Power of Doa

It is that time of the year where i started to be very busy. People say busy is good but what are you going to tell a person when she says she is busy? For so many years, back then when i was even in Tax, March-April are my busiest month of the year. The month where i can easily get frustrated, irritated and annoyed. 

My very rare solo picture at the office taken last month

Till now, Im not sure whether this routine is good. Good in the sense of Alhamdulillah, I still have a job, at least i know how supportive my husband is. But at this age, i come to the point where I keep questioning myself whether, will my son is proud of my achievement, is my sacrifices worthwhile?

Im not that ambitious, like many of my friends, they are at the peak of their career, while i am still here. still crawling in the corporate ladder. At one point you feel so small among your friends, but most of the time.. Im all ok. 

so much love in the office

But yerp, I cant leave my job. Resigning is not an option. We (my husband and I) are not prepared for it. I myself have a lot of commitment. I can give you a full page of my wish list that I need to fulfill myself. So, for now.. Keeping the job is the only option. 

Actually there is a reason why i started my overdue one year entry with negative statements. But too sensitive to post it as public :)  I feel betrayed gitu.. 

Ok dah.. banyak benda yang jadi for the past one year. 

One thing that i treasured the most is - performing umrah in December 2019 with my little family, my dad , my MIL and my SIL. MasyaAllah, until now I still miss Masjid Nabawi, Masjidil Haram.. I updated most of the story in my IG. Ok so blog ni i nak cerita pasal lain pulak. 

It is a dream come true for me. I've been telling everyone that I wanted to perform umrah together with my family for so many years. 

Yes, Allah always hear us. Just tell Him. Its either sooner or later. Always say it. Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit. Yes, I want but i dont really plan. Until, I've been "awarded" with a generous bonus from my Company. and at that time, I gave myself two options, either to be a debt-free, or searching for your soul in Makkah, and I choose the later. 

priceless smile - dad was very happy

To cut it short, comes December 2019, Husband was very busy. He was selected to be one of the arbiter at Manila Sea Games 2019 and he was in Manila for a good 10 days, and a day after he returned back to KL, we left to Makkah. So, all the preparation to Makkah was done by yours truly. 

From the beginning, husband was not keen to join me to Makkah as he already has that Haji title. But for myself, of course I want him to be with me. Not clingy but biasalah rasa secured gitu. So, well, i called my mother-in-law inviting her to join me for this trip. FYI, my MIL sepanjang I kawin, never want to follow any of her children to travel. Of cos, I was not hoping she accepted my invitation. Yes, at first when i asked, she immediately said tak nak. But wahlah, one of the day, she called and said "ok mak nak ikut, nak buat ape sekarang". Starting from there, for the good 2 months before we left, she called me to update her preparation e-ve-ry-day. So cute kan.. Because of my MIL agreed to join me, my husband has no other way to say NO :p 

Husband with Gold Medalist from Malaysia in Men Rapid

The day came. We departed from KLIA on 11 December 2019. Don't get me wrong, I didnt want to show-off but I chose to travel via Business Class mainly because we have 2 elderly citizens (my dad and my MIL) with us, so i wanted to make sure that they are in the good hands. 

During the check-in, tho we are so used with autogate, my SIL insisted all of us to check in via the immigration officer at the Business Class counter. I was like grrrr...

The check-in went smoothly with no hiccups. MAS, as usual will not disappoint us during the journey. On our way to Madinah (yerp kami ke sana dulu), most of the passengers were reciting Quran, doa, reading islamic books or just did nothing. Unlike my husband, bangun je tido, watching movie. I repeat watching movie even when the plane landed in Madinah, he continued watching that movie. Well, in my view, it is not really appropriate for us to watch a movie when we are on our way to the holliest place on earth, lagipun bukan selalu we get to go there. But he said, alaa bukan tengok cerita seksi-seksi pun *pening*

Our first Umrah, Alhamdulillah Baba sihat lagi masa ni

I was mumbling to myself "adoi, dia ni betul-betul takde rasa nak ke Mekah".. and during that journey what i did was, I minta doa banyak-banyak supaya my husband ni ada rasa gembira bila sampai di Madinah. And i really meant it when i said i doa banyak-banyak.

and masyaAllah, my doa was answered immediately. He changed to a different person immediately he stepped to Madinah. He spent most of his time in the mosque rather than in the room. Am i happy? Of cos. He even said "perasaan masuk masjid Nabawi, betuike kite kat sini"

I lost my phone on the second day in Madinah. Sempat jugaklah bergaduh dengan laki, but kejapje lah petang tu baik balik :p

Gambar ni ambil petang, pagi tadi gaduh teruk. Ye kawan-kawan, tidak kira di mana, di Madinah pun nak jugak bergaduh :p

To cut it short, my father's health was deteriorating in Makkah. I never informed any of my family members in KL as I didnt want them to get worried. But yes, my father was very weak. He cant eat. Not even sebutir nasi, dia akan muntah balik, and as usual, he refused to go to the clinic. He only went to Haram for the first few days but later most of the time he would be in the room. But Alhamdulillah he managed to do the Tawaf Widdak with scooter. MasyaAllah, seeing him crying at the particular moment will always be in my mind. 

I cant deny that my SIL is manusia paling penyabar dalam trip ni :) thanks

Anyway, passing the immigration checkpoint was not a problem to all of us except my father. In Madinah, he was directed to go to the special counter, in Jeddah airport too.. we had to wait for him at Special Counter. I thought perhaps his fingerprint was blur or the system couldnt read his finger print. 

But guess what. 

We are in the same group. From left, Emir, Emran, Emran, Emir. What a coincidence kan

He was stopped again at Malaysia airport. Masa balik ye kawan-kawan. Again, all of us managed to pass the autogate except once again, my father. Mind you my father was really weak. To go through that special counter, he has to queue. We thought it didnt take him that long so i didn't request for a wheelchair. But then, for one person dah lama, so I asked the immigration officer whether they can checked my father or i q-ed for him until his turn. Malaysia hospitality is at its best, the officer asked my father to another counter. 

my MIL (left) making new friend

and tadaa-- it took the officer a while to check my dad's details. and he asked 

Officer: "pakcik pernah hilang passport ke"

My dad: "ada, dah buat report, tapi petang tu juga ada orang jumpa dan hantar balik"

Officer: "bila dah jumpe balik tu pakcik ada laporkan balik tak"

My dad: "tak pula"

This is the highlight

with geng satu bas - Tabung Haji bas 1E

Officer: "Passport pakcik ni dah tak valid lagi ni, macam mana pakcik boleh lepas immigration hari tu? pakcik punya visa ni pun tak boleh guna passport ini sepatutnya, dalam sistem immigration dah tiada, macam mana pakcik boleh lepas di sana ya. Takpe pakcik, yang ini saya lepaskan sebab pakcik pun dah sampai Malaysia, tapi pakcik jangan guna passport ini lagi ya. Dah tak valid"

MasyaAllah.. Allah kata setiap berlaku pasti ada hikmahnya

First: Of course I did not plan to travel via Business Class, but the urge to provide the best to my dad and my mother in law changed my last minute decision. and i believe this is the small reward given to our family from Him. 

Second: During the check in - i was so geram with my sister in law as she was forcing us to use the conventional way - to stamp and stepped on that blue carpet. Again, what if, we used the autogate? Definitely, my father may be stopped at the airport. Yes, agree even in the immigration system pun, i surely trust that the system was updated. and perhaps the officer tak perasan or perhaps he has a soft spot for 70 years old man going to Makkah. 

Baba, sangat weak masa ni

No wonder my dad asyik pi special counter. 

MasyaAllah. Allah is great.When He invited you to visit Haram, no one can stop Him kan.. 

Anyway, I always make a joke to my dad "Ba, kalau Baba kene stop last minit tak dapat pergi, mesti orang cakap, ape lah baba buat sampai tak dapat masuk Mekah" :p

So again, power of doa and always believe everyday in our life is bound to teach us something valuable. 

nak lagi nak lagi nak lagi

taken by Emir

p/s ok peeps, i am not sure whether i have my readers now.. say hi if you want to read my ramblings :p