'Dogged' & Grossed

"Where are we going?"

"Aahhhhh tell ussss!!!"

Hubby, as usual, told the kids that we would go somewhere, but didn't say where exactly. Of course, this sparked the ultimate curiosity in them, especially because the day that he said it, we didn't end up going there.

Today however, we did, and when we did get there, I think S was pleasantly surprised.

She has been lamenting over not getting to ride horses or touch or pet them for ages. Her love for horses seems overwhelming, and not wanting to deprive her of the opportunity, I googled horse-riding lessons in Columbus, Ohio.

We had missed the spring session, and I was hoping we could join the summer session, albeit being 30 dollars more in cost. In short, we signed her up today, onsite, since the owner is pretty bad at replying emails and returning phone calls. We decided to just go there and sign her up.

Hubby got out and tried to find the owner, who was working in the barn, and from our van, we could see a little dog following him, sniffing his legs.

"Look at the dog!"

"He's following Abi!"

Hubby came back and said that the summer session is still not filled, and I went with him to ask the owner some questions about paraphernalia for S to wear to the lessons. As soon as I reached the table where the lady was sitting, and this was outdoor, not indoor, out of nowhere, two dogs the size of a very small ponies greeted me with their snouts. Two smaller dogs followed suit, and on reflex, I screamed. I truly screamed, and upon instinct, I moved away from the, which only made them dog me more, whcih led to me screaming more.

As I moved away, I whimpered for hubby to come to my rescue, but he merely stood watching me and said,

"Don't run. If you run, they'll go after you."

Backed against the wall of the building, I held on to the forms, looked at the van, which contained the kids, while the four dogs sniffed me. I couldn't seem to stop screaming. of course the owner called them off, but I had already made a fool of myself.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to dogs," I said to her, thinking that she might be offended at my response to her gentle dogs.

"Oh, I'm sorry too. They won't hurt you, but in the beginning they can be pretty obnoxious."

We managed to sign S up for riding lessons, which will commence June 17 inshaallah, and when we walked back to the van, which had the door open, we found the great hound returning from our van.

"Did you all laugh at me?" I asked the kids.

"You screamed!"

"The hound came and sniffed Abi's crutches."

At home, I asked the kids again.

"Did I look silly screaming like that?"

"Yeah, you were standing with the papers in your hand, screaming!"

"Oh yeah, what would you have done if it was you?"

"I would have just stood there," replied S, and N nodded.

"How about you, H?" I asked H, who was busy playing a game on the computer.

"Err.. I don't know," he said, without looking at me, but I could see his cheeks bulging from a smile.

"H was chased by a dog once at the park. He ran and screamed," S said, laughing.

"When the hound came to the van, H hid in the trunk."

So! H jumped to the back of the van!

"I think, if it was him, he would have made his roller coaster face and screamed like mad," I said, reminiscing his roller coaster face when we went on the Calypso at Cedar Points a few years back.

Apparently, my fear, tendency to chatter, and squeamishness when it comes to the inner human body have all been passed down to my first son.

Hubby's MRI results showed an ACL tear, and I googled the surgical procedure on Youtube. When I found it, I called the kids to watch. H, being 'me' ran off shrieking, covering his mouth, when the animation showed a long metal stick being inserted into the knee. N remained beside me and watched it without so much as a cringe. S wasn't there, but for the rest of the evening, I went after them, describing the procedure as grossly as I could as loud as I could, while S and H screamed as loud as they could to drown out my voice.

Suffice it to say, I really had fun grossing them out.

"And they would drill the bones...drrrrrrrr!!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

"Okay, okay,..come..get ready for maghrib."

"Aaaahhhh!!"

"I'm not saying anything!"

"Aaaaaah!!!"

"I'm done."

...

"Ooh this big metal stick, they stuck it through the knee..."

"AAAAAAHH!!!!"

That's for laughing at me, kids.

"They would slice out the tendon and then staple the tendons together..."

Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

Correction to the previous post

Jazakillah khair Anis for making me read it again. I noticed a needed correction on my part. Here it is:

The fatwa says prizes for competition is not allowed in anything except archery, swimming, camel and horse races, because they are for the purposes of jihad.

Here is the ruling that I did not link to, it's pertaining to the permissibility of playing soccer. Allahu Aalim.

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Playing soccer is permissible subject to certain conditions.

1 – That it should not be for money, whether it is paid by the two teams, one of them or by a third party, because it is not permissible to give prizes except for competitions which help prepare one for jihad, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There should be no (money) prizes for competitions except archery competitions and races with camels and horses.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1700), al-Nasaa’i (3585), Abu Dawood (2575) and Ibn Maajah (2878); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

Some scholars added to these three anything that helps in jihad and propagating Islam, such as competitions in knowledge of Qur’aan, hadeeth and fiqh, in which is permissible to offer prizes.

Therefore it is not permissible to give or take the prizes that are given to those who win soccer matches and tournaments between two or more teams, and they come under the heading of forbidden betting.

2 – The game should not be accompanied by anything haraam, such as uncovering the ‘awrah. The man’s ‘awrah is the area from the navel to the knee, and it is well known that most of those who play this game uncover their thighs, but this is haraam and is not permitted.

3 – The game should not lead to anything that is haraam, such as missing prayers, or missing Jumu’ah prayer or prayers in congregation. Unfortunately we say that many of those who play this game in clubs miss the prayers because of the matches. It is well known that delaying the prayer beyond its time with no excuse is a major sin, and it is narrated from a number of scholars that the one who does that deliberately is a kaafir, so we must be very careful.

This has to do with the game itself. But if there are tournaments on which money is spent and people are distracted by them, and waste time because of them, and they provoke factionalism and both Muslims and kaafirs, righteous and evildoers are glorified to the extent that a player becomes a role model for one’s sons and daughters, then this definitely should not be allowed, because among the ummah there are enough calamities, ignorance and backwardness to distract them from games on which millions of the people’s wealth are spent.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The basic principle concerning such games and sports is that they are permissible if they serve an innocent purpose, as was referred to by Ibn al-Qayyim in his book al-Faroosiyyah and as was mentioned by Shaykh Taqiy al-Deen Ibn Taymiyah and others. If that is done as training for jihad and attack and retreat, or for physical fitness, or to ward off chronic diseases and strengthen the spirit, then it comes under the heading of permissible things, if the one who does it has a sound intention. In all cases it is essential that there be no harm caused to bodies or minds, and that it does not lead to the grudges and hatred that usually occur between players, and that it does not distract them from things that are more important, and that it does not prevent them from remembrance of Allaah (dhikr) or prayer.

But whoever thinks about these sports as they are played nowadays will find that they are involve evil things which dictate that they should be disallowed, in addition to the fact that it is in the nature of the game to create factionalism and stir up resentment and hatred between the victors and the losers, this team and that team, as is quite apparent. They are also accompanied by physical danger for the players as the result of collisions and fisticuffs. Games hardly ever end without one of them breaking a bone or being injured or losing consciousness. This is why ambulances are always present.

The games also continue during the times of prayer, which results in people not praying or offering the prayer late.

The players also uncover their ‘awrah, which is forbidden. The man’s ‘awrah is the area from the navel to the knee. But you will find that their clothes end at mid-thigh, and some of them are shorter than that. It is well known that the thigh is part of the ‘awrah because of the hadeeth: “Cover your thigh for the thigh is part of the ‘awrah.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2797) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to ‘Ali: “Do not uncover your thigh and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (4015). And Allaah knows best.

End quote from Fataawa al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem, vol. 8, question no. 1948.

And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Playing football nowadays is accompanied by reprehensible things which mean that playing it should be disallowed. These things may be summed up as follows:

1 – It is proven to us that play continues during the times of prayer, which results in the players and spectators missing prayers or prayers in congregation, or they delay performing prayers until the time for them is over. Undoubtedly any action that interferes with performance of prayers on time or leads to missing prayers in congregation with no valid shar’i excuse is haraam.

2 – The nature of this game leads to factionalism, stirring up fitnah and hatred. These results are the opposite of what Islam promotes of tolerance, friendship and brotherhood, and cleaning hearts and souls of hatred, resentment and grudges.

3 – The game involves physical danger for the players as a result of collisions and injuries. Usually the players do not end the game without some of them falling on the pitch unconscious or with broken arms or legs. Nothing is more indicative of that than the fact that there must always be an ambulance present throughout the game.

4 – The purpose behind allowing sports is to make people become physically active and to train them for fighting and to ward off chronic disease. But playing football nowadays has no such aim. As well as the things mentioned above, it is now also taking people’s money for false purposes, let alone the danger of physical injury and the generation of hatred in the hearts of players and spectators, and the stirring up of fitnah. It has even gone so far that some spectators attack some players, which could go as far as murder, as happened in a match a few months ago. This alone is sufficient reason to disallow it. And Allaah is the source of strength. End quote.

He also said:

If it is done in an organized manner [as in the clubs] it seems that it should be banned altogether, because people becomes deeply involved in it and that prevents people from remembering Allaah, and it more akin to gambling. They call it “sport” but it is just a game, and matters of jihad are not like this, and even if the players have some agility and nimbleness, they are not able to strive hard in any other field.

It also involves other things. Some of them offer prizes for it, and this is gambling. Islam does not allow prizes for anything except competitions which support the religion and strengthen one for that. If it strengthens Islam then it is permissible to engage in competitions. In the hadeeth it says: “There should be no (money) prizes for competitions except archery competitions and races with camels and horses.” And this applies by analogy with these three to anything that supports Islam. End quote. Question no. 1950.

He also said: As for one or two people playing with a ball in an unorganized fashion, there is nothing wrong with that, because it does not involve anything haraam. And Allaah knows best. End quote. Question no. 1949.

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Alhamdulillah though, I do not think hubby and H (inshaaallah) are doing all the haram things, but my reservations about the Midwest Games have more to do with the occasion itself. And just to make it clear, we are in no position to say something is haram or halal blatantly, for this is actually hanging a huge responsibility on our necks, astaghfirulah if I did or conveyed that in any way. I was just reading from Tafsir Ibn kathir to the kids after Maghrib from Surah Al A'raaf, from ayah 31-34.

31:

Muhsin Khan: O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes), while praying and going round (the Tawaf of ) the Ka'bah, and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al-Musrifun (those who waste by extravagance).

32:

Muhsin Khan: Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Taiyibat [all kinds of Halal (lawful) things] of food?" Say: "They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them)." Thus We explain the Ayat (Islamic laws) in detail for people who have knowledge.

33:

Muhsin Khan: Say (O Muhammad SAW): "(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are Al­Fawahish (great evil sins, every kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) with Allah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge."

This chunk talks about Allah refuting what the Arabs said concerning making tawaf around the Kaabah naked. They claimed that Allah commanded them to do so, whereas Allah commanded us to wear the adornments He had created for us, Libas(covering the necessary areas) and Rish(extra for adornment).

I think, with regards to the soccer mentioned above, it refers to those who are fanatic about it. There is also one ruling where the scholar said to assess how much time we are devoting to it, compared to everything else. Allaahu Aalim.

To Go or Not To Go?

That is the question.

Hubby still wants to go to the Midwest Games. I don't want to, for many reasons, but my reasons are strengthened especially after reading the ruling about playing soccer and games in general.

The kids want to go, but I told them yesterday,

"These are my reasons:

1. The fatwa says competition is not allowed in anything except archery, swimming, camel and horse races, because they are for the purposes of jihad.
2. Will the trip be blessed then if we go, considering the nature of the Midwest Games.
3. Abi cannot even go to the masjid anymore with his crutches but he wants to go the 7 hour drive there
4. If the trip is not blessed, I don't want you kids involved
5. If we go, since Abi can't do anything, I have to do everything."

We agreed that if hubby still wants to go he can go by himself, without us. I prayed istikharah yesterday, and the kids know this.

Even though they badly want to go, when I explained my reasons, they agreed.

Hubby then mentioned his reason, and my suspicion was confirmed; he wants to go because he wants to participate, and the kids know this too. The only reason I agreed to go in the first place was because it would give us a chance to listen to the audio lectures in that long trip, and we would get somewhat of a 'vacation' on the side. However, it does not seem beneficial to me anymore, especially after reading that ruling, which actually leaves my heart at an unease since H has been in the soccer league for a few years now.

Alhamdulillah ala kulli haal indeed. If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have been pressed to seek it out in the first place. Thanks finie.

So, to go or not to go? If it is good for me, Allah will bless it and facilitate it, if not, Allah will remove it from me. Oh Allah please give us guidance. Oh Allah please give me patience and wisdom to handle this. Ameen.

Will we get to keep the crutches?

Saturday, May 17, around 6 p.m., I was lounging in the living room, reading, when I noticed a burly man with shaggy blond hair parking his car right in front of our apartment. I peeked in through the lacy curtains, and heard him say,

"F," and my ears perked up. He was mentioning hubby's name.

Few seconds later, hubby appeared from the passenger seat, one leg bent, and limping.

I thought to myself, "Oh no! What happened?! It must be bad because hubby is not one to need help such as that with simple sprains. This must be bad!"

Well, I urged him to go to the ER, against his soccer buddies' advice.

"Just go on Monday. You'll be waiting for hours if you go today," they said.

My motherly instinct was appalled at the advice, and hubby, being a man, of course agreed with his buddies. I insisted on at least calling a doctor or the ER to ask if he needs to go or what to do and how to take care of his leg.

"Yes, sir, yes!" was the reply of the ER nurse, when he called and asked if he should go.

It turned out he has a stretched ligament. We were actually thinking it must be a torn ligament. We were expecting the worst, with surgery, so alhamdulillah, it was a stretched ligament, though they skipped the X-ray because a trauma just came in, so hubby's case became low priority.

Hubby came back with a knee brace, and silver metal crutches, which I didn't see until much later, because it was maghrib when he came home and we were busy getting ready to pray.

So, our tennis Sundays are no more. We stayed home the whole day yesterday.

The kids were pretty awed I suppose by all that happened. When hubby was at he ER, Sh called me to update me on hubby's condition, since T had driven hubby to the ER. It was then that I found outhe had a stretched ligament. I told the kids. Naturally, we went a-googling.

ACL, PCL, LCL, MCL, we got it down to a pat, at least H did, and when hubby came home with home care instructions that also included an explanation of the injuries, the terms referring to the four ligaments above were already familiar to H, as I heard him state with utmost confidence,

"Oh yeah, I saw that!"


Before hubby came home, we talked about hubby's future with soccer.

"Abi can't ride the bike? Then I can't go to the masjid with the bike anymore."

"Are you sad if Abi can't play soccer anymore?" I asked H.

"Yes, because then he can't practice with me anymore."

I also expressed my disdain at hubby's involvement in soccer, that after a certain point becomes a burden to me. H said to me,

"You say that because you never played soccer. It's fun."

He's right. Maybe I've never been able to put myself in hubby's shoes. They're too big.

H, as is typical of any boy his age, bombards hubby with his questions.

"Will we get to keep it after you're done with it?" referring to the crutches.

"Will we get to play with knee brace too?"

H probably thinks all this is 'cool'.

The only thing I feel sorry for the kids for is that we most probably have to forgo our planned trip to Southern Illinois University for the Malaysian Midwest games since hubby is in no shape to drive a 7-hour journey with his crutches, and I'm not going to drive, no thank you! We had already bought blank papers for them to use on the trip, and they had already created their own handmade 'notebooks' using those papers.

I told them last night,

"Maybe if we go, something bad will happen to us, and so that is why this happened. Allah is saving us from a worse thing."

To which hubby added,

"Your mom doesn't want me to play soccer next week. Allah loves her so much that..."

and I burst out laughing. I did tell him not to play soccer next week if he could help it because I had two articles to submit by this weekend, and I was also studying for an exam that alhamdulillah I took last weekend. Hubby had been sneaking out to play soccer day after day, which I personally think is going overboard, and let's just say, it felt like Iowa all over again to me.

Well, it seems like, now, he's not going anywhere, for a while, and in the meantime, I'm going to have to bear a lot more manual labor which hubby used to take care of. Alhamdulillah ala kulli hal. Maybe I'll lose more weight this way.

A Taste of Jannah - not even close...

H now has soccer practice every Wednesday at 6 p.m. Last Wednesday, the rest of us tagged along. We brought out 'tree hunting' kit comprising of ziploc bags for 'specimens', crayons to make bark rubbings with, ruler, sketch books, index cards, and not to forget, our Eyewitness Tree Field Guide from the library! We also brought along the camera and camcorder, without which, I wouldn't be able to put up these fabulous photos, alhamdulillah!

While hubby and H went to the field, S and N left for the playground, leaving me with Baby Z in the van. I nursed him till he was satisfied, and then we went to join the rest of the family. Baby Z got his subsequent swing experience, and had this solemn expression throughout.


We then decided to go to the duck pond and do some tree hunting, the girls and I, and we wheeled Baby Z along. We happened to have a board book for him and so absorbed was he in his book, that it took quite some time for me to have him look at me, and the surroundings! Too busy counting, I suppose. Wahid, Isnain, Thalaatha....

The girls climbed some trees, while I looked through the field guide.


East Siberian Crap Apple blossoms

Malus Purpurea blossoms

N did some bark rubbings and we collected some flowers to examine, and voila! We pinpointed two trees: the East Siberian Crab Apples tree and the Malus Purpurea! Amazing! Subhanallah!

Malus Purpurea

By the end of it all , it started to drizzle and as hubby honked at us to come in the van, we scrambled in. It was a nice spring evening, alhamdulillah. May we be reunited in Jannah to enjoy splendors that no eyes have seen, no ears have heard, and no tongue has tasted. Ameen. No rushing to go home either...

Tennis With Baby Z

We resumed our tennis Sundays April 20, 2008, last weekend, when Baby Z turned 1, alhamdulillah. I had fretted about how to resume playing tennis with Baby Z, but when we talked about it, S offered,

"I can take care of him."

Well, problem solved. So, last Sunday, we headed for the tennis courts at Whetstone Park. We usually go after Fajr, while it's still cool and slightly dark, but last week, I wasn't sure if Baby Z wanted to have his nap first or not, so headed out a little late, around 10 a.m. Since he didn't take his morning nap yet, while we were playing tennis, hubby and I on on court, and the kids on the other court, Baby Z sat quietly in his stroller, watching us, yawning every now and then.

"He's serious. I've never seen such a serious baby!"

Rh had mentioned that Baby Z is pretty serious-looking. Ever since he was young, I was the only one who can make him laugh, and whatever it is that tickles him will no longer seem funny enough to trigger that infectious baby laughter after a while. So you will have to find new things to make him laugh. He seems to enjoy being outside, taking in everything in silence and great contemplation, I suppose.

As for me, it was my first ever 'real' exercise for a year and several months. Yet, I believe I did pretty good for someone who hasn't played tennis for quite sometime. Of course, both hubby and I are not tennis players, we merely 'learned' how to play tennis by trial and error.

There was a time when hubby told me to 'play with the wall' before playing with him because he didn't want to be continuously picking up balls when we play tennis. So I did. When I could, that one summer, I drove myself to the part of campus that has the walls and practiced for about an hour or so, usually after Fajr, when no one was there.

And now, we are able to play without having to stop to pick up the balls that much. Good enough for me. I just wanted the exercise.

Suffice it to say though, I was sore for two days straight after that Sunday, but alhamdulillah, inshaallah this is the beginning of my workout regimen, which has been postponed for too long now.

That Sunday though, the kids received a 'surprise' which I had told them of the day before. The waited in heightened anticipation for their 'surprise' consisting of 'furry, cute, and small'.

"Yay! We're getting a pet!" they exclaimed.

"Don't get your hopes up too high," I warned them.

At about 12:30 p.m. that Sunday, they got their surprise; a visit to Sgl's house to play with her two kittens, named Hamzah and Aishah. Around 2 p.m. I picked them up and we headed to Sh' house to see Baby B; the other part of their surprise, but apparently, they were more enamored with the kittens than the baby. They begged to go to Sgl's house again.

I had noticed S's forehead and face having small raised bumps, but it was only later that I learned that those were reactions to the kittens. Oh ho! So apparently, S is somewhat allergic to the cats. Interesting...

This Sunday, tomorrow, we're probably going to play tennis again, but at the tennis courts near our neighborhood, and then maybe attend the Pursuit of Excellence on campus.

Spring is here to stay inshaallah!

Last weekend was our first enjoyable spring weekend, alhamdulillah. On Saturday, H's first soccer game for the season resumed. This time last year, I was still pregnant with Z, but still attending H's soccer games. Hubby and I noticed the cultural difference between American parents and Asian parents in general with regards to watching and attending their children's soccer games, or any other sports activities for that matter.

When H started dabbling in soccer, I, as a mother, was enveloped in curiosity, wonder, amazement, excitement, and enthusiasm. Believe me, I am no big fan of watching sports (proven by my continuous dislike of hubby's habits in that area), but watching people you love play sports to me is a different matter altogether. I only watched soccer games that hubby plays in, and now, that H plays in. Other than that, I don't really care. H dabbled in basketball too during the winter seasons, and just like watching him play soccer, that was really interesting to watch too. Of course, in all of this, the parent actively involved is hubby, who has the capacity to stand on the sidelines and embarrass me with his shouts of support, and sometimes sports lingo comments.

"H, stay!"

"Eyes of the ball!"

"Mark your man!"

"Get a grey! Get a grey!"

"Line! Line!"

"Pass it to _____!"

As we drove to H's soccer games every Saturday last year, we realized that in Malaysia, parents don't usually attend their kids' soccer games, soccer especially. When my mother came last year, while H was having his soccer games, she was in no hurry to go and watch her grandson play soccer. Soccer in Malaysia is a play time sports, that kids would usually play it like kids play on the play ground. There is nothing to watch for parents. But for me, watching H play is rather exciting, because I could see his developmental progress, alongside enjoying the antics of other kids his age on the soccer field. Suffice it to say, hubby and I have had good laughs on the field due to witnessing 7-8 year olds amusing antics in soccer games.

Athleticism is (I don't think) part of my genetic make up, though I do enjoy some form of sports like rollerblading, tennis, swimming, and volleyball. Even though I probably have the genes for it, since my grandfather was active in gymnastics, I don't think they're turned on. So I will henceforth attribute any sign of athletic ability inmy children to my husband, since he is the athlete in the family, and my MIL also was.

S has that athletic prowess in her, especially in running, just like hubby, his brother, and his mother, but she refuses to participate in any sports events. Hubby was perplexed.

N, is probably more like me. She has the interest, but not necessarily the skills, and does it for fun rather than for competition. When they went swimming last weekend, as she put on her head-to-toe Islamic-style brand new swimming attire, she exclaimed,

"I'm a professional swimmer!"

It reminded me of my attitude towards any physical activities. It's more about the 'dream' of being the best than actually exerting effort to be the best.

As for H, I think he probably has hubby in him with regards to sports. He claims,

"I like soccer more than basketball."

He has also taken up wrestling, hockey, archery alongside soccer and basketball. The first time he was in a soccer game, while all the other kids scrambled for the ball, H stood frozen in the middle of the field, scratching his non-itchy elbow and studying the non-existent interesting object on his sleeves. Now however, I think his confidence has been boosted from encouraging comments from his coach and team members alhamdulillah. I have been reading The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child, and it's pretty interesting how a lot of the symptoms align with my characteristics as a child and an adult. I suspect that my children are quite close to the introvert end of the extrovert-introvert spectrum, though the girls seem to be closer to the introvert end than H. In a society that puts extroverts on a pedestal, we introverts have been put on the back burner, and treated rather unfairly, I must say. In Islam though, I think both temperaments are treated rather fairly, mashaallah.

On Sunday, last week, we brought them swimming. Even though I just watched with Baby Z, it was nice to see them enjoying the pool. My swimming days are over, as we could no longer reserve the campus pool for just sisters, from the way it was designed.

The weather these days have been very nice, that we have taken to having picnic-lunches outside, even Baby Z, and the kids have been spending quite some time outside, as have I, relatively. My spirits are lifted, and it reinforces my belief that I am the kind of person to behavily affected by weather. Gloomy weather affects my mood and outlooks, and spring just energizes me to no end, alhamdulillah. Our bulbs have also been peeking and blooming. We just have to clear away the fall leaves scattered amidst the growing bulbs.

Today, we had lunch outside again, the spring breeze cooling us as the warm sun beats down on us. Spring is finally here, I hope, and here to stay inshaallah.

Stand in Coach

We arrived at the field in good time. Since H's lady coach wasn't there, hubby asked the assistant coach if he could join him on the coach side of the field. They had changed this from last year, where the coaches would be on the same side as the parents.

S, N, Baby Z and I strolled on over to the parents' side of the field. The girls spread out our pink picnic blanket and took out their books.

"I hate soccer games, they're boring," N complained.

They didn't actually want to tag along, but we couldn't very well leave them home alone, since I want to watch H's soccer game.

While N lay on her tummy, and began to write her story (she has composed so many stories, fit for publication, and yes, I am her mother, but I really think she is talented in that area), I scanned the the coach's side for hubby. He was sitting with H's team.

The game started, and as I watched, I saw hubby doing his thing at each and everyone of H's soccer games ; shouting as loud as he could to 'coach' H's moves. I whispered to S,

"S, did you know Abi's on that side?"

"Yes, good. At least he's not shouting," she replied, not even looking up from her book.

I chuckled. Yeah right. He was still shouting, just not right behind us as usual.

I could still hear him shouting,

"H, go! No whistle!"

"H, stay!"

"H, look up, look up!"

"Ok H, line! line!"

It tickled me to see him so animated. I guess it's not easy being a soccer player himself, and seeing his own son play on the field. He just had to do his thing, I suppose.

H played in the first quarter, and sat out in the second quarter. Even when H was not playing, hubby would still shout out to some of H's team members.

Just before the third quarter began, I saw hubby asking the assistant coach the name of a boy that was in H's team. The boy was one of the defenders. Then, to my utmost horror, I saw the coach gesturing for hubby to go in the field. I could barely believe my eyes! For all the shouting he has done, he's finally being rewarded ?

He went in, and mashaallah, he did his thing, only this time, with more animation, since he was able to move around and direct the team to make their moves. Even to an unseasoned soccer spectator like me, I could see that his being in there was good for the team. The defense moved forward each time the offense fell back (which seldom happened before), and after watching some of hubby's games, I think this is how he plays it. And befittingly also, his position is the defense, so it's not surprising that he's well versed in the tricks of the defense.

I watched with a wide grin on my face. After a while I whispered to S again, (the girls were unperturbed by the fact that their father was acting as coach, for they continued to do their thing; reading and writing)

"S, do you know that Abi is in the field?"

"Yeah, I think the kids are confused. Because one time Abi said, 'Get the gray and the girl just stood there,'" she replied.

I laughed. I did wonder if the kids understood hubby's jargon, but I think they did. H's team was really flourishing too. Their really good and did really great as a team. H, compared to last year, has improved a LOT. Even hubby was surprised (and even though he's H's father, he's pretty hard on H when it comes to soccer, and Quran for that matter).

Hubby reminded me of H's first ever soccer game; he had stood like a statue in the middle of the field, wringing his hands. You'd never know this was the same kid moving about so skillfully on the field!

Well, the score was 4-0, H's team being the 4. By the way, the assistant coach graciously offered hubby to coach for the final quarter too. On the way home, I remarked,

"I think Abi's happy today because he didn't have to shout so much from the sidelines."

To him, I said,

"Maybe the coach let you in because he figured, 'better let him do all that shouting in the field!'"

I wonder if hubby's going to be in the field again for the next two games. We'll see.

Two goals I didn't see

"He scored another one!"

As usual, I'm lost when watching a soccer game. Everytime I watch one(and I only watch those where either hubby or (now) H is playing), I manage to miss goals, especially those scored by hubby. Many a times I have to resort to having people turn to me exclaiming,

"Did you see that?"

And many a times I respond with,

"Who scored the goal?"

Duh.

That is how much I'm not in tune with soccer or any other sports (generally).

When a fellow parent exclaimed,

"Wow! He scored another one!" I first looked at him, and then scanned the field. I had seen H somewhere among the crowd of 6 and 7 year olds scrimmaging close to the goal post. As I peered closely, I realized that the parent was talking about my boy. H had scored another goal!

Of course, I missed his first one, but not totally my fault, because some mothers were blocking my view and I was not in the mood to tell them to move out of the way. Only when hubby came rushing to me exclaiming,

"Did you see that? Your son scored a goal!"

did the ladies bow out of the way because I responded in a torrent of exasperated Malay clearly containing the word "blocking".

I am not the kind of parent who jumps up and down at a goal, even if it's made by my heroes. Never have I done that, and some soccer fans might take that as just plain "square". So I didn't jump with joy when H scored those two goals, just as I didn't scream with excitement when hubby scored his goals in his games.

I did notice however that the coach made a big deal out of it. Later on H told me that after he had scored one of the goals, the coach came to him and said,

"Come on, man! DO something!"

because H didn't react with jumping jacks or whoops, but simply a one-sided dimpled grin.

"Top scorer, huh?" a parent hailed to us as we walked back to the van.

"You did great, H!" yelled a fellow team mate.

As my son sat on the sidelines with the rest of his teammates, I saw a boy talking to him. Of course, being this very nosy mother, I later asked him what the conversation was about.

"S said to me that if I weren't the forward, we wouldn't have scored those goals," he said.

"He also said to me many times that I did a good job."

Last week, one of their team mates scored a very BEAUTIFUL goal. Now, that one, I witnessed because it was so beautiful. Even hubby said the goal was excellent especially for a kid. Funny how I'm able to perfectly witness other people's goals but not my husband and son's.

H has been appointed forward so many times in the games that I gave up at his ever being a goalie. After he scored those two goals however, coach appointed him defense, and we could see that he wasn't that good at defending because the other team scored a goal. Hubby said he had been coaching H to score and not defend. H later said,

"Defense is boowwing. I like midfield."

"Why?"

"Because I can carry the ball to both sides of the field."

That was last weekend. H has another game this Saturday and it's his last one for this season. October 24 or 25, insyaallah, we will register him for the basketball league which will start in January.

Go Ravens! (coming from a soccer-ignorant mother) I wonder what team he'll be in for basketball.