Playing a part in your children's life.

Not many grandmothers would volunteer to look after their grandchildren, because they can rob you of your freedom. Some of my friends even shudder at the suggestion that they look after their grandchildren. One even said that she can only tolerate them for one or two hours at the most, before she goes crazy.

My late mother loved her grandchildren and she spoilt them like crazy. I inherited her traits and loved my grandchildren and treats them like gold. I felt a sense of pride and achievement just by looking at them. To me grandchildren are an extension of God's gift to me. He gave me children and from them I got my grandchildren. It is only through God's blessings that we have children. I thank Allah the Almighty for His blessings.

At the moment I am very close with one of my grandson who is going to be five in October this year. By the way we shared the same birth date and he is the cutest little boy I have even known (i.e besides my own children, when they were his age). He is always full of mischief and so active (almost hyper).

He loves to follow me around and would hide inside the car before I had time to hide from him. if given the slightest hint that I was going out. He loves shopping and would not miss a shopping trip to KB Mall or TESCO.

Watching aeroplanes landing and taking off is another of his favorite past times activities. We would spent hours at the airport watching small training aeroplanes and helikopters landing and flying.

He loves to play with legos and have in his posessions all sort Bionicles, which he painstakingly built himself. He plays the computer games like a pro and sings along his favorite song "you raise me up" with Josh Groben with feelings, gestures and showmanships.

He loves football and also volunteers to wash the dishes whenever I cook (which is quite seldom). His excuse is really to play with water.

He helps me to pound the henna leaves, which I use to highlight my hair. You should see him on video clips pounding and singing at the same time. He is so funny. I loved watching him play with soap bubbles and running after butterflies in the garden. The fun I have with him is worth more than any material things in this world.

Sometimes it dawned upon me that this is a blesssings from God too. Had it not been for all the sufferings and troubles that his mother (my eldest daughter, Lin) had to go through in her marriage, I don't think I would be as close to Miki as I have today.

Miki is closer to me now because he is always running away from his drunken father who will come back in the middle of the night and start yelling and shouting for all his children to come and talk to him at three or four o'clock in the morning. He is so traumatized and scared of his father that he would run to me whenever his father calls him. He will hide under my bed, under the staircase or under to table to escape him.

Now he hardly see his father, unless his father promised to bring him to KB Mall to buy a new toy. Sometimes he get to buy more than one toy in one day. He is being spoilt by his mother too. He forced her to bring back toys every time she sees him.

Seeing Miki remind me of the time when my mother used to look after all my children when I had to leave my children to go to work. Now it is my turn to return that favor, but I am not complaining. But I wished I am stronger and younger, then I would be a better grandmother than what I am today.

No! I have never felt that I have been used by my children as some people might have perceived. In fact I felt so proud to be able to play a part in my children's life. At least I felt useful, needed and appreciated by my children.

I hope all my children and their children's children, will play their parts,in making this world a better place to live for generations to come.