My Headmaster ...My Teacher...

Teacher's Day ....this day did not exist at all back in 1968 ....that was the year I began to learn how to read , write and do arithmetic ...a term used then . Maybe there was such a day .....I just can't recall .

My old primary school is still there...at Jalan Merpati , Miri . Sayed Othman Primary School is the name ...one of the few primary schools in Miri Town .The headmaster then was Cikgu Wan Morshidi ...the grandson of the late Sayed Othman .Impressive ain't it ...to be able to head the school set up by your grandfather ,

What do I remember about Cikgu Wan Morshidi ? Well he had this habit of carrying a one and half foot long rattan in his hand though at times he would tucked it away under his armpit . I think most headmasters carried a rattan during those years . We scurried away like little mouse should we happened to meet him on his rounds . The rattan and him made a scary combination when you are just a little girl .

Generally a headmaster would always looked smart daily , 5 days a week . So it was with Cikgu Wan Morshidi .A short hair ...kind of like the way Barack Obama is sporting now , a short sleeve shirt and trousers and a pair of black or dark brown shoes . I think he used a tie too .He drove a car though I can't remember what the type was.......looked like a Batman's kind of car . ( Note : We were exposed to Batman and Robin's comics by our elder brothers in the early 1970s. )

School assemblies was once a week . All the pupils would stand in the school field , in rows according to the class they were in ...facing the school with the sun shining on our faces . It must be a straight line ...the teachers would ensure us that ...so we would put our hands on our friend's shoulder ...straighten our arms to make that arms length distance from your friend in front ....and nobody were to move .... stand at attention mode for all .

Cikgu Wan Morshidi would be in front observing us with keen eyes while the other teachers would be about 2 or 3 meters away from his side . The assembly began with all of us singing the country's anthem ' Negara Ku '. Then he would checked all the pupil's nails ...a short smack one would get on your knuckles if you were to show him your dirty or long nails . Now and then I would get a taste of that rattan medicine ....a pain in my memory of what that rattan can do to me .

That is why if I were to remember my teacher cum headmaster ..the picture that is etched in my memories would be Cikgu Wan Morshidi and his constant partner ' The Rattan '.

Whatever ....life at the primary school was full of memories . I didn't skipped school as I enjoyed going there . The rattan could be quite scary but I was brave enough to trudge along daily and happily because school was fun .

Oh ya ...Happy Teacher's Day to all . Cheers !

Treasures....

I will never forget the day I received this card . Thirty years ago we were roommates at campus .My first Mother's Day card I received from a friend . Sent all the way from USA and I have kept it ever since . Never felt so good before .



I was on the hospital bed , still feeling drowsy after my C-section when dear hubby came and passed a couple of letters to me . I recognized the handwriting on the mails . One was an invitation card for her wedding and a photo of her graduation . She looked good in that picture . Another was this Mother's Day card .



The year was 1994 . 25th May to be exact . The day I gave birth to my second son .



Wow.....receiving that card woke up all my drowsy cells in my body system . There was an immediate up surge in my adrenalin . Feelings of excitement , happiness and blessed too that a friend still had the time to say ' hi ' . That's what I call true friendship ...thousands of miles apart , separated by the vast oceans and yet I am still in her thoughts .

Thank you , Lek . May we be friends forever and ever .

I Have Kept This ....

1996 ....My eldest son gave me this Mother's Day card . I remembered he was all eager to try out the new printer dear hubby had bought . He had always been the curious kind of kid ; technical stuff just fascinates him .




Uzair was nine years old . He burst into my room and thrust the card into my hand . I didn't expect it to be a Mother's Day card . The words he used were just so raw and pure from his heart .



What can I say except that this is one card I will always treasure ....and I have kept it ever since .

P.S. ....Of course dear hubby was around to assist him .

Our Day ....

' Happy Mother's Day '....greetings from my daughter .

' Thank you ' .....I said .

" What do you want me to do for you ? '...she asked .

' Hmmmmm.....could you clean up your room and put away your folded clothes in the wardrobe ? '....I answered .

' Ok...' was her reply . Well she did the chores as requested .

Mother's Day ....very much a celebration all over the globe . It was not so in my younger days . Mother's Day was unheard of . The culture did not exist at all . After all in my community , a mother is to be honored at all times ...365 days a year .

Sure ....I read and heard about this day and while it is the ' in ' thing to celebrate it in the west on a specific date ...I couldn't care less about it. How could I go goo goo -ga ga over it when my own dear mother was unaware of the day's existence . It would be strange to simply celebrate the day as it was never part of her up bringing too . Its just an awkward celebration .

Time goes by . I have my own family and I am a mother . My husband and I never introduced Mother's Day as part of the family's celebration . My children were introduced to it at school. So I received hand made cards and cute little art and crafts from them on this day ....deeply appreciated of course .

Now that they are teenagers ...I no longer received any hand made cards . If they remember to wish me Happy Mother's Day ....that is great ... a hugh bonus . And if they forgot I don't make a fuss over it .

Whatever ....this Mother's Day celebration is catching on in my environment now . It is here to stay . I see families bringing their mothers out for dinners . I hear the sound of the cash register at shops going ' ka-ching' as loving children bought cards and presents for their mothers ....eating out at restaurants for brunch or trunch .

We opted to eat out that night ...just a family gathering and to celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary . Eldest son had just arrived home earlier in the day ; a month's break from campus . A lot of catching up to do ....the evening was just great .

Oh ya ....since early saturday and sunday ...my cell phone was busy ...receiving SMS wishes from friends . Ooooo...that was a nice feeling ; felt so good that we are in someone's thoughts . Thank you dear friends for the wishes .


Happy Mother's Day to all .