A Tribute to Papi

Well, I've been wanting to put this in writing. I want to let all that I feel deep inside for this special person in my life flow out. My thoughts didn't settle and understanding didn't come as quick as I expected. Through the years, God has faithfully and skillfully take every threads of of many colors to paint a clear picture of this one special person in my life. And I thank Him again and again for the finished embroidery He handed me down, when it was finished. I was amazed... So, here is his story...

Di Pasar Baru
Dengan baju kuning yang masih baru itu, kami bertiga diajak jalan-jalan ke Pasar baru. Usiaku baru 6 tahun dan hari itu adalah hari ulang tahunku. Keluarga kami tidak terlalu sering berjalan-jalan ke pusat perbelanjaan, sehingga kesempatan itu sontak membuat kami kegirangan.
Toko-toko di Pasar Baru tidak sedang begitu ramai saat itu. Kami masuk dari toko yang satu ke toko yang lain. Aku tidak tahu apa yang sedang dicari oleh Mami dan Papi. Aku dan kedua adikku begitu girangnya karena tahu bahwa bakmi Gang Kelinci pasti akan menjadi hidangan istimewa hari ini. Ah, kalau dipikir-pikir, begitu sederhananya kebahagiaan kami saat itu.
Kemudian, setelah keluar masuk beberapa toko kain, aku melihat Mami dan Papi masuk ke toko emas. Aku dan kedua adikku mengikuti saja kemana mereka melangkah. Tiba-tiba namaku dipanggil oleh Mami. Dan seraya mengaitkan sebuah kalung kecil berbandul inisial namaku, mami berkata, "Ini hadiah ulang tahun dari Papi." Wah... aku terharu sekali. Bagaimana tidak, itu adalah perhiasan pertama milikku. Aku menatap Papi, hampir-hampir tidak percaya.


It's the 'Little' Things He did
Sekalipun jarang berwisata keluar, pernah sekali waktu pada saat kami libur sekolah, Papiku yang saat itu menjabat sebagai Kepala Sekolah di salah satu sekolah swasta di Jakarta, mengajak kami bertiga untuk 'berwisata' ke sekolahnya. Apa pula ini?
Dengan naik taksi, kami dibawa ke sebuah SMU di bilangan Bulungan. Memasuki pekarangan sekolah yang besar itu, aku terkagum-kagum dengan banyaknya ruang kelas dan lapangan basket dan volley yang besar. Kami bebas bermain basket, berlarian di lapangan dan koridor-koridor sekolah itu dan menggambar di papan tulisnya yang besar. Usiaku masih 9 tahun. Aku merasa begitu bangga akan Papiku hari itu...
Sekalipun disibuki dengan tugas-tugas dari sekolah dan jam mengajar les bahasa Inggris, Papi menyempatkan diri untuk melakukan hal-hal 'rumahan' lain. Di akhir pekannya, dia seringkali bisa ditemukan sedang membersihkan got di depan rumah (lengkap dengan celana pendeknya) dan dilanjutkan dengan mengganti tanah di pot-pot tanaman suplir Mami. Biasanya kalau tidak terlalu lelah, Papi sering mengajak Mami untuk pergi ke Pasar Senen dan membeli ikan yang masih fresh. Entah ikan kakap merah atau ikan mas. Semasa masih ada kolam kecil berisi ikan lele di samping rumah kami, bahkan Papi akan merelakan diri untuk melakukan barbeque tunggal dan meracik bumbu-bumbunya sendiri. Setelah itu, kami akan dengan riangnya berkumpul di meja makan dan menikmati santapan special itu.


Samosir, Bertahun-tahun yang lalu...
Papiku dilahirkan di kampung kecil di atas bukit di pulau Samosir, Danau Toba - Sumatera Utara. Ayahnya juga seorang guru. Kadang waktu mengamati tulisan Ompung Doli (begitu aku biasa memanggil kakekku), dan membandingkannya dengan tulisan tangan Papi, tak habis pikir aku melihat betapa rapi dan teraturnya tuisan-tulisan itu.
Rumah Ompungku adalah rumah tradisional berbentuk rumah panggung (ada kerbau di kolong rumah). Selain mengajar, Ompung juga bertani di ladangnya.
Sejak SMP, Papi sudah merantau ke kota lain dan tinggal di asrama. Hidupnya tidak mudah. Jauh dari Ompung, dia dididik oleh Bruder-bruder Belanda (tidak heran papiku fasih dalam bahasa Belanda).
Papi pindah dari kota ke kota dan menyelesaikan pendidikannya dalam bidang sastra Inggris. Setelah mengajar beberapa waktu di Siantar dan menikah dengan Mami, Papi kemudian memboyong kami ke Jakarta. Sepertinya kakinya tidak berhenti melangkah.
Aku pernah bertanya mengenai hal ini kepadanya, mengapa kami tidak tinggal saja di Siantar. "Papi mau kalian punya masa depan lebih baik. Di kota besar peluang untuk berhasil jauh lebih banyak." demikian selalu jawabnya.


Memory of December
Bulan Desember selalu merupakan bulan yang special bagiku. Bagaimana tidak? Itu bulan dimana kami membuat kue-kue Natal. Sekalipun jarang masuk ke dapur, untuk urusan mencetak kue, aku jagonya. Mami akan siapkan adonan-adonannya dan aku akan dengan senangnya membuat cetakan kue-kue itu. Biasanya ada adonan special yang dibuat Mami untuk 'kembang goyang', ini kue special yang garing berbentuk seperti kembang :)
Nah, untuk yang satu ini, tim kerjaku adalah ... Papi... hehehehe (adik-adikku tidak pernah tertarik dengan kegiatan ini.)
Tidak tahu kenapa, tapi Papi senang sekali untuk ikut serta, and he was pretty serious on this.
Kuali besar berisi minyak goreng dan kompor minyak tanah pun dipindahkan ke ruang tengah, di depan televisi. Adonan sepanci besar pun ikut dipindahkan bersama cetakan panjang yang ujungnya berbentuk kembang itu.
Lalu kami akan bergantian memanaskan cetakan kembang itu didalam minyak goreng yang panas kemudian mencelupkannya ke dalam adonan dan mencelupkannya lagi ke kuali. Berkali-kali... Ada berkaleng-kaleng kembang goyang yang kami buat setiap kali.
Seringkali kami baru selesai lewat pukul 12 malam. But, I love every minute of it! Karena sambil menggoreng, Papi banyak bercerita...


Jakarta, now...
Papiku kembali ke rumah Bapa pada tanggal 1 Desember, 12 tahun yang lalu. Mengenang dirinya yang begitu istimewa, aku sadar bahwa dia telah menorehkan banyak kenangan di hatiku. Aku ingin berkata seperti Andrea Hirata dalam Sang Pemimpi bahwa Papiku adalah 'Ayah juara satu sedunia'. He is the best father for me.

Though he didn't express his love in words (I craved so much to hear him say those words), now I know that he did love me. God brought back all these memories and special moments I had with Papi, assuring me of how much my Papi love me... in his own unique ways.

So God, thank You for this finished embroidery. It does look awesome...

Slip of the Tongue

I have this hilarious old friend who always cracks me up - even when she didn't mean too. She would say things casually and I would just burst out laughing..., how couldn't you...

Here are the few things she said...

- what was that thing to start your internet...the mozzarella what? (hohoho... she think cheeseyy...)
I said, "you mean Mozilla Firefox, right?"

- Hey... my friend just got the latest Blackberry, it's called the Juvenile...(gubrakkkss..!!!)
I said, " Ooo...you mean, the Javelin...cool!!"

Then, her face will turn red while I roll over the floor laughing...

I Lost Weight

Months ago, I was disturbed with the look of my growing body (yups, it's not upward, but forward and sideways hiks..) every time I stand in front of the mirror. Not to mention the hassle I had every time I look for pants and shirt to wear - nothing seems to fit anymore. Then, there were also sharp 'well-meaning' advice from friends and colleges, "Eve, kamu tambah gemuk ya?" (ampun deh...emangnya gak keliatan ya?). One time, I got a text message from my boss : "Your pants is too tight. you either sow it or loose weight." ... hayah...

Well, all that painful experiences led me to a searching season. What I mean by searching season is, I tried to find solution for my growing body weight. (sebenernya alasan lain adalah, aku gak mau beli baju lagi...sayang duitnya, mending beli buku...hehehehe).

Here's what happened to me...

One day, a close friend of mine went with me to see a movie. Then out of the blue she said that she is on 'detox', so she will only eat fruits. Wow... aku melongo! So, bagaimana dong...masa aku musti makan sendiri? Hmmm... Anyway, she inspired me to do detox as well, to reduce the carbo in take and change my menu to only fruits, veggie and water. She pull the trigger...I would say ;)

Then another friend lend me a teaching series Eat and Stay Thin and 12 Reasons Why People Overeat by Joyce Meyer - which has revolutionized my whole idea of eating.
I found some interesting facts:

1. My brain is having problem recording the fact that I am actually full if I have my lunch during meeting time. Also if I have my lunch while working with my laptop or reading reports. Nah..ini dia nih problemnya... no wonder my brain always send red alert that I'm hungry around 3pm or 4pm.

2. My brain will also have problem recording if I eat too fast. This is so true. Biasanya kalau makan bereng team, pasti aku selalu ketinggalan. Entah aku atau mereka yang mulai makan duluan, selalu aku yg paling telat. Beberapa kali aku mencoba untuk makan lebih cepat... Alhasil, aku selalu lapar 2 jam setelahnya.

3. Joyce Meyer said, people that overeat usually do not derives pleasure from other activity. hohoho...how true it is! Sometimes, because of the stress during a constant meetings, looking at project drawings... we went out for a late lunch and comforted ourselves with food and sweets - which include ice cream as the highlight of the day...hiks... (karena abis itu harus sudah balik lagi ke meja kerja)

Then I came across this book written by Gary Smalley, Food and Love.
From him I learned that food has a strong connection with my emotion. This is something new for me. He said, "Your feeling is influenced by what you eat."

to be continued...

Cheerful Sounds from a Jail Cell

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!
Phil. 3:1

Joy. The word has a quick, poignant ring to it. Yet it, like other words, has been drained of meaning over the years, even tapped as a name for a dishwashing detergent. Nowadays joy is used most commonly for a sensation like thrill. We think of joy as something you save up for months to experience and then splurge on in a moment of exhilaration: a trip to Dunia Fantasi, a free-fall drive, a heart-stopping ride on the world's meanest roller coaster, a hot-air balloon trip. Paul had a different understanding of the word, as this letter reveals.

When You Feel Like Despairing
Philippians uses the word joy or rejoice every few paragraphs, but the joy it describes doesn't vanish after your heart starts beating normally again. Rejoice, says Paul, when someone selfishly tries to steal the limelight from you. And when you meet persecution for your faith. And when you are facing death. In fact, the most joyous book in the Bible comes from the pen of an author chained to a Roman guard. Many scholars believe Paul wrote Philippians in Rome just about the time Nero began tossing Christians to ravenous lions and burning them as torches to illuminate his banquet. How could a rational man devoted a letter to the topic of joy while his survival was in serious jeopardy? in such an environment, how could joy possibly thrive?

What would you write?
This letter to the Philippians continues to amaze me until this day. I admire the focus this man had, the hope and the faith on the resurrected Christ this man possessed. Paul could have chosen to wrote his letter differently, pouring out his complains, the bitter trial and the unfair treatments he went through and sought comfort in the shoulders and heart of the Philippians. He could have filled his letter with tears, sarcasm and self-pity. But, he didn't! His choice of words reflected his firm belief on the solid rock. Though his body will decay, his spirit man is thriving. Though his hands and feet was bound with chain, his spirit was dancing with joy. Yes, I too can choose my words. I too can choose a different look to the surrounding I am in, the people I am with and to the work I am doing. When people read my letter, would they find words of encouragement, words of hope and joy there? It is my choice....