MORE ANNIVERSARY

Sometimes I wish I can grow old gracefully. As it is, I do it very disgracefully. I protested every step of the way, wheezing and feebly kicking. I have now broken the 60 limit. Life expectancy of Malaysian males, according to the insurance company is around 70. Females live 10 years longer. Trust women to have the last word.
So according to the insurance companies my TOL (Temporary Occupation License) has about 9 years to go. Unless I go first. TOL can be withdrawn any time. That I shall not dispute. Neither should anyone. Of course I pray very hard that my license is not expiring too soon. There are still many things to do and many more places to see. Hey, I am old. I am not dead. Not yet anyway.
Let me assure you that nothing is planned. Like my blog, I never planned. I went happily headlong into everything and regret everything at leisure. Just like Frank Sintara, regrets, I have a few. Just like him, it was too few to mention. So, I won't.
I am thankful to Allah for letting me live this long. Syukur alhamdullillah. Like the bumper sticker says " I Intend To Live Forever, So Far So Good". Of course I don't intend to live forever. I would , however, want to live long enough to see Mimi graduating with honours from a university of her choice. She doesn't seem to know this yet. She has enough problems facing her PMR but I am sure one day she will do the necessary things to get there. I would also like to take all my grandsons fishing. So far, only Adam has gone fishing with me. He makes a good angler. He is patient and he is tough. He can teach his other cousins how to fish. I also would want to be around when Aisyah stops punching boys. I want to see her breaking hearts instead of breaking noses. Very soon, I would start understanding what Aliyah is trying to say. That is a potential broadcaster in the making. I also would like to stick around and hear what other gems Ilham will come up with. I started to pay attention when he told his bonda that he forgot what he was going to say because "his thoughts were on a train and the train went away." His brother, Ihsan, who looks very much like me when I was that age, is not a very verbal person at the moment. He likes to solve puzzles. So there will be a trouble shooter in the family. I will make an assessment of Anis as soon as she stopped talking in a foreign language.
Over in Cheras, Najwa is fast becoming everyone's favourite. Pretty, good-natured and smart. In 9 years, Najwa will be 13 and hopefully acing all the tests in her class. Naim, her younger brother would be plucking a guitar by then, suitably cheered on by his cousin Ariff. Syed Ariff is reputed to be the smartest-dressed among my grandchildren. He has so far shown considerable interest in the finer things in life. He would only pull Mont Blancs out of my shirt pocket. He would leave my Zebra or other less distinguished pens alone. Ariff's place as the youngest cucu is threatened by another yet unborn. InsyaAllah, I hope to see the new one in due time. After all, I am just 61 and I still look ok. I even look young enough on the LRT to be ignored by the young punks hogging the seats.