It's all about family

It took me 26 years to realize that Raya is all about family. It's not about ketupat, new clothes, fireworks, duit raya, going back to kampung or rendang. It's all about family. You can have all of that but without family on Raya, nothing matters. You can have nothing of that but if you are with your family on Raya, you have everything.

It doesn't matter  whether you are in a foreign land, in hospital or just your ol' plain house, but when the family are together, enjoying the food (any food) and share the stories and jokes, that is how Raya supposed to be. Believe me when I said this. I used to Raya at different places, with different people, but at the end, the ones that celebrated with the family are the best, even though I have to become a tourist on Raya (yea, my dad's American friends came visiting Malaysia on Raya and abah has to bring them around!).

Yes, 26 years for me to realize this. Then I started to appreciate family presence more. Last year we celebrated it in hospital and this year, we spend more time visiting the graveyard. Last year only Mek's grave was visited, but this year we added 3 more people - Kak Zura, Pak & Abah Zainal. Allah loves them more and wanted them to spend their Raya with His loved ones. 

So this year, I looked at each one of my family member, and tried to enjoy each of their presence coz you never know what is going to happen in the future. Because sometimes we tend to miss the simple but important thing in life. 

Salam Aidil Fitri. Maaf Zahir & Batin...