.::373 : marriage and parenting::.

Assalamualaikum W.B.T

I know..I know..The topic sounds so "uhhh". But, that's what I've been thinking or should I say "reflecting" all this while. Maybe because I am a teacher. So, I've been observing people of different age levels. That's when I started thinking of all those things related to parenting.

Previously, when I was still "young" and "not-so-matured" (heh ;P), I used to think that getting married and having children is JUST another milestone in life. BUT, I seriously forgot the fact that MARRIAGE and CHILDREN are not as simple as how the words are spelt. Both comes with responsibility...read: RESPONSIBILITY (note the capital letters...heh). 

I don't know what people generally have in mind when they decide to get married but for me, marriage is something that we "do" with preparation. Preparation here not only means  good financial support but also physical and mental readiness. I am a person who strongly believes that one should equip themselves with knowledge before he/she gets married. Yes, LOVE is the core thing in a relationship but I believe it's the KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING of why we do things that will constantly remind us of the RESPONSIBILITY that we should assume to lead the marriage life well. Again, I realized that this is just a humble opinion from someone with no experience but at least, that's what I gained through observation.

Talking about KNOWLEDGE, it's again something that is not necessarily gained from formal process like attending courses. It could be acquired informally like through vicarious experience for example. We could read from various sources, we could observe it from other people or we could also ask around. We see and learn lots of things everyday. So, when the time comes for us to apply things, it's when we decide or choose what's the best way of doing things.

Somehow or rather, when I see my students and my nephews, I wonder how it's like for parents to raise  the children. Tell me, who wouldn't want a good, obedient kid that could be proud of all the time? But again, tell me, is there a specific formula for that? Oh, how I wish I knew that so I could tell everyone about it...heh~

As I walk further in my journey of life, I started to realize that life isn't getting any simpler but tougher.  And that makes me feel so thankful to Allah for having such parents. I started to appreciate them more than I did before. 

So, whatever difficulties we faced in any phase of life, I see that all as tests from Allah to see how well we could cope with challenges in life. InsyaAllah, I believe if we consistently seek guidance from HIM, in all matters, things would be a lot more easier and hopefully we would never go astray. Aminn. 

Salam~