It's the year end again

November was such a busy month. First it was the last week of school where there were endless school activities to keep the kids busy. They had curriculum day, prize giving day, class parties, tournaments, trips, etc, etc. No doubt mom was as busy as the kids preparing them for the activities as well as transporting them to and fro. 24 hours was just not enough!

And now December is here. Another busy but controlled time. I said controlled because their activities depend very much on my permission and my availability. Now is already the third week of the holidays and it had been filled with so many things that I felt that I hardly had time to stop and smell the roses. There were trips to the malls, movies, friends' houses. One trip to the National Zoo which was not as interesting as the place was rather in a pathetic condition, not well maintained. Those poor caged animals! Then the boys went to see a football match, and perhaps that would be their highlight of the holidays for them even though Malaysia lost to the opponent! 

They have another four weeks to go. To me that is such a short period if not well spent. What worries me is that they spend most of their time online, networking or playing games. Other times the boys play futsal every day, morning and late afternoon which I don't mind at all as it's a way of exercising their body and minds (and so that they don't turn out to be a nerd or a geek!) I have to think fast before the time ends so that they focus on something else other than being online. During my time, when computers were unheard of, I spend most of my holidays outside the house playing with the nature. We build a tent from coconut leaves and branches, and had real food inside the tent. During the flood season, we had fun in the flood water in front of my house and try to catch some fish. We never had to evacuate as the flood water stopped just in front of my house and it never got worse. Comparing what I did and what they are doing now, I pity them. They cannot live without the technology, they appreciate the nature less, and they have limited space and time to play. 

Regardless, the holidays are here for them, and for me too in some ways. I like the fact that I don't have to send and fetch them to and fro school, I like the fact that there is no school uniform to wash and iron! Heavenly! 

I hope they'll make the most of what is left and I hope next year will be a better year. InsyaAllah.