”. As much as we don’t want to say or act anything that is hurtful, we end up doing so. Though we know that such were just said at the heat of the moment, we patch up thing in a day or two. Our misunderstandings were due to stress in managing our “family matters”.

Our children issues are more disappointing and uninspiring.

Our son has failed 5 out of his 7 subjects in his studies in the university. What more can I say. And still he has the nerve to say “It’s good that I did not fail 7 subjects”. So, we should be thankful that he passed 2 out of 7 subjects? If he is just trying to be smart I don’t buy it. I was furiously mad at him when he said that to me. The good thing was that we were on “chatting” when he said that, otherwise I would have been shouting on top of my lungs.

After I have calmed down about my son's issues, I thought may be he was not trying to be smart afterall but he was looking at his situation in a positive way. Just like when you are looking at a half-filled glass of water. It’s either you look at it as half-filled or half-empty.

Our son not only failed his subject but most unfortunately, he failed us. Me and my wife who have taken all the sacrifices, enduring the heavy hearts being away from them, missing their childhood and not being around to watch them grow up, just to give them a brighter future. All these sacrifices had gone to the drain.

Our son has failed to be the role model of his generation. Our son is the eldest grandchild from both sides, paternally and maternally. He should have taken this fact as a big responsibility. Maybe he can still be the role model, but I hate to say, for the wrong reason.

Our eldest daughter has the brain, but she cheats, she lies but not steal. She has the brain but she is not using it. She chooses the wrong company, she copies the wrong image among youths, and she has all the wrong priorities.

She lies. How many times she was caught lying? I lost count. She’ll say that she is with her friend A doing their project so and so. But if you call her friend, she is not there.

She cheats. She never keeps her promise. Even just as an act of respect to us. She disregarded the promises she made.

But if anyone asks me, my son’s and daughter’s predicament had something to do with their forsaking of their church duties. They were choir members, since they’ve gone cold with their primary duty to attend worship services, their membership with the choir was compromised. Since then, they run into troubles. They are both intelligent, but they can’t perform in their studies.

If only they know their priorities, they would not be in these undesirable circumstances.

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The Breeze Before Summer

Last week and a week before, the weather was quite nice, rainy, windy and breezy. The breeze before summer, the blossoming of the dates trees aligning the center islands of the main thoroughfares throughout Doha, frequent dust storm and high winds, signals the start of the hot season.

Scorching heat, sweltering sun and full blast aircons are in the offing. It is time to put back those jackets, blazers, sweaters and cardigans into the closet for a job well done. But of course, they will be called back on duty after six months or so.

The week before last week was the wettest week I ever experienced here in Doha. It rained in the afternoon, into the night and the following mornings. For a few days it continues to rain. If it ever stopped, a very slight drizzle was there just to remind us that the rain is still around.

I like most, the day the raining stopped. The very fresh breeze after the rain, the air is so fresh and so clean. It reminds me of my childhood and taking me back in time.

Thirty years ago…

During rainy season when were small boys, my cousins and friends always play in the rain. We love the monsoon rain, running around the house, to our school, to the town plaza, by the river, to our friends’ and classmates’ houses. Frolicking in the rain is very fun. We change turns standing below the roof gutters to have a load of rain water. We race paper boats on the swelling surface drains. We make fun of our school bell by making a challenge amongst ourselves who can ring it the loudest. Be it monsoon rain, storm or typhoon we were there to play, never mind if our parents scold us after our little adventures in the rain. We have of course one simple rule, “don’t play in the rain if there is thunderstorm”.

Rain during thunderstorm doesn’t spoil the fun. Though we cannot go out and play, our grandmother cooks a cassava / tapioca in coconut milk for everyone. It was our favorite snack during rainy season. After the rain is a lot more fun, we go out and gather beetles by shaking them off from every standing tree in town. Once we gathered enough beetles, we cook them by frying and eat them over chats and laughter.

Fast-forward Thirty years….

I missed the monsoon rain, the storms and the typhoons. Since I left my homeland in 1995, I have never experience a really heavy rain. Though I go back for vacations, it was always summer and so I was never “re-united” with my childhood’s fun.

Last-last week’s weather, though it was rainy, it never comes close to what I real miss. The high and strong cool wind, which almost resembles an incoming typhoon, is what reminds me of my childhood.

Hmmmm…Haaaaa….. I better enjoy now the cool breeze before summer kicks in.

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