My Time Capsule: The Day I Was (Finally) Born

23.11.12

The Day I Was (Finally) Born




my beautiful Mom

Once upon a time, there was this beautiful lady who had to go through several procedures in the hospital because after 11 months, her baby persisted to stay inside her womb still.  Yes, that stubborn baby was me. I don't blame if Mom was freak out that she was going to be pregnant for the rest of her life. I can’t remember though what facilities inside the womb that made me stay longer. It can't be the free WIFI for tweeting or FB-ing, right? Maybe Mom has eaten so much delicious food which I absorb greedily through the placenta. Or I think most probably was because I enjoyed travelling around the world for free. Carrying a baby inside your tummy doesn’t count as excess baggage, right?

the stubborn baby aka me

So today is my 17th birthday……….well….OK, I lied, actually I’m turning 25 today…….What, that's not true?  Gosh! can’t you just pretend to believe that and make a girl happy on her special day? Fine, the truth is, I’m 33 years old now with wrinkles, grey hairs and fats here and there. I know, getting old sucks but still I'm grateful for every seconds of my life. I’m grateful for having wonderful family and friends, but most of all I'm grateful for having such amazing Mom & Dad who I caught the travel bug from. My parents jokingly told me that I was being “made” during their trip to Taiwan, Japan and USA in 1978 thus made me a travel junkie.

I’d like to make a wish before blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. What are they? Well, there’re some on my bucket list including catching Aurora Borealis, to work as a wildlife volunteer in Africa, to build a place for the stray dogs and cats and visiting countries I’ve never been.  Also I wish the best health for Dad and Mom, my travel companion.


Dad & Mom travelling to USA in 1978

Lots of people asking me why I often travel with my parents which they think such a nightmare and no fun at all. Well I beg to differ, because regardless their age (Dad is nearly 70 and Mom is nearly 60), they are so passionate about travelling more than anyone else. Last June just 3 days before our trip to Alaska & Canada, my Dad fell down in the bathroom and fainted for about 15 minutes before we finally took him to the hospital. Turned out his haemoglobin level has dropped to 7, when the normal haemoglobin level for adult male is 13, 8 to 17, 2. He had to do blood transfusion to boost his HB level.

I was so panic and was about to cancel our trip and lost all the money we’ve paid. But Dad insisted he wanted to see Alaska, even though the doctor strongly forbade him to do so. Because even after 2 days and 8 units of blood transfusion, his HB level was still too low to even get up from bed and walk without feeling dizzy.  In the end we flied to Vancouver. It was the most terrifying flight I’ve ever had. I couldn’t sleep the whole 13 hours flight because I kept checking on my Dad. The doctor has warned us that it’s very dangerous to fly with a low HB, one of the reason is shortness of breath. Thanks God even though he was very weak most of the time in Alaska and Canada, he has survived and was very happy to finally visited Alaska. 


He looked so pale yet happy

Actually the same case happened last year too before our trip to Jordan, Israel and Egypt. He was hospitalised 1 week before the trip for having gastric problem.  And guess what? He insisted to go even though he was far from well. He even walked 5 km through the Siq in Petra under the scorching hot weather and refused to ride a horse carriage.  He walked very slowly and weak, step by step while Mom and me were holding his hands. Seeing his face basking in happiness after we reached the Treasury was indeed priceless. I’m so proud of my Mom who has been so supportive to Dad no matter what happened.


He made it to the Treasury

So that would be my answer if any of you ever wondered why I love travelling with my parents. I've done many solo travel thing, backpacker thing, tour thing so why not travelling with my family? It makes me feel warm inside and family bonds grow stronger. They had been holding my hands and showing me the world since I was born. Now when they are old and weak, it’s my turn to hold their hands and guide them to explore the rest of the world that we haven’t seen. Thank you Dad and Mom for always being there for me every step of the way. Thank you for being who you are and making me what I am today. No words can express how proud I am to be your daughter. I love both of you…so much!

exploring 5 continents from Asia to Africa

Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME !!!
Age is just a number. 33 maybe sounds quite old but I still feel young. Because I believe that you're only as old as you feel !

I'm still young ! YAY, let's dance !



38 comments:

  1. Way to go to reflect on your 33rd birthday with a tribute to your parents.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow what an amazing post Deb! Your parents are both awesome. Here's to many more trips to come with them and hap hap hap happy birthday (age is just a number - and hey we're not that much different ;))

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sista, why you don`t make any scrap book bout journey with your family?? I think that will be something special not only for your 33 age and also for your family..:D

    FYI: I`m really really really jealous with you, because I have dream to go round the world too..:)HEHEHEHE...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorting all of our travel pictures and will make a photo album for my parent. Don't be jealous, dear. Everything starts from a dream, you'll never know that one day your dream will come true :)

      Delete
  4. i love those retro picssss...and the story too of course :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Birthday, and I'm glad you had a good time. It must be a wonderful and special experience to want to spend your holidays with your parents. That's a real close bond because most people just want to travel with their friends.
    You are so very thoughtful too, wanting to look after their aging parents, who once took great care of them. We are losing that in society today. Lovely Post DebbZie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for your sweet comment :)
      I have quite close relationship with my parents. And because I live in different island from them, family holidays is always something I look forward to.

      Delete
  6. Happy Birthday, and I'm glad you had a good time. It must be a wonderful and special experience to want to spend your holidays with your parents. That's a real close bond because most people just want to travel with their friends.
    You are so very thoughtful too, wanting to look after their aging parents, who once took great care of them. We are losing that in society today. Lovely Post DebbZie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy birthday hun, you do not look 33!
    Wow, your poor Mum, being pregnant all that time! I've never heard of such a long pregnancy!!!
    You family look lovely. Wonderful pics.xxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you ! People said I do look younger than my age, lol. Yes, it wasn't normal, the doctor had to try any method possible to make me out. Otherwise I would have been overcooked, hahaha

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks for stopping by. And by the way, I love playing piano too :D

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  10. Happy Birthday! What a unique post - love how the pics have that old, sepia-tone look.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Amy :D
      Actually I didn't edit those pictures. They are old, so I just scanned them and upload here

      Delete
  11. I have no idea to say something, honestly i'm so dangerous jealous about ur life, i mean all about ur pict in here. But, hey, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to u Debbz, like Adele, i wish nothing but the best for u. #adelesetafireonmymouth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Lee! Nothing to be jealous about. My life is not that perfect either, but I try to be grateful for every small things that make me happy :)

      Delete
  12. Selamat ulang tahun!
    Semoga sehat selalu ya.. Semoga papa dan mamanya juga sehat selalu...

    selama ini cuma rajin ngintip tanpa meninggalkan jejak. Sungguh bikin iri bisa travelling keliling dunia, terutama dengan orang tua. Tapi postingan dan foto2 di blog ini jadi memotivasi saya untuk menginjakkan kaki, terutama di negara2 yang masuk dalam bucket list saya :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, terima kasih yaaaa. Udah rajin ngintip dan sekarang ninggalin jejak, hihihi :p
      Jangan iri, mendingan jadiin motivasi buat mengejar impian berkunjung ke negara2 di bucket list. Ayo semangat !!! Dan good luck :D

      Delete
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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I'll check your weblog. Cheers :)

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  14. wow 11 months ^^ that make u sp hehe Happy bdaaay ^__^ putu2na tetep bkn ketagihan liat
    actually i like to travelling with my parents too ,just 3 of us ,sometimes im wondering do i weird? hehe and my friends asking too.why?not odd?
    just the diff i only travelling in indonesia ^^ every year we have schedule to go somewhere

    btw skrg tinggal dimana yah? just curious haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ria ! Iyah, ibarat masakan aku udah gosong kelamaan, wakakaka. Hey nothing's wrong about travelling with parents. I love to travel around Indonesia too! So we are actually the same ya :)
      I live in Bali but I often visit my hometown in Malang too

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    2. oo bali ^^ and malang is one of my fav city *adeem hahaha * baru aja kemalang liburan lebaran kmr

      Delete
    3. Malang sekarang dah ga seadem dulu, hikzzz.
      Jalan2 kemana aja di Malang kemaren ?

      Delete
  15. I believe that you're only as old as you feel !, love that phrase ^^
    Happy Birthday . . . and thankyou for your articles and photos,
    thats give me spirit to have a wonderfull journey . . . eemmmmm someday aminnn hehhehhe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you ! It makes me happy when I can encourage someone to travel *sebar virus* hihihi :p

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    2. How lucky YOU are. What's NEXT? I like your journey, enjoy it.

      Delete
  16. This is a beautiful, well written post. <3

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  17. Nice post ni kak, agak2 bikin deg2an juga baca cerita ttg papa nya :(
    Jadi mau ngajak orang tua travelling bareng-bareng abis baca post ini hehe..
    Btw menurut gw, cici terlihat lebi muda dari umur nya, apa rahasia nya haha, tetap semangat travelling dan posting ya!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iyah, belakangan kondisi papa ga stabil, sedih dech :(
      Coba aja sekali2 traveling bareng keluarga. Seru juga kok. Kalau resep awet muda adalah......banyak2 traveling donk, wakakaka :p

      Delete
  18. K2....speechless bacanya... :')
    Salam kenal.. Aku suka semua cerita K2... Jd pengen sharing dan contact.. :)
    GBU K...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Salam kenal juga ya, Lenny.
      Boleh kok contact via email atau twitter. Makasih udah mampir :)

      Delete
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