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Showing posts from 2015

Trust.

Never I thought a trust that should be applied to children going to be this big. Not only trust in what they tell us, but more of how we can trust them on things they do not know as well. To believe in the options they make in life. To believe how their body heals and how their emotion to cope things. To believe they will survive with their potentials. For example, when luna got sick. Many times, I did not believe in her body. To me, lab result is the ultimate thing I can count on. Simply because it is visible and accountable. I ignored how she managed to stay cheerful during high fever; that indicated she was actually doing fine and I did not need to worry much. And I have learnt that trusting our children is damn hard. Specially in their early years before they reach teenage years. Because somehow, a mother just have that kind of hunch about their kids. The good hunch, and the bad one. What makes it hard for me to trust them is; when I realize that they might not grow to be so

Kangen

Titan flu. Karena takut tetiba sesak, jadi bobo sama Titan di atas. Lalu aku pun flu. Dan aku bermain dengan Luna. Dan Luna pun flu. Demi menjaga virus berada pada tempatnya, kami bertiga tidur di atas meninggalkan bubu yang bobo sendirian di bawah. Berhari-hari lamanya. Bubu kangen Luna. Udah enggak bobo bareng lama banget rasanya. Pulang kantor bubu cium-cium Luna. Becanda, ketawa-ketawa. Enggak lama, Bubu pun bersin-bersin. Bubu pasang masker. Bubu flu. Kita udah mau sembuh dan Bubu flu. Mencoba sebisa mungkin supaya virus tidak berputar kembali ke siklus awal. Kita bobo di atas, bubu bobo di bawah. Halah! Sembuh ah semuaaa ... sehat sehat sehat!

The hardest part

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Ngerasain sakitnya kontraksi 26 jam, checked. Ngerasain dikhianatin, checked. Ngerasain ditinggalin, checked. Ngerasain dibohongin anak sendiri, trust me it hurtssss! (walaupun cuma soal kecil), checked. Satu momen yang paling susah buat saya, dan mungkin juga para ibu lainnya, adalah memberitakan sebuah kematian pada anak. Apalagi kalau yang meninggal itu tak lain adalah keluarga dekat. Eyangnya Titan memang sudah agak lama dirawat di rumah sakit. Kita sempat menjenguk beberapa kali. Salah satunya hari kamis itu. Sebuah telfon memberitakan keadaan kritis eyang. Air mata langsung menetes sambil bergumam "Yah, bapak...." Ternyata, aku kalau lagi panik begitu benar-benar enggak bisa mikir. Totally blank. Segera menelfon taksi dan ke sekolah untuk jemput Titan. Sampai di ruang administrasi pun mata masih basah dan mulut masih terbata-bata memberitakan "Mau jemput Malicca, 2/3 B, family issue. Eyangnya koma." Petugas administrasi pun langsung berubah air mukan

The terrible two

La Luna is two years and four months now. Day by day, I am starting to realize how drama queen she has become. Sometimes I got easily ticked off. Sometimes, I pretend being a deaf when she tantrums. Here are some lists. "The world revolves around me" This is the first drama of all. When she talks, she will not allow you look at other spot. She would just pull off your jaw so you can see her in the eye. And watch she talks, sings or do something. "If I am upset, I will make sure your life is miserable too." She cried and cried and will not let you do your things. She will try harder to make you upset too. Like screaming while stepping on your toe, or throw your things to the trash bin, everything but a peaceful you. "Everything needs to be done, my way. " If you get wrong doing it, she would ask you to do it again. Or, a tantrum. "If I don't get what I want, so does everyone else. " She is not getting an ice cream because she is h
"Jadi orang tua itu, harus mau repot lho!" -Dr. Waldi, Spa- His Facebook status today. Of course, with a story behind it.  The story of a parent who gave their son homeopathy sedative, because they think their son is hyperactive. Dr. Waldi thinks that the child have so much energy and his parents need to channel it instead of giving him sedatives.  Jleb moment for me.  I am too lazy to take Luna for a walk, everyday.  I am too lazy to take her bounce a ball or ride a tricycle, every afternoon. I prefer her to squeeze playdough and paint, everyday. And so I can watch her under aircon, and so I could peep my mobile, and so I could play the music on, and so I don't need to make nonsense conversations with the neighbour.  Oh, two years and I haven't been a better parent. Maaf ya Titan, La Luna, bunda janji akan jadi lebih baik. Dan lebih sabar. Bear with me. 

The life itself is a magnet, son.

You may not remember this day. May I may too, that is why I choose to write it down for you. Today, we had a chat on a very early breakfast. 6 am to be exact. So early because you are going for a field trip for your multicultural event. I told you a story about our neighbour, and elderly grumpy grandpa. I saw him busy trying to hurt a cat with a bamboo. The bamboo got stuck on the bush, instead, he got distracted and tried to get his bamboo back. The cat ran away. As fast as he can. You laughed hard and you said this. "You ever told me that when you start your day with whirlwind, you will be upset for the rest of the day. Is it what is going to happen with that grandpa next door?" "Maybe. I don't know. But yes, I believe that the life itself is magnet. This may not be scientific but I believe it is how our mind works. Your brain grows according to your mind. The nerves get connected one to another. When you think of good things, the good neurons will grow and

Goin' frugal?

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Beberapa tahun terakhir ini frugal living lagi gencar lagi. Kalau di tahun delapan puluhan orang jadi kreatif soal musik dan gaya, sekarang ini orang jadi lebih kreatif dalam soal hasta karya dan kebutuhan rumah tangga. Mulai dari home decor, montessori at home dengan segala aktivitas sensorialnya untuk kebutuhan mem-PAUDkan anak di rumah, sampai ke soal jahit menjahit pakaian. Terima kasih sama website-website seperti Pinterest, Instructibles dan semacamnya. Enggak bisa dipungkirin lagi, kalau hidup memang semakin sulit. Perekonomian lagi berat, bukan cuma di Indonesia aja. Industri oil and gas yang kayanya untouchable aja, sekarang lagi PHK besar-besaran. Lucunya, kalau cerita-cerita soal tips-tips DIY sama nyokap; dia suka ketawa karena tips-tips itu udah ada sejak dia kecil dulu. Jamannya baju bikin sendiri, persis kaya kaya sekarang. Bedanya, kalau sekarang orang mulai PeDe untuk menjual hasil karya mereka. Sekarang, orang mulai pintar berjualan. Terima kasih pada teknologi :)

Peluk!

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Pelukan itu menyenangkan ya. Menghangatkan hati. Setiap malam, sebelum bobo, saya selalu meminta Luna dan Titan untuk saling peluk. Kalau mereka berantem, setelah minta maaf enggak lupa harus ada juga gesture peluk dan sun pipi. Kaya bunda sama bubunya yang lagi marahan, trus peluk-peluk minta maaf di depan anak-anak. Before bed ritual

Vitamin Sea

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Bubu pengen ngabisin cuti. Luna lagi seneng nonton Ponyo. Titan, masih juga keranjingan sama perahu. Jadi rasanya memang tepat kalau tema liburan kita kali ini adalah P A N T A I Awalnya, kita berencana untuk ke Belitung. Tapi ternyata setelah tanya-tanya, fasilitas water sport di sana masih kurang mumpuni dan island hoppingnya pun lumayan agak jauh, kurang cocok buat Luna yang masih umur 2 tahun dan takutnya panik saat naik perahu. Pilihan ke dua sempet tanya-tanya ke roemah pulomanuk   yang ternyata punya si director iklan Isaac Wee. Udah sempat imel-imelan, tapi setelah dipikir-pikir, situasi pantai selatan terlalu hardcore buat anak-anak karena berbatu dan berkarang. Ombaknya yang besar pun lebih cocok untuk para surfer ketimbang bocah-bocah yang kangen laut. Akhirnya, kita memutuskan untuk pergi ke Pulau Umang. Jauh sih naik mobilnya, tapi Luna bisa survive waktu road trip ke jawa tengah. So, perjalanan 6 jam kayanya sih bakalan aman-aman aja. Naik perahu ke pulaunya pun

Halo, Oktober!

Oktober baru dua belas hari berlalu. Tapi, hati dan kepala rasanya berisi banget. Alhamdulillah. Yet I complained still.  Beberapa minggu lalu kembali 'bertemu' dengan teman lama waktu kos jaman kuliah dulu. Anak psikologi '96. Dia menikahi cowok yang dulu dia pacarin yang sekarang lagi sekolah di luar negeri. Sambil nemenin suaminya bikin desertasi, temen saya itu nyambi kerja jadi social worker. Tugasnya, menjadi konselor para pencari suaka. Awalnya saya enggak peduli sama sekali soal para pencari suaka menyuaka ini. Kadang malah jadi suka becandaan betapa ingin saya mendaftar mencari suaka ke luar negeri. Anything out of Indonesia. Tapi setelah mendengar ceritanya, jadi kasihan sekali rasanya. Terhadap si pencari dan juga terhadap teman saya; yang harus mendengarkan kisah-kisah sedih setiap hari. Dia bilang, pulang dari kantor rasanya sudah kering sekali. Emotionally drained. Yeah, I feel you. Saya cuma bisa bilang begitu. Para pencari suaka itu menjual hart

01:39 am

just went down the stairs to see him. kinda miss my guy. but of course, i have that big pride to say it *palm face* and so i brought him a bowl of apple and warm toast with melted cheese inside. i saw him sipped the ginger tea i made for him previously. he has been working late. much as always. before our life now, i ever had a dream of us. that we sat together on a couch. me busy watching the telly and he got busy with his laptop. as what is happening now. i had those dreams (literally) a lot back then. me and him. as our path united, the dreams started to fade and becomes reality. he was obviously the antidote. he keeps my astral. he keeps me sane and throw away my anxiety when i sleep. he is one of the passionate person i know. he knows what he wants, full of determination but has a great faith of destiny. when he fails, he just stops to start again. he waited me for fourteen years. the only thing if i ever have to repeat life, this is the thing i don't w

The horrifying era.

Akhir-akhir ini, sering kepikiran soal masa pensiun. Saya bekerja sekitar 13 tahun. Kalau dihitung usia pensiun dari umur 55 dan saya hidup sampai umur 80 tahun, berarti ada 25 tahun masa pensiun yang harus saya biayai. Itu kalau saya berhenti bekerja di umur 55. Karena saya berhenti bekerja di umur 34, maka jumlah tahun tidak produktif saya menjadi 25 ditambah 21 tahun. Yep, 46 years in total. Tinggal berdekatan bersama orang tua yang sudah belasan tahun pensiun, sedikit banyak membuka mata saya. Hidup di usia tujuh puluhan dan bersahabat dengan suplemen. Melihat anak-anak beranak pinak dan ikut memikirkan masalah mereka yang semakin pelik; lebih pelik daripada memikirkan mau memilih sekolah dimana saat mereka kecil dahulu. Kebosanan yang amat sangat ketemu pasangan terus menerus dan berdiam di rumah berzaman-zaman (bukan lagi berjam-jam). Belum lagi perasaan sensitif karena post-power symdrome, jadi melihat segala sesuatu termasuk kritikan menjadi negatif dan menyalahkan diri sen

Those who took swimming lessons, for dinner

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I think, one of the bless for a wife is to have a husband who will eat anything she cooks for him. Imagine if you have to take another complaints after hours of cooking and clean up all the dirty utensils after you cook. What even more hurting is when he doesn't touch the food at all. Aw, it is so rude! Since Ariawan changed his eating habit to food combining, I must say that I am a little bit out of hands. Morning is easy. Lunch is a bit tricky. But dinner, is the hardest part because I need to vary my recipes of cooking animals. The two legged animals are boring, the four legged animals are hard to bite (because I don't have pressure cooker) and those with fins are smelly. I managed to bake the fins tonight, anyway. Tasted so so, hubby and kids did not look excited but they ate it anyway. Need to try harder next time. Garlic, pepper, lemon, honey The cuttlefish are good, however.

Thank you, universe!

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Having a house is a forever commitment. After ten years, we finally managed to have a kitchen and dining table just as we wish for it to be. The colour, the organizing (yes! I managed myself to declutter all those stuffs!) the stool and the dish dryer rack I have been searching for quite sometimes; I found it in coincident. It five boxes out to declutter. I am proud of myself how I can live less in the kitchen. I am happy. Suppa happy!

The one that is so me.

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Kinfolk. What Kinfolk? My house is so way way way out of monochrome. Sometimes I wanted its kind of style. But real life gives me much colors. That means drawings of my kids and the wall for them to show off. I cannot stand 'cold' and 'clean' settings. I think it is not ... organic. It is so ... pretentious. The house I am living now, a bestie said that it is so me. Oh well, ... who else can it be? Hubby always say, do whatever you wish for them to be. Every corner is kid's corner I always love warm and unexposed lighting Express yourself #madonna Our family picture

This is my boy!

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I am a blessed mother.  Sometimes I am afraid that it is too much and I will expect so much more.  Sometimes I am afraid I cannot bear the disappointment.  I am raising such a gentle boy.  The one who communicates really well since he was a toddler.  The one who took care of me really really well when there was no one but just the two of us.  The one who seals my mouth when he was being sarcastic, ... he got it from me.  God knows how much the love I have for you.  His poem last week His poem this week A little not in front of my door as he went off to school

Akhirnya, saat itu datang juga.

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Kali ke dua mencoba menyapih Luna. Malam ini tepat malam ke tujuh Luna bisa bobo malam tanpa nenen . Perlahan mulai hilang crankynya, walau masih kebangun tengah malam mencari sudut kenyamanannya di dadaku. Ternyata benar, menyapih itu butuh kekuatan dan keberanian bagi keduanya. Like it takes two to tango, masing-masing saling menguatkan. Terima kasih pada alam, yang membuat semua ini terjadi. Karena kalau enggak ada edisi muntah-muntah lagi seperti Juli lalu; mungkin saat ini Luna masih nenen juga. Aku enggak pernah nge-set timing kapan Luna harus berhenti menyusu, karena seperti yang pernah aku ceritain di sini beberapa bulan lalu; kegiatan ini sama-sama menyenangkan buat kita berdua. Jadi mau sampai 3 tahun atau 4 tahun pun aku enggak keberatan. Tapi, terima kasih sama dokter rossie yang mengingatkan, kalau umur 3 tahun fase oral harus sudah selesai. Itu artinya, fase nenen dan coba-coba semua masuk ke mulut udah harus selesai. Luna sudah harus bisa dididik untuk berhenti itu s

Egos down

Nini cerita, sepulang sekolah tadi Aki langsung memeluk Titan. "Titan, aki minta maaf ya semalam marah-marah ngajarin Titan. Abis Titan sih, kalau diajarin tuh yang fokus dong. Titan maafin aki, enggak?" "Iya Ki, Titan maafin aki kok." Selang beberapa waktu kemudian ...  "Bunda, Titan udah temenan lagi sama aki." "Oh ya?" "Iya, aki sudah minta maaf sama Titan." "O gitu, bagus dong. Trus Titan maafin enggak?" "Iya dong, masa orang udah minta maaf enggak dimaafin." Men of my life. How I love them. 

A gentle reminder

Seringkali kita berdoa meminta kemudahan,  tapi kita lupa meminta kekuatan untuk melaluinya. Seperti halnya kita sering berdoa agar diberi petunjuk,  tapi kita lupa berdoa untuk diberi kemampuan 'membaca' petunjukNya. 

Rum raisin chocolate

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"Late, kan?" "Oh yup. Thanks. Masih inget aja."   Kataku basa-basi. I never like coffee, if only you ever knew. They make me tremble, so Late was the only coffee I could bear because two-third of the cup was only plain milk.   You gave me the cup and smiled. Ouch, that smile again. And those pockety-lack of sleep eyes hiding behind your spectacles. You said man should sleep lesser than a woman. And It meant a lot. It could mean they work harder. It could also mean they slept later so they could watch their woman sleep peacefully and secretly traces their wrinkles. Count their eye lashes. Kiss her goodnight, put a blanket on her and back to work. 'Till the dawn comes.  "Diminum, dong." "Oh, iya." Shite, why I was a bit nervous. Wait, ... a bit? I was nervous. Totally.  I held my cup tight and had a sip. But my lips never touched the Late. I prefered watched you sipped. Warmth slowly traces down my throat just by seeing you sippe

Diet? What diet?

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Saat suami memutuskan untuk diet, maka itulah saatnya sang istri menderita kepusingan yang amat sangat. Pusing mikirin musti ngasih makan apa. Lima tahun yang lalu beratnya bubu masih ideal. Hasil dari sepedaan naik turun bukit kalo kuliah ditambah kelupaan makan karena deadline tugas-tugas dan analisa riset yang ditagih mulu sama profesornya. Sampe Jakarta, tingkat stres yang lebih besar dan kurang beraktivitas fisik bikin bubu melar abis-abisan. Belum lagi kalo ngantor naik ojek yang tinggal menclok. Beda dengan nyetir sendiri yang sebenernya masih memperkanankan adanya gerakan, mikir dan jalan dari parkiran ke tempat duduk di kantor. Tapi memang kondisi jalanan jakarta makin devilish aja setiap harinya. Trus lagi, bubu punya kebiasaan enggak bisa lihat makanan sisa. Katanya sih dulunya hidup susah, jadi kasian kalau liat makanan dibuang-buang. Akhirnya dimakanlah itu makanan kalau titan, luna dan aku enggak habis. And so the story goes, menggelembunglah badannya. Dua puluh ki

Just because

Alhamdulillah, minggu ini Titan mulai privat mengaji. Mainstream? Maybe. Cliche? Maybe. Rising a good child, guaranteed? Probably no. Heaven, guaranteed? Definitely no. But this is how I was raised, and I am thankful I was raised this way. Hopefully Titan is too.

Forgetting this, forgetting that. breaking this and breaking that.

A little note: Need to set up a good example. So from this moment, since my kid starts reading my blog too, I need to write with the correct spelling, punctuation and capitalisation. So help me God. Okay. Up to this moment, I am still observing what kind of type my kids are. Those who tend to avoid risks or those who has oriented with benefits. Surely two of the types need different approaches. But along the way, my children easily swifts from one to another. So I got confused in giving the right approach and I became inconsistent. That happens quite often. So, to us, while I am conveying myself what types my kids are, logical consequences still applies the best for them. There are always consequences behind our every actions. What is bothering me a lot these days are how careless Titan is. I wonder why I did not notice this back then. Well, maybe I had always thought he is a little boy and I needed to remind him over and over. But now he is eight and he is physically loo

Fridate with the girls

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I am a mother goin' out with my mother.  Jumat kemarin, kita niat pergi agak jauh. Dharmawangsa Square. Well, waktu yang kurang tepat untuk jalan-jalan sih sebenarnya. You know, ... Jakarta's traffic on friday. Tapi karena mood lagi mendukung dan memang ada tujuan yang dicari, yaitu mencari tas sekolah buat kakak Titan yang sudah 3 tahun enggak diganti, akhirnya kita pergi juga walaupun harus menunggu taksi dari jam 11 dan baru dapat jam setengah dua. Seperti yang diperkirakan, ... macet. Saya lupa ada pembangunan fly over di depan Rumah Sakit Pertamina yang mengekor ke Sinabung dan Barito, rute perjalanan kami. Alhamdulillah, sampai dengan aman enggak pake nagging. Tentunya, berkat nenen sepanjang jalan dan si bocah tertidur pulas. Sebelumnya udah browsing-browsing sih, tas kaya apa yang bakalan dibeli. Titan memang sangat picky dengan semua outfit yang bakal dia pakai. Sebelumnya sudah ngubek-ngubek Gramedia, tapi enggak ada satu pun tas yang dia suka. Ada sih semp

hukuman mati

another chat while we had dinner today. "bunda, hukuman mati itu apa sih?"  "ehm..." *ambil minum hampir keselek. "hukuman mati itu, adalah keputusan hukum yang dibuat oleh sebuah negara untuk menghukum seseorang sampai meninggal. ada yang ditembak mati, ada yang disuntik obat, ada yang dimasukin kamar gas. pokoknya, kasarnya, dibunuh sebagai bentuk pertanggungjawaban atas kesalahan yang sudah dia lakukan.  "tapi kan membunuh orang itu enggak boleh." "kan tadi bunda bilang, ada negara yang membolehkan hal tersebut. kenapa, karena bentuk kesalahan yang dia lakukan sudah enggak termaafkan lagi." "kenapa enggak termaafkan? kan kita harus memaafkan?" "enggak termaafkan itu, biasanya kalau yang kita lakukan itu sudah terlanjur merusak hidup orang lain dan enggak bisa balik lagi."  "ya tapi tetep kita enggak boleh bunuh orang dan harus memaafkan."  "ya, itu ada benarnya juga sih nak."  *unt

#one page a day

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Few months ago, a friend of mine which happened to be also a kindergarten teacher recommended this book. I have just finished reading it a few weeks ago. The content is not really new in parenting world we might have heard. But in my opinion, this is not the kind of book we read once and put it back on the shelves. We should solemnly read this book as everyday's reminder. Each chapter is not really linked to one another, and we can read only the chapter related to the kid's phase we are facing. I bought the book on www.belbuk.com

my own kind

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how long has my kid gone to school? probably four and a half years. titan did not really attend a pre-school or other pre-kindie program. he was too busy at home playing with his grandpa from climbing a tree, feeding the pets or ride a bike. He started on tk kecil when he was 4 and moved to elementary school when he was 5 (in highscope, elementary starts on kindergarten). along his journey, as far as i remember, never at once i made such a bff relationship with other parents. until this year on grade 2. when did we get together? never from small talks. we started it for a support system of a worsen condition that day and we just clicked. we both have the same son and daughter of the same age. it has been a while since i last have chat with my own kind. i miss those nitty gritty running the house, talking about schools and courses, daily menus, chats about how we are not slim anymore where wrinkles and fatbelly have become our jewelleries that make us happy. those chats that no long

selamat datang kelas tiga!

enggak terasa si bocah udah naik ke kelas tiga. selama liburan kemarin, iya liburan yang 6 minggu itu, kita bikin kesepakatan-kesepakatan baru. quite big leaps, i guess. issue pertama adalah matematika. subject dimana titan dan beberapa temennya harus dapat remedial untuk pelajaran yang satu ini. tahun kemarin titan memang dapet guru yang agak akademis banget. tapi untungnya juga baik hati banget yang mau ngasih kelas tambahan tanpa pungutan biaya. suka bagi makanan pula. tahun ini, belum tentu dapat guru yang sama sementara kebutuhan mempertajam logika matematika masih sama. so, ... kesepakatan pertama: ikut kumon. dulu, suka ngetawain orang tua yang ambisius banget masukin anak-anaknya ke kumon. bayangan saya, mereka pengen banget punya anak-anak yang jago berhitung di luar kepala. tambah-tambahan, kali-kalian, memecah desimal dan ahli bilangan pecahan. kasihan anaknya. pikir saya selama ini. tapi hari ini. iya, hari ini. akhirnya saya mendaftarkan titan ke kumon *sound efek