Catatan Hati Bunda

This simple books tells about a mother-father-kids relationship . Asma Nadia, the writer, delivers her family stories, mostly about her two kids, Caca & Adam, and how they interact in harmony during everyday life together.

For me, who also a mom with two little girls, there are a lot of good things to be taken from this book and apply them all in my everyday life. Moreover, as a not-so-patient-mother a.k.a easily lose temper, Najla, my first daugther usually becomes the ‘victim’ of my anger (sorry, sweety) and from this book I realize that I must be grateful to be bestowed with these two cute daugthers while a lot of mothers out there are not so lucky like me.

There is a story about how the writer, as a mother, feels when the doctor declares that her kid suffers from serious disease (“Pangeran Kecil Kami Menggigil”). I was really touched by the ending of this story, I quote here:

“Jika anak anda nakal, menumpahkan sesuatu, merusak barang-barang, ribut, melawan dan menjawab omelan, Anda boleh menegur atau marah tapi jangan berlebihan, apalagi sampai memukul. Sungguh, bagi saya dan ibu-ibu lain yang punya pengalaman sama, kami mensyukuri setiap celoteh dan gerak anak-anak, karena ada masa dimana kami ingin mereka bergerak dan bersuara tapi hanya diam, yang kami dapatkan.”

Another touching story is about fasting month (“Ramadhan Penuh Warna di Rumah Kami”). How the writer and her husband try their best effort to make their kids love the holy month and do fasting willingly. It is a story on how the writer tries to wake her son up and persuade him to eat during sahur time. Also the writer and her husband prepare 30 (thirty) presents for their kids that can be chosen and opened everytime their kids successfully finish one whole day fasting. The presents could be anything. They do not have to be expensive. Just prepare 30 (thirty) goods and wrap them all in fancy papers. Sure, the children will love them. Everybody love presents, don’t’ they? How sweet. A good example. It’s worth to try!

Other stories also inspiring especially for a mom with small kids at home. Reading this book make me promise to myself to be a better mom, not a mean mom by trying the following things:
1. to have more patience in handling my girls;
2. to reduce my screaming frequency to the girls (I know I’m not a lead vocal in a rock band) ;
3. last but not least, if I still can not handle it in an amicable way, I have to re-read the book over and over again until the spirit of the book could come into my mind, body and soul and influence my behaviour and way of thinking during my parenting period.