My father, Allahyarham (the late) Baharom Mat Alif, died at a young age of 45 years-old in December 1972, when I was 22 years-old and just started my intership as Cadet Journalist with the New Straits Times at Balai Berita Kuala Lumpur. I have to take over the responsibility as the breadwinner for the family comprised of my mother, Hajah Aminah Aminah, who demised in June 2023, and my 3 teenage siblings then, Mustaffa, Jamaluddin & Norlida Hanom. I remember, amid a climate of grief and disbelief, the notion of protecting and nurturing as a fatherhood role, I can say without hesitation that the most challenging, most fulfilling, most important job I will have during my time in the youthful age. I realized “Fathers are our first teachers, coaches, mentors and role models. They push us to succeed, encourage us when we are struggling, and offer unconditional care & support.” The job of parenting is central to the wellbeing of a family. There's no rule how to survive."
These memories triggered when my daughter, Jann and her husband, Faiz and their family brought me to grace the opening of Memoirs Studio in Dengkil. The co-owners, Wani & Amjad revealed “Memoirs Studio Coffee started as family gifts shop by creating beautiful custom magnets, birthday cards & handcrafted premium materials to preserve the precious memories of customers. It has attracted children & school children who can spend hours to examine each and every gift. Their parents have to look for refreshments elsewhere while waiting for their children to finish shopping for their classmates and teachers. So, we decided to use the space of corridors by setting-up adjoining cafe with comfortable seats for parents to engage in conversations with new friends over coffee.”
I must recognize that my wife, Zarina contributions, we started having our own family in 1986. That is not to say, however, that we does not acknowledge that parenting is sometimes a complex & difficult business. My late mother (may her soul RIP) once described that the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around.
Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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