PANIC RAYA 2022

 

Okay was not expecting that announcement.

Was enjoying my sumptuous iftar with my husband in 4 Fingers Wangsa Walk, and people are still debating whether raya is tomorrow or the next day. So since I wasn't at home nor infront of TV3, and I bet 80% of Malaysia population got the info through whatsapp. And I remember thinking, nah, we will raya on tuesday, not tomorrow. apa lah fake news whatsapp ni. 

Naturally I thought it was a hoax, probably just bored citizens toying around to induce panic to all the people who haven't bought any last min baju raya, tudungs, cooking their famous rendang, balik kampung - all the raya preparations you can think of. But that's exactly what happened. No hoax, no pranks, no fake news - raya is indeed oficially the next day, and I hyperventilated. I was just about to buy a nice tudung, but as soon I received the surprise news, I went to my husband and told him to straight go to our parents house to help raya preparation as my mother in law is already in panic state. But when I think about it, should have just bought the tudung. dah alang alang kat sana -_____-. *cries in silence*

The news began to shed light on itself - to prove its truthness - as I walked in the mall and people began to get panic everywhere. Left and right, people were saying "Weyhhh raya esokkk weyhhh" in such bravado tones but a sense of panic as well. So it's truer than ever. 

Amongst the rushing preparations, it's one of the most memorable, exciting, and teary raya for me. First raya with my beloved husband, and we bonded even more that night. It's true when people say, great things come unexpected. 

The queue for lemang was soooo long and it was nearly impossible to get any unless we come back at 3-4am. Even then it won't guarantee you will secure any. NO WAY I'm gonna wait that long. We queed at lemang stall nearby our parents house and waited nearly two hours, and we got two batang. Alhamdulillah.  The lemang itself was good so it was worth the two hour queue.

                                                        Buying lemang

Helping to cook the nasi impit

All in all, I had soo much fun watching everyone gathered to help out, and luckily I got my rendang order on time. We went back at 1am, and it still doesnt stop there. Need to iron our clothes, prepare whatever needed for tomorrow, with eyebags conscpiciously revealing itself. I have pretty dark eyebags, so I guess I need to layer an abundant amount of concealer.

It was jammed, crammed with sweaty human beings, but it was all worth it with the person you love. Its been 2 years since we had a proper raya - therefore seeing things going back to normal again is so refreshing. My heart is full, and even more flooded with happiness when  we witness firecrackers shooting up in the sky. 

Idk what is about fireworks - it only lasts for a short while, but it reminds me of childhood - of how joy was truly manifested. It was short and sweet, but memorable, colourful, and robust. And to see it while in the car with your loved one, definitely amplifies the joy. Alhamdulillah for the little things in life. 

Definitely a day to remember. I didn't even think of "if we could turn back time we wished we had a proper raya celebration, a day to do ab exercises, practice some makeup tutorial, yadayadayada.." those kind of thoughts to get you into the "true" raya mood and physically raya ready. Albeit tiring, not enough sleep, gobbling up too much food for iftar till I got bloated a day before raya and didn't subside much during raya itself, this is the first raya I got to spend as a wife and introduced to his family member's as Hairulhaziq's wife. 

Alhamdulillah Ya Allah, all of this makes me love my religion more, to practice gratitude even in the most precarious situations. Ameen. 

SELAMAT HURRY RAYA EVRYONE <3