An evening drive with my mom

I was my mom’s wingman when we send Imran to Seremban, and the trip became a lesson of family values and responsibilities. That evening, on the way to Kuantan from Seremban, my mom mention reminded me things of great importance and it would be my lying foundation in every decisions and actions I take.
It seemed that it has become my family’s tradition to organize our own weddings, with Grandma being the chief and mak lang as the wedding planner. This former dentistry lecturer iron lady has a god-given ability to put up grand and glamorous weddings. Of course, no matter how meticulous you are in planning something, there will be certain things that might get wrong, or miscalculated, or certain flaws that were overlooked. Conflicts would surely arise between those who are directly or indirectly involved; it’s the way how things work. But one thing was definitely evident when the whole family members come together to achieve this feat; it reflects a strong blood tie between us all that could never be broken nor separated.
My mom mentioned that we might go different paths and mind our own businesses, but when the time comes, we will come back together again as a family. When my grandpa and adik Wan passed away, it brought all of the family members closer. And of course, when weddings arrive, the whole family will come together and helped out. In my personal account, I was a man of confidence, believing that the world is in my hands and I could achieve everything that I have my mind on. But when my life somehow went astray, there was no where else that I can go to, except to my family. Maybe there’s truth behind the saying ‘home is where the love is’.
Being the eldest in the family has its own perks and down fall, but the package comes with its own distinct set of responsibilities. I have 4 brothers under me, and being the first born once deceived me into believing that I was invincible and I have the license to kill. I was once the dictator of the second generation of the family, where I ruled and reigned my brothers with an iron claw. But my mom reminded me that evening that the responsibility of keeping the family together lies on my shoulder. Each of my family members would play an important role in upholding the good name of the family, but as the first born, I bear the vital task of protecting the family from anything that could break us apart. Well, no one says it would be easy but what can be done, I’m born with it.
Now I know that every step I take, and every event that took place in my life now do not just lead me into becoming a person of greatness and a man of service, but a man of family. And it all came to me during a drive back to Kuantan on one evening with my mom.