This year, Alhamdulillah, we are home. At the start of the year, we had doubts about where we would be come August (due to Ariff's pending posting... gah!), so we're just really happy that we have been given the opportunity to experience the whole balik kampung thing together.
For logistical practicality purposes, we have decided to celebrate the first 2 days of Raya with my side of the family first, and then spend the rest of the week in Penang. Since we will most possibly be posted by early next year (though I say this with a modicum of skepticism), and since I will be delivering in December, we will not have much chance of doing our rounds with the relatives before we leave; Raya just seems to be the best time to just meet everyone for now. If we were to go to Penang first, we wouldn't be able to go back to Chenderong and Sg. Tiang as my parents would already be back in PB by the thirds day of Raya. Besides, we have not been back to either kampung for EONS! I also want Ariff to experience the balik kampung for raya atmosphere and bakar lemang, make ketupat etc. as he has never done anything like that before. However, it will still be a bit new and possibly shocking to him to not be with his own family for Raya for the FIRST TIME EVER (Canberra doesn't count), as I am sure it will be for his family too, especially as Opah is unwell. I am thankful that both he and his family, and my family too, understand that things have changed and are on-board with our plans.
One of the worst things about the Raya holidays in Malaysia (or any other major holiday for that matter) is the flood of motorised vehicles on the highways. The last time I drove home for Raya, it took me 7 hours to reach a destination that would normally take just 3. So, this year, we are feeling decidedly smug with our own cleverness as we will be skipping the godawful jam on the Plus highway because we will be taking public transport! We'll be taking the train to PB (but we've decided to alight at Tapah just so my parents don't have to wait for us in PB and sacrifice precious traffic and preparation time as we will only be able to leave Putrajaya on Friday night thus arriving on Saturday. One whole day wasted as they have Friday off), and we'll be flying back to KL from Penang! SO SMART!!! But how will we move around for the festivities, you ask? No fear, as my parents are taking 2 cars to the kampung with them; one for them and one for us. Thank you Abbas for being home for Raya this year as this could not have been done without you :)
Another issue that I find myself facing this coming Raya is that of the 'what should I bring to my in-laws house for Raya' issue. My parents have always set an example of giving sedekah to the family come Raya; my mom usually gives kain batik or pelikat or kuih or baju raya or money or daging etc to both my embah and nenek every year. I have come to appreciate this habit and want to adopt it myself as a sign of generosity and filial piety. But the thing is, my in-laws are very practical people, and they are very practical people who are fully self-sufficient. Though I'm sure they'd appreciate anything that we give them, I still feel that gifts like baju raya or money are superfluous. Therefore, I decided to gift them with effort or sweat, blood and tears. I toyed with making them a batch of Ariff's favourite chocolate chip cookies, but in the end I decided to make them sambal goreng instead because Abah likes it so much. Of course, I had to take up a project that I had never attempted before for an occasion as important as this. Oh well. It took me 2 whole days to whip up enough for the Penang side, the PB side and the Putrajaya side, and cost me exhaustion and back pain. It was a labour of love :) I just hope they like it because, as usual, I feel it's a little under the mark. Oh well.
It's just 3 more days to Raya and I'm so very excited! We leave tomorrow! So I will now go and pack :)
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