Mommy's Next Step

I'm very sad tonight. A great mom of four had gone forever. She was our beloved kitty. She was the 5th family member. She was only a little kitten when we found her. Since then, she grew up in this home and in our hearts.At the very early age, around 6 or 7 months, she got pregnant. A month ago, 24 November 2016, she gave birth to her ones and only kittens. I was surprised to see those four baby kittens. They are very lovely. We named them Marshall, Rocky, Sky and Everest based on my sons' favorite TV show: Paw Patrol.

It's a terrifying word to hear: cancer. Cancer is a condition when normal cells start to grow out of control and begin to ruin the normal system of our body. When the abnormal cells are in the breast, it's called breast cancer.

Breast cancer is also called as 'silent killer'. It gives less clue until it spreads out. It's not only found in women's breasts but in men's as well.

There are several healings of cancer. The most common treatments are: chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Chemotherapy is when chemical injection put in the body to destroy the cancer cells. People with cancer say that this kind of treatment is not easy at all. They feel nausea, their hair is falling down and many scary things more.

The second one is surgery. It's when doctor takes out some part of the tissue with cancer cells in it. It's also not an easy one. Not at all. I have a friend with breast cancer whose breast was taken by surgery. She lives with only one breast. …

A few days ago I watched Chef Anna Olson in her newest show "Inspired with Anna Olson". Chef Anna took several visits to some South-East Asia Countries (sadly, she did not visit Indonesia, the biggest country in SE Asia). Along her journey she met local chefs or cooks and got inspiration from their dishes. And the episode I watched that finally made me went to the kitchen and imitated the recipe was when Chef Anna visited Singapore to see Sarah Benjamin, a cook, blogger and a TV host, to cook. Sarah cooked prawn mee which is very popular in Singapore. Prawn Mee means Prawn Noodles. Mee (in Indonesian written as 'mie') itself means noodles. It's a kind of clear soup which is very good to taste warm. As a version of something, my prawn mee is not exactly as what Sarah has made. However, I'm really surprised to realize that I don't need any garlic here!

A few days ago I left a group in WhatsApp. It was a group of my classmates of junior high. There were about 15-20 persons there, male and female. The group was created about a month ago when Ramadhan is around. We, the members of the group, have never met for a long time except some of us who studied in the same high school. Officially we haven't seen each other for about 24 years. Long enough to see that we are no longer girls and boys. Yes. We grow up and become adults in real meaning. Most of us have already made a family. We got married and children and that's the way we live. Until technology found us and bound us once again in a large scale of mass communication called WhatsApp group.

A short travel was held last May 31 by my son's kindergarten. The destination is just about an hour from school. All students and one of their parents had a nice day in one of the most known holiday spot in East Java: Sarangan. I'd never been to Sarangan before and never had my son. It was a new adventure for both of us. More over, this was my first travel with my son only. Just the two of us. I was quite worry that we wouldn't make it. My son is a moody person. Once he said yes, it's no guarantee he would really do that. But...this time, he fulfilled his promise.

Yes, indeed. Every travel has a story. It can be a story about the journey itself or about the meaning of the journey. Every travel creates a unique feeling. My first real travel was when I moved to Jakarta with my husband as a newly wed couple. I had never been so away from home before. The reason why I never did any far travel was because I have a car-sick. I feel dizzy, my stomach becomes uncomfort and at the end I usually vomit. FYI, I have that kind of 'disease' since I was a little girl. Don't blame my parents for not taking me on travels at my younger age. We seldom travelled. Why brother traveling?

While I and my family were taking a walk to nearby paddy fields, we were shocked by a familiar sound. A kitten's cry. Just next to the community's trash bin, there came out a small, skinny and dirty black-white kitten. She cried very loudly as she seen us as if she had found her mom. My first son, Damar, seemed to be very interested to that kitten. He had always been asking for our permission to own a cat. I always said no because his father didn't permit him. It was not because my husband and I don't like cats. No. We do love cats. Both of us always had cat(s) at home when we were young. But as our place of living isn't supportive for having a pet, we refused Damar's wish.

What do you want to be remembered when you're gone? A little scary question, isn't it? It's as if we're going to leave this world sooner. Yes, it's scary, but it's worth asking. What do you want to be remembered? I will probably say, "I want to be remembered as a good person. A nice wife, a loving mother, a thankful daughter, a kind-hearted sister."
Easy to say, right? But is it easy to reach that level of being a good person?This afternoon my mom's step- mother passed away. She'd been struggling for weeks after a surgery. She also had a hepatitis. Her death reminds me of one thing: am I ready?

A big question came to my mind when I decided to make this blog. Why made another blog? I have been writing on a blog. A blog contains of my life story as a woman, a wife and a mom; called damarojat. I love that blog very much. It's just that I don't have the chance to widen the readers into international ones. That was when I knew I needed to write in English.This blog will be my second home where I can put my ideas, thoughts and many things come to my mind as free as possible. To me, blogging is a way to release my feelings and a relieve as well.I'm an Indonesian house-wife with two kids. My first son is 7 now while my second son is 6 year old. So, here I am. At the very first step of my big journey. I hope it goes well.