Eid's Reflections 1434H

Syawal is almost over, but I wanted to note this down, so I know, I can feel this way :-)

I had one of my best eid this time around. I found the occasion to be less stressful compared to previous years. Yasmin Mogahed once said “If there is one recipe for unhappiness it is that: expectations.” So I did that, I took away some of my usual expectations and change myself, the way I view things, the way I expect things to happen. It's a wonder what happen when you simply lower your expectation and instead do a little bit more for others and expect nothing in return. End result, I somewhat feel content. I have somewhat forgotten when I last feel the same way on eid's holiday, probably perhaps the last time was when I was a child. Back then there was no care, no expectation except for, to 'top' your siblings or cousins' duit raya collection :-)

For a couple of years now, celebrating eid had somewhat feel like a ritual, a passing through period. I am not saying that this year had lost that feeling, but I no longer wonder why I feel Eid as a passing through 'occasion'. Yes, perhaps it still is, or perhaps it's really that time of the year when you gather with family you haven't met for quite some time and reconnect (?) err really? hehe... But this year, I find peace in thinking that no one will ask me, 'when are u getting married, or having a child (or more child), or have you finished your study, yet?' I know that I have somewhat passed that time. People don't fuss around you no more. Fine. I actually feel good about it. I'm at peace :-)

Any glitches? Well life's full of it. Why focus on them. Our Eid celebration this year was also the first of many. After 36 years, this was the first time my family and I celebrate the First of Syawal in KL. And Oh My God who said there's no one here (in KL). Even the mosque are full, and no, not with foreigners. Perhaps they are all like our family, who one day finally decided, it's time to spend it with their closest circle first at their own parents' place, since probably all their grandparents have passed away (or maybe various other reasons, like work, and health emergency for e.g.) But we did travel back to Malacca after the Eid's prayer. 

Throughout the whole occasion this year I made several interesting observations:

1) Since my two sisters are getting married, there's wedding talks all the time. I noticed that weddings discussion is always more fun and and also very stressful than eid's talk (what do you actually talked about during eid anyway haha)

2) In the older days, you took days and sometimes months before you get your eid's album going around. Now everyone take their family pic on eid day using their mobile phones and post it online. Let's not go into the pros and cons of this new 'tendency'. Be happy, and smile for the camera :-P

3) I still love the old type cookies. Kacang Mazola is one of my old favourite. My mom used to make the 'Madu Tiga' cookies. She has since stopped since our oven broke down a couple of years back. I haven't found these cookies in any of the places I visited yet this year, except for the Kacang Mazola cookies, so I am partly happy on the cookie hunting department :-). I also found that all my children love 'kuih Samperit' so much, but Luqman would throw the cherries on top away hahaha. And as for my husband, he kept on buying longans (he refused to call them mata kucing - sound ridiculous he said :-P). He never get the Malay's eid so much and I have stopped trying to push him. If longans make him happy, fine longan it is ;-).

4) There's traffic jam around on hari raya. Imagine our trip from Kajang to Tg Bidara which usually takes around one and a half hour, stretched to almost 3 hours. And no, nobody on the road died while we were stucked in the traffic congestion. Where did all these people come from? I know, foolish question - no need to answer that :-P

5)  The kampung is still one of the most fun place for children who are cooped up like my children to run wild. I pity all the bunnies, cats, cock and hens that are being chased by my children ;-)

6) Makan nasi berlauk is the actually the best menu during eid. On the second of Syawal, which happens to be a Friday, we had the chance to visit a relative that offer rice served with sambal udang petai, ikan bakar, rendang daging hitam, ikan masak asam pedas and sayur kacang buncis. How in the world had they anticipated that I had cravings for sambal udang with petai, beats me! haha but that was the best eid menu I've ever had along with itik masak rendang hijau!

 So this is how I felt this Syawal, Alhamdulillah. I hope yours was excellent too :)