faraway

Last Sunday, Zach woke up early. He went to my room and jumped into my bed. As usual, he woke Jake up and automatically woke me up too. Knew that I already opened my eyes, he asked me why his Daddy was still in Aceh and did not come back last night. I told him that his Daddy would be in Aceh until Monday night.

Suddenly, he said “Daddy does not love us anymore Mom.”
I was shocked when heard that, “Why did you say that?”
“Because he does not want to stay with us anymore. He often go away and leave us alone.”
His answer touched my feeling; I said “Zach, Daddy is working in Aceh. He is looking for money for us so then he can pay your school and buy you a toy?”
He was thinking a little bit and then asked me again “Is there a night in Aceh?”
I answered “Yes of course. Why?”
“So … why Daddy does not want to come back at our house at night?”
How smart my son. I told him that Aceh was very far from Jakarta, Daddy could not easily come back to Jakarta in addition no plane that available in every hour. He did not satisfy by my answer and he sighed “but Daddy does not love us anymore and I do not love him either. I only love you and Jake … I want to stay with you and Jake forever.”
“Zach, don’t be like that. You know, Daddy loves you right? He works hard for us. You love him right?”
Then, he said yes.
“Do you want to call Daddy tonight?” I asked him.
“Of course, tonight yah Mom.”
Then, he asked me to massage his arm by saying "Pijit dong Mom." He was funny when he talked in Bahasa.

In the afternoon, when we were on the way to the Senayan City Mall, he asked me why his Daddy did not call us. He told me again that his Daddy did not love us anymore. I did not know why Zach had a thought like that.

I told Jerome about that when he called me in the afternoon. At night, Jerome called us again and privately talked to Zach. After talked to his Daddy, I asked him whether he loves his Daddy. He said “I love Daddy, Jake and Mom.” Then, he gave me a kiss and asked me to massage his back.

During weekend, Zach was a good boy and tried to help me in taking care of Jake. He looked after his brother when I cooked or took a bath. He really loves his brother.

On Thursday, Jerome will go to Bangkok and Cambodia for a week. I do not know what Zach gonna ask. Today, when I got home, he showed me his drawings. He drew a framed-family picture. He said that he drew us, Daddy-Mommy-Jake-and him. He made two drawings, one for me and one for his Daddy. He asked me to keep it. I do not know why he was such a grown up little boy.

Three days ago, Jake was six months old. That means I was successfully finished my exclusive brestfeeding. Whew, I felt very happy that I could achieve my mission. To achieve this mission, I had to give up my job so that I could get a longer maternity leave since in Indonesia the maternity leave only for 3 months. Also, I was happier because my butterball is a healthy boy. His weight was 9.8kg (my ex-boss called him as a giant baby).

Yesterday, I started to give him a solid food. A baby-cookie mixed with formula. But he did not like it, he cried. And then I gave him cereal mixed with formula, he did not like it either. Everytime I put the spoon in to his mouth, he tightly closed his mouth and did not want to look at me. Well, I gave up and would like to try the next day. Today, in the morning I made a mixed-fruit puree (apple, banana, and orange). When I gave it to him, he still closed his mouth but I kept putting the spoon into his mouth, meanwhile Jerome tried to make him laugh. And it worked, he ate it eventhough only for 6 small spoon. But we were happy, well done for us as a team work!

In the afternoon, I tried to give him a solid food again but he did not want it. He cried very loud. I gave up and just gave him breastmilk. Well, it will be a hard work. I remember when Zach was eight months old and I started to give him solid food and formula. I need at least two months to get Zach's appetite in solid food and drink formula.

Wish me luck!

Galuh

My three-year old son loves to ask some of the most unanswerable questions. If you have an answer please share them with me.

1. Why do I have ten fingers?

2. Why does a lion have a mane?

3. Why is poo brown?

4. Why does a cow have a tail?

5. Why does a roadrunner live on the road?

Jerome

For last two weeks, I never pay attention to Zach anymore. I have been very busy with Jacob. I never bath Zach, read a book for him before he go sleep, play with him, and so on. Today, after we came back from my friend's house at Bekasi, Zach asked me whether I want to bath him. He also said that he missed me. How he told me, make me aware that I should pay attention to him again.

What's up with Zach?

Yeah, this time I'd like to write about Zach in last three weeks (since one week before I gave birth). I am trying to recall my mind about him for last three weeks.

In last week of October, Zach felt really missed Maddy. He kept saying "I miss Maddy, let's go to Toronto. I want to see her." He took Maddy's picture on the fridge and hold it all the time. He even asked his Daddy to dial Maddy's phone number. They talked on the phone for half an hour. Because we promised to him that we will go to Canada on January after the baby came out, then he kept asking us when the baby would come out. He seemed that he could not wait anymore!

Miss Maddy

From his education side, he is still studying at Kinderland School. He is in Nursery 2 Class now. In September, he started to take Mandarin Class but because the teacher was sick for a month, then he moved to Taekwondo Class. We never decide what courses that Zach should have. We always ask him what course he want to take, we always give him choices. Firstly, he prefered to take Mandarin class than Taewondo. Anyway, he said that he like his taekwondo class. All of you can see how happy he is with his taekwondo's uniform.

Zach in Taekwondo Cloth

Zach is also like a computer game now. He is expert in using the mouse and know how to operate the computer. We bought many computer games for him and we found many kids games through internet such as Stanley's game, Harry with his bucket of dinosaurs's game, etc. When he says "I am bored Mommy" or "I am bored Daddy", it means that he wants to play with his computer games. My old laptop have became his laptop now. Sometimes, I feel funny when my two boys (Jerome and Zach) are playing game. They totally look same, very concentrate with their game! Hm ... like father like son!

Playing Computer Game

Playing Computer Game before School

There is one favourite computer game that Zach likes to play with his Daddy which is called "Republic Commando". Usually Zach will start with :
"I am bored Daddy. Let's play Republic Commando!"
Then Jerome will say "Oke. Go get your chair."
Then Jerome will turn on his laptop and Zach go get his chair.
"Are you ready Zach?" ask Jerome.
"Ready boss Commando!" answer Zach.
If Jerome dies in the game, Zach always says "Aw, you're dead Daddy!"
And then he will say "try agin (again) Daddy."
He always want to decide which gun Jerome should use by saying "do not use that gun Daddy, use this gun aja!"

Hm ... they are very cute. Zach seems that he has same interest with Jerome especially in gadgety things. He likes computer, computer games, and PDA.

Galuh

Below are conversations between Zach and his Dad.

BOLONG (Hole)
Zach and his Daddy were sitting on the sofa.
Zach looked down on his Dad's black socks,
and saw his Dad's toes through several holes at the end of the socks.
He leaped down from the sofa, put his fingers into the holes,
then he looked up at his Dad and exclaimed,
"bolong!"
"Why your socks bolong, Daddy?"

Fourty
"Why you fourteen, Daddy?"
"Four-ty, Zach, fourty."
"Why you fourty, Daddy?"
"I was born fourty years ago,"
Pause
"Who's your teacher, Daddy?"
"I had many teachers, Zach."
"Where's your school?"
"My school is in Toronto."
"My school is in Jalan Pakubowono."
"Do you know the name of your school Zach?"
Zach looked at his Daddy for the answer,
"Your school is Kinderland."
"Kinderland," he repeated,
"Is your school brown, Daddy?"

Once upon a time, in a city called Jakarta, a little girl named Shannon invited all her friends to her birthday party held at the prestigious Mandarin Hotel. Shannon's school friend, Zachary arrived at the Hotel's main lobby and rode two sets of escalators up to the party reception table. Here he was greeted by two women hosts wearing enormous orange tophats. They ushered him through a portal decorated by Winnie the Pooh. Inside was an enormous room. Shannon greeted him, dressed like a princess in frilly pink. All the kids got a Winnie the Pooh clock as a present and a cup cake from Shannon. At the end of the room was a huge stage also decorated with the characters from Winnie the Pooh. A bulbous Winnie the Pooh and Piglet emerged from a side door and posed for pictures with Zachary, Shannon and the other children. Soon a strange man wearing funky glasses and spikey hair began to sing and arrange party games for the several score of children who had arrived at Shannon's party. After the starnge man, a couple of Indonesia television performers, Rio and Liddia Lau, sangs songs for the children. One of the songs was in Mandarin. The ponderous Pooh and Piglet cavorted with the dancing children. Unfortunately all of this seemed too much for three-year old Shannon, who cried and did not want to dance. The singing and dancing was followed by a massive banquet for the hundreds of guests. Just before the magic show, Zachary slipped out of the party eager to eat his cup cake.

Jerome

When our baby can talk, we will get many questions from him/her.

Zachary started talking fluently since he was 1 year old. One of his question was about body parts. He asked me why I had no penis like him. I told him that a girl/woman has a vagina.

Sometimes I can not answer his questions. Zach always tries to pester us with his questions by using a word “why” until he satisfy with our answers. Sometimes we get very tired of his “why”.

Last night, after I read a book for Zach, suddently he asked me how the baby will come out from my tummy. I was surprised for awhile and did not know how to answer his question.

Then, he asked me with other question “will your tummy break open when baby is born?”
I started to answer him “do you know that boy or man has a penis and woman has a vagina, don’t you?”.
“Yes. I know,” he said.
“The baby will come out from my vagina, Zach.”
“But why?” he was trying to pester me again.
“That is how the baby come out Zach. You came out from here too.” I did not know how to explain it further to him, Jerome just laughed at me.
“Hm … no Mommy, the baby will come out from here” he pointed at my belly button.
I laughed, “No Zach, the baby will come out from my vagina.”
“No, he will come out from your belly button so your tummy will not break open!” he insisted with his thought.

I did not try to explain him more because he will be pastering me again with other questions. I just asked him to close his eyes and sleep.

But this morning on the beach, he kissed my tummy and said “the baby will come out from your vagina, right?” Finally he can understand and accept my answer.

Galuh, 9 July 2005 at 23.00 Bali time.
When I am looking at my sleeping boy and my husband who are reading a book in the bed, I feel very lucky to have them. I wish we do not have to come back to work. It is nice to have a very long vacation with people whom we love.

I keep asking the question above since I was in junior high school. I have been thinking why most parents in Indonesia (I dunno in abroad) seems that their children belong to them. They want their children follow or obey their values, principles, rules and even their dreams.

I keep asking why I have to be moslem, why I have to do all the domestic works and my brothers do not, why I had to go home aarly

On Children
By Kahlil Gibran

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might that
His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, s
o He loves also the bow that is stable.

Zach has just recovered from a swollen left eye. On 13 June, his eye started to swell up by the next day it was like a golf ball. Dr. Franky at SOS Clinic diagnosed it as an allergic reaction. As usually, Zachary was terrified of the doctor and the examination was only done with much struggle and crying and screaming. But the anti-histamine eye drops did their job and in a few days the swelling disappeared.