Gimme 5

We were lazing about drinking ice cool milo each doing our own stuff (i was reading, AH was writing & AI was teasing the kitties) when i brought up the subject of The Prophet's 5 before 5 hadith (diriwayatkan oleh Imam Al-Hakim dan Imam Al-Baihaqi daripada Ibnu Abbas Radiallahu-Anhuma) i.e.

Pergunakanlah lima kesempatan sebelum datangnya lima kesempitan :
.. kesempatan sihat mu sebelum datang sakitmu.
.. kesempatan lapang mu sebelum datang masa sibuk mu.
.. kesempatan hari muda mu sebelum datang hari tuamu.
.. kesempatan waktu engkau kaya sebelum datang kemiskinanmu.
.. kesempatan masa hidup mu sebelum datang saat kematianmu.

And i added ... kesempatan belajar mu sebelum datang spm mu... see, i'm using every opportunity possible to drive in that fact to my liat, malas, but otherwise very ok son.

After everyone shared their thoughts on the matter, i told my daughter, "Yang, kita orang perempuan ada our own 5 to deal with as we get along in life" and as usual whenever theres any hint of 'citer org pompuan' my son would suddenly pretend disinterest but i could literally see his ears perking up lol.

I call it the 5 Ms :

Menstruation.. reaching puberty is a big event in a young girls life ya ?!! its an initiation into womanhood and along with it, all the responsibilities and opportunities. yang membanggakan & juga menyusahkan especially when you're the school going age and later during those oh so very 'subur' years when issues of birthcontrol will have to be dealt with one way or another.

Men.. that all important factor w/out which life would decidedly be very much calmer but never quite as interesting lol yang boleh menjadi pelindung tapi boleh juga menjadi pemusnah.

Marriage.. to me its life's greatest challenge as well as the greatest opportunity for personal growth. yang menuntut komitmen & kesungguhan, yang mengajar erti perkongsian & pengorbanan. paving the way for motherhood (of which AH will always give a little shudder lol) and all its trials & joy !!

Menopause.. the gradual putting down of the mantle and growing old gracefully (having a live-in opah helps the kids to understand this somewhat)

Mortality.. coming to grips with the eventual end. death is inevitable but nobody said we had to wait it out just shaking legs. seize the day!! start with loving yourself.. its the hardest thing to do but its also the ultimate in bersyukur.

And AI tetiba menyampuk.... "eh, ma kitorang macamana plak?" (completely forgetting the fact that dia tgh 'control macho' and pretending disinterest lol)

"Haa... tu kena tanya babah ahh!!"

Oh, dont get me wrong. i've always been open with the kids and we'd had the birds & the bees (and much more) covered eons back. but when it comes to dispensing tips about being a man.... well, i definitely have to leave that to golfman himself kan ?! a man i certainly am not :)