la abuela

It means grandmother in spanish :)

This is Zaiton Ibrahim, we the grandkids call her tok ton.She is the mother of my mom.She might look frail and tiny and weak, but the truth is, my tok ton is far more strong and her capability to withstand defeat and hardlife is beyond anyone's imagination.She has the softest voice ever, actually never heard her raises the voice or show anger:).She used to teach Quran lesson to kids and she could make the most, i mean it, the most delightful wajik that is still being missed by abah and I.Oh, I just got to know that tok ton is 80.80! can u believe it?i can't! because she always looks strong and heavenly and nothing close to being 80.And just ask her on any petua or doa for any kind of occasions, she would just give it away.She was staying with us for couple of weeks on the last Ramadan, and i got the chance to cook this dish called ayam masak lemak cili padi, and she kept complimenting it as being..emm... good.:) (She is not only complimenting it, but complement it with the action too, i saw her liking the dish very much:).And knowing her too, she never put hatred on people, no matter how bad a person is.

This is Salmah Ahmad. I called her tokma.She is the mother of my dearest abah.I never ask her age, but I think she is close to 80 (I will ask her age when i get home visiting her, i promise).When i was still a little toddler and about to enter kindergarten, i used to live with her for years (literally living with her since mom was a school teacher and dad was mendling his business so i was under her n tokwan surveillance), and truth to be told, i was very manja and spoilt since i was their first granddaughter.I called her a 'sporting grandma' coz i told her every crushes i had back in my secondary school and even showed her the boy's pictures and she would just nod and listen attentively and claim 'hmm..comel'. Hahaha..and upon coming home from every break, i would hit her house, because i know if i don't do so, she would be asking my dad anyway. And her cooking is devilishly addictive. She knows what i like the most, the ayam masak merah and kari ikan with bendi. Yummmmmmmey! I might be a little bit like her,outspoken, but the plus side is my tokma is one strong woman and knowing her, she would never say no to any queries from her children, well..or to her grandchildren:). And i love listening to her telling stories, because she is a real storyteller (albeit sometimes she uses funny words.ahha..)

Now, why do i talk about these 2 women?Because i know i should be lucky to give and have their love.Evidently, I never know how to reply to those affection, but i do know that my grandmas always have the special places in my heart.I want to be as loving as tokma, and as strong as tokton.If values are to be emulated, i would go for these 2 rockin' grandmas.

to grandmas, thanks for giving me my parents.