1 is good, 2 even better ....

Me seated, flanked by my 2 doting 'daughters' ...

I reckon I should be feeling on top of the world.

My eldest ‘daughter’, Abby, recently purchased 2 shops-lots in Bayu Perdana. She has done some renovations, taking the top 2 floors as offices for the businesses she is running, and is expecting to move into her new building within this month. My 2nd ‘daughter’ , Percy will be getting married next month. Its ‘s a dual celebration for my ‘family’, sort of double happiness!

I would be in euphoria land i.e. if I were truly their mother but as it is, sigh, …I am only their kaimah. (godmother). I suppose that’s better than no relationship at all. Both are good girls and I would be truly blessed if indeed they were the daughters I would never have. (come on, face it, even if I do get married tomorrow, at my age would I take the risk of having children? But let you in on a secret, I always pictured myself having sons, rather than daughters and had in fact decided on names for my boys, Damien, Ethan and Fabian.. D, E and F. And if got more, carry on from there … Gavin, Hayden, Ivan…., eh .. maximum 6 okay! Carry on dreaming…)

I don’t remember how it happened or when it happened but overnight, lo and behold, I became a godmother! I know for a fact though that they ‘adopted’ me rather than the other way around. What! You all think I pointed a knife at them and said “call me kaimah or you die?”

Both of them couldn’t be more different and yet both have their own virtues. (and faults, but who doesn’t?)

Abby’s the noisy one blessed with the gift of the gab. Like the Chinese saying, something about ‘bird also can be conned to come down from the tree’, that she can do. People are generally drawn to her as she has a ‘presence’ and it’s not just because of her height. She is strong in character and I know I need not worry about her because she’s quite capable of taking care of herself. Better than I can take care of myself even!

Percy’s much more reticent, a typical ‘goat.’ But she can be chatty when she’s with people she’s familiar with. She’s more sensitive and hurt more easily. I admit I don’t quite ‘approve’ of my future godson-in-law (shhhush…) and have for ages, been skeptical about his ability to take care of a wife the way a man should. Maybe I am being over-protective. I really hope my perception of him is wrong though and that my feelings for him stem from a personality clash rather than that he is ‘bad’.

Funny how I always figured that I was just a kaimah in name only. We did not go through any ceremony whereby I was expected to give them big angpows when they kneel to serve me tea. Wahhh .. picture that … “Yum char, Kaimah … ” Gaya…

They do in public, call me kaimah and I suppose many people wonder “apa sal ini kaimah so young?” (ahem!) Abby is 12 yrs my junior and Percy, 17. Most kaimahs I know are rich older ladies, or if they aren’t rich, maybe they are rich in wisdom, both of which I tak ada. I have told them from early on that upon my death, their total inheritance will amount to RM3200.00 each. That’s all, whoa!

In recent days, 2 separate incidents pointed out me that these ‘adoptions’ was less than a farce than I thought.

About a week ago, Abby took me to dinner. Her mother (i.e. her biological mother –la) happened to call and I overheard Abby telling her mum that she was dining with kaimah. That really stunned me as all along I thought I was 'kaimah' only within our group of friends. Abby nonchalantly told me her mum was aware she had a kaimah and I thought to myself “wow.! I didn’t know that.”

Last Saturday, Percy gave me a box of wedding cake (part of the dowry given by the groom). She told me last night that the cakes were only given to relatives and her sister had advised her that it was only right she gave me a box since I was 'part of the family’.

Both of these incidents touched me more than I would imagine. From here on, I better take my role of kaimah seriously. So help me God to be the kind of kaimah that my 2 girls deserve …

F