My Mother’s Day Gift : Al-Fatihah

does your gift this year say it all?

‘i love you’? ‘you’re so special so you deserve a very expensive present’ or ‘because this is your favorite’, or maybe ‘i know you’ve always wanted one of these’ or ‘i’m broke but i hope you like it’. maybe even, ‘i wanna get you something that i could enjoy too, so i’m taking you to see justin bieber’.

mine usually say something like, ‘this is from your 2nd born who is a bit weird so that explains the gift’. haha.

most mothers will get the usual gifts – flowers, cards and a reserved seat at her favorite restaurant. practical children might get their moms a vacuum cleaner, a china set or a flower pot. those fortunate enough to have extra money to spare may splurge on designer handbags, a weekend spa or even jewelleries.

i haven’t been buying mother’s day gifts since new year’s eve 2004, when my mak passed away. and oh, how i miss going to the mall looking for something quirky for her. my sisters all felt the same way when they passed a mother’s day gifts promo at the mall, or received an e-mail notification about a free flower delivery for mother’s day.

we all thought of mak.

when it comes to me – yes, never a girly bouquet for my mak. or a flashy bracelet. mak was too gorgeous to get a facial hihi, nor did she ever need another electrical item. she’s a very simple person, so buying gifts for her was never a difficult thing.

when she passed away, i was just starting on my first ever job, so i don’t have that much money to buy expensive gifts. every mother’s day before that, mak will get a fairly affordable gift from me, and it was always something quirky, and unpredictable. oh, maybe a cake too thrown into the mix. hihi.

one time, it was a chicken-shaped metal-net container to put eggs in. i think the most NORMAL, practical gift i had ever gotten her was a silk flowery tudung. hihi.

so on this mother’s day, i give my mak al-Fatihah and it’s keberkatan. dengan izin Allah, harap-harap sampai lah doa anak-anak mak. kawan-kawan tolong sedekahkan sekali ye. buat mak aku, noriza binti mohd. anuar yang menemui ilahi pada malam tahun baru 2004.

to the rest, please let your mother know how much she is still needed in your world. because only Allah knows – after years of sharing my life with mr khairul, living in dubai and 3 boys later – i still need my mak very very much, if only just to talk to her, and tell her about my day.