Literally, the word 'family' means a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. If we follow that definition strictly, my family will be my husband and my son.
My husband's name is Adlin bin Hisyamuddin. Adlin means 'fairness' or 'justice' and Hisyamuddin is his father's name which literally means the 'Lion of Religion'. He's a Malaysian, male (of course!), and of the same age as myself (oh well, he is actually more than 5 months older than me). He's good looking (most definitely, especially if you ask that question to me :P), well built (whatever that means :D - no seriously, he's 6 feet tall) and generally hairy (and I like that). Most important of all, he loves me and he is married to me. Aside to Adzka and myself, he has three other things that he cannot live without, his mac-book pro (or any computers), game consoles (PS2 then Gamecube and now Wii) and Internet or perhaps Camera - right now I do not know which one is more important to him than the other. Oh yes, he's an IT/computer geek, so if you need any advice on matters related to IT, he'll be the right person to approach.
My son's name is Adzka Rizqillah. Until I have him, I never heard of such a name. I genuinely thought I invented the name. However, when I told some friends of mine of my son's name, they did say - oh, same as the son of so and so. Anyway, just as with my name, Adzka's name - when pronounced in Malay way, may be interpreted either as the superlative form of dzaki (means intelligent) or zaki (means pure). Rizqillah means the gift from Allah. So literally Adzka Rizqillah means the most intelligent (person who is) a gift from Allah. I chose the 'dz' spelling instead of z which will change its meaning to the purest (person who is) a gift from Allah.Thus, even if a person pronounces Adzka's name incorrectly, the meaning is still as good
Adzka had turned 5 in June this year. He is a very intelligent boy in so many ways. Even at school the teachers told me, on every parents' day, how intelligent my boy is and that he's such an excellent student. He is a very fast learner, focus and perfectionist. Thank God, it is rather obvious that he inherits the height from his father - he is much taller than the average boys of his age. However, except for the shape of his face which is a bit round, everything else on him is just like that of mine. :)
Now let's go beyond the literal definition of 'family. I come from quite a big family, El Islamy's family. I have one sister and six brothers (which should explain why I find it easier to make friends with males than females). Unlike my sister, I spent substantial parts of my childhood with my brothers and their friends. Although my mom made me the princess in the family (by default, because of my physical being) I preferred boys' games rather than girls' play. I also spent most of my childhood among boys instead of girls.
My elder brother is an Accountant (married to a former model - who, if I am not mistaken, has degree in marketting and now they have two children); my younger sister completed her master and degree in Management (married her university sweetheart then blessed with one child); my brother, the 4th in the family, is an Artist, now specialising in computer design. He had got married last year to a kindergarten teacher and they are now expecting their first child. My brother, the 5th in the family, is an IT graduate who is now working for the national telecommunication company. The sixth in the family is doing Business Administration who will be graduating this year. The seventh is about to complete his senior high school while the youngest in the family is the every year top student in a very prestigious boarding school, the same school I went.
My mom is such a wonderful lady. She is very pretty too (well, perhaps her royal blood has something to do with that). When describing my mom, I like to say that she's just like an angel, in all aspects, the characteristics, the look, etc.. to me, she's almost perfect (I can't say she's perfect for no human is). Oh my Mom is also very good at taking care of the house, garden (we have such a stunning one, indeed) and she cooks extra ordinarily good too. My Dad, he is very intelligent, that is one thing for sure. He has such a brain that one will not fail to notice simply by having a conversation with him. He was such a wonderful dad that I used to think if I would ever marry a man, that person has to be someone just likes my dad. Things changed; my family life is not as perfect as it used to be but I still thank God for everything. It is not the best one but it is not the worst either.
My in laws - on the other hand - is a small one. My husband is the first in the family, his sister is a doctor (Anesthetist), his younger brother is an Aerospace Engineer graduated from the Michigan University (Ann Arbor). Both his parents used to work at hospitals; so I was lucky to have my mother in law - who used to be the hospital matron - to look after me and Adzka when he was just born.
These are my family, related to me either by blood or marriage. Of course there are others whose relation to me will be of a further distance or those whom, despite the absence of blood or marital relation, I've regarded as my very own family. Those are the people who mean so much and have contributed, directly or indirectly, to my life and have made me who I am today.
For all those I would like to express my immense gratitude and term of endearment.