Raya is supposed to bring people close together but somehow I felt a bit distanced this year. Perhaps its my self diagnosed cyclothymia. Or just the things left unsaid.

No proper family photo.

No sesi salam2 cium tangan, cium lutut (LOL) mintak ampun. When in fact, I was very enthusiastic in Ramadhan to clean my house and get it sorted for Eid early on. Despite that, I pulled through the festivities. Get those eyebrows don, eyeliner on point, plaster on a fake smile and here we go. Seeking pleasure in the little acts of kindness and sedekah. InsyaAllah.

I like giving away duit raya to the kids. It  is not a hefty sum but it’s enough. It is a form of sedekah. We started our morning with light breakfast at my MILs house followed by the Eid prayers. Then, we went to visit my husbands relatives before driving off to my parents house 2 hours away.

I have never actually visited the graves of my grandparents. My parents never brought me. My parents never did the same. They also hardly spoke of them – kinda reminds me of the Pixar movie, COco. Did something happen before that I do not know off? To be honest, the only living grandparent I get to meet for a while was my maternal granddad. I only remember him loving to watch that late night show of WWE wrestling. I have very little memories of him. Hence, when people say he was funny or smart – I am unable to relate.

Kuih lapis is almost a must in any Sarawakians home for Hari Raya. Only difference being when you’re a Sarawakian living outside the state, your choice of kuih lapis is a bit less extravagant. We choose those simple straight line design but in Kuching (my hometown), you have all sorts of kuih design laid out on the table.

My sister being the 3rd greatest cook in our family invited us over to her house on the 2nd day of Raya. Her menu spread was a fusion of Tganu-Srwk dishes which are Nasi Minyak + Laksa Sarawak. I think we spent about 5 hours at her place eating and eating with solat and movie watching in between. My dad even had an hour nap at her house. We watched The Pool ( A thailand thriller) and what was supposed to be a movie of suspense turned into a comedy once my brothers laced it with their humorous commentaries. Gosh. It was the same when we watched Misteri Delaila. Zul Ariffin became comical when I watched it with my brothers as they laughed at every emotional outbursts this muscular actor’s dialogues.

I had thought that Raya was over after spending 2 nights at my parents place but Mr Husband decided to end the trip with a short excursion to Bayou Lagoon Resort in Melaka. Till the next blog entry yah!