Thank You For The Sweet Memory, Rio

This post is totally not a planned post but I fell that I need to write this up, it’s more like a personal diary.

I have 8 nephews and nieces from two brothers, 7 of them come from my big brother and 1 comes from my younger brother whom lived together with me and my father now. Out of 8, my mom had 2 favorites…she loved them all but it was so easy to spot favoritism. Her favorite was Usamah, my big brother’s first son…even after her second favorite was born, she still showed slight difference to Usamah compared to others. Her other favorite was Rio, my younger brother’s only son. And I am here to share why Rio gives me such hearty and sweet memory.

Rio is an active boy, he is very curious and can’t stay still for even 5 minutes. Taking care of him is really tiring…but he is also a sweet boy.

When I still lived with my dad and mom, my younger brother and his family always visited us every week, he wanted my mom to meet Rio as often as possible because Rio always brought smile upon my mom’s face. Little did I know that the two linked so close to each other.

Four months before my mom passed away, my dad and mom went to Padang, leaving all of us here in Jakarta. My dad told me that weeks before she left us, she often mentioned how she wanted to see Rio again. Few days before she died, she told my dad that she knew she will never see Rio walks and runs. When my mom left to Padang, Rio was still crawling.

When she died, all of us (minus my big brothers wife and children) went to Padang.  My mom was laid on a bed, waiting for Dzuhur time to be bathe for the last time. I was by her side all the time. At noon, before the bathing process began, my relatives force me to eat lunch. I had no desire to eat but they kept forcing me. Before I left the side of her bed, Rio came running to the room. I immediately lift him up, he looked at my mom intensely, I told him “Nenek bobo ya Rio.” (Grandma is sleeping, Rio). He was at the age of repeating what people said and said “Nyenyek bobo” (grandma is sleeping in baby words).

I took him to the kitchen with me to have lunch but he immediately ran back to the room and stood on the side of the bed touching my mom. His father was there and smiled at him saying Grandma is sleeping, right Rio? Rio nodded his head and looked at my mom. We had to take him out of the room again, I told him to wave goodbye to my mom.

What Rio did that time really touched my heart, he was only 1 year 4 months at that time and had been separated from my mom for the past 4 months and yet, he still remembered his grandma really well.

…but that story is not the reason why I wrote this post…

He did another heartwarming act this afternoon. We have moved in together now, me, my dad and my younger brother with his family.

I was changing my dad’s bed sheet when Rio walked into my dad’s room. He saw the sheet and out of nowhere he said ‘Nenek Bobo!!’ and touched the sheet. I felt like crying hearing him saying that. The sheet was often used when my mom was still alive. Months before she passed away, my mom spent most of her time lying on the bed and when Rio came to visit, he will play in my mom’s room from time to time. Even after my mom passed away, Rio often mistakenly entered her room wanting to show something and realized no one was there.

Rio remembered the sheet really well and spoke those 2 words. He then climbed on the bed with the untidy sheet and laid down. Every time I lifted him down, saying wait till I finished tidying it down, he climbed on the bed again. I finally let him there and took my camera to capture him there.

The way he remembered his grandma, my mom, touched my heart deeply. I cried and smiled at the same time….Thank you for the sweet memory, Rio ((((hug))))

One of my favorite photos of them