things Rayyan did

 There are things I learned about my son that has blown me away recently.

First of all, I gotta ask - what type of parents are you? For me, I'm the type that thinks my kids are perfect, and imperfect - all at once. I mean, of course I think so highly of them, all the time - but I am also an Asian mom that thinks they can be a better version of themselves, always.

But these things that I learned about Rayyan recently made me think..maybe they're just perfect and imperfect at the same time..and that's okay.

#1

I brought the boys out for their haircut today after they came back from school. When we reached the lobby of our apartment, there were some kids playing at the playground nearby our house. One of them quickly approached me, saying hi.

"I'm Rayyan's friend"

So I made small talks with him. Where he lives, how did he know Rayyan, etc. 

"Rayyan gave me letters and his drawings sometimes. That's why I like him. He's so good at drawing!"

When he was saying all these, Rayyan was upstairs getting his Suica card he left at home. I just smiled politely at the boy, saying thank you for being Rayyan's friend.

"No problem! I will be his friend for a long time!"

When Rayyan came, the boy put his hands on Rayyan's shoulders, like they're the best buddies in the world. My heart just got a lot bigger seeing that sight. Here I was, thinking and worrying about my kids fitting in the foreign place - and there they were, making friends by just being the way they are.

Oh my heart.

#2 

Rayyan came home today after school, excited to see his daddy working at home (Daddy is WFH every Friday so that he can attend Friday prayer at nearby mosque)

"Daddy, harini kan ada one boy line up depan Rayyan masa taiiku (physical education). Depan dia ada one girl, Sara-chan"

We've been hearing about Sara-chan a lot now, cause Rayyan seems to have a crush on her lol.

"Then this boy kan suka buat tangan kiri kanan, kacau Sara-chan. Lepas tu Rayyan tarik tangan dia letak dekat tepi badan dia, so dia tak boleh kacau orang dah. Lepas tu kan, Sara-chan cakap dekat Rayyan, 'arigatou, Rayyan-kun!'"

He was beaming, blushed. He was so happy.

But he didn't know, my heart feels so big, I feel 1000 times happier than him. It's one thing to struggle making friends at a new place, new school - but another to actually do the right thing. And my son being the person another person get to say 'arigatou' to - my proudest mom moment ever.

We might find flaws in them all the time, but we forget that they have their "perfects" too. I hope I will always look at them this way. Oh, my heart. My kids, I hope you will continue growing with the perfect and imperfections you have, forever. And mommy will always be proud of you.