Empty Nest Soon

A lot has happened this year.Eldest daughter, Nurul started her national service in June. She was appointed to the post of Vector Control Officer by the Ministry of Health and she is now posted in Kuantan in the state of Pahang. She is now officially chasing mosquitoes, rats,and other disease-carrying agents.

Daughter, Zayye got betrothed on 8th of August and we are now busy preparing for her big day early next year.

Son, Afif has flown to Sheffield, UK, on 20th September to start his new life as a foreign student. He joins his brother as a foreign student only that Ikmal is in Bangalore, India pursuing his medical studies.

Youngest daughter, Zaty is busy preparing for her final South Australian Matriculation exams in November, 2009.She has obtained a conditional offer from the University of Newcastle, Australia but is hopeful that she gets another offer from the University of Adelaide to pursue her medical degree.

Once Zaty goes to Australia and Zayye is safely married, there would be only the two of us at home. I hope I would not suffer from the 'empty nest' syndrome.The nest has been empty off and on since the children started going to boarding schools, one after the other. However, I would look forward to trips to visit them. I would then take the opportunity to check on them and give tips on how to adapt and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle from young is the best way to stay healthy.By now, they should know that a well balanced diet is the way to go. I just hope that they would not be too lazy to prepare balanced meals and not just stick to easy to prepare fast frying foods which are bad for their health in the long term.

Remember that diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease take years to develope and once you hang on you, you cannot shake them off easily. Thus 'Prevention is better than cure'.

Zaty was worried that Afif would not be able to fend for himself on his own. So far, Afif has been referring to this blog to prepare his meals with a few adaptations.I wish Afif the best. I hope he prepares small portions for himself and not cook too much as per each recipe. You see, a cook needs to apportion and be able to calculate just enough ingredients so as not to cook too much. If cooking for one person, you need to divide the ingredients by 4, if the original recipe is for 4 persons. Or you can cook for 2, (dividing by 2) and keep in the freezer half of what you cook, to be eaten at a later time.

I hope Afif does not cook too much and end up with more weight than he could bear. Alternatively, Afif must join the gym or any sports club. As his flat is just across the road from his Engineering department, Afif would need to work out regularly to shed out the excess weight.