Sabtu kemaren kita diundang dinner ke rumah temen.
Dari hari Jumat malem gw dah bilang sama Onya kalo besok bakal ke rumah Tammy.
I told Onya kalo weekend kan biasanya Onya boleh makan sweets of her choice *kalo weekdays sebisa mungkin gw ga kasi dia manis2 macam Tim Tam or m&m dan sejenisnya*, tapi karena malemnya mau dinner dirumah Tammy, jadi pagi/siang/sore Onya ga boleh makan manis dulu, karena dirumah Tammy pasti banyak dessert. Belon lagi mereka selalu sedian jus box gitu yg gulanya aduhaiii.
Onya iya iya aja pas jumat malem gw kasi tau.
Datanglah Sabtu.
Pagi2 udah minta greentea Kit Kat *yg dibawain bokap Juli kemaren, yg gw juga DOYAN BANGET tapi ga makan satupun krn tau onya doyaaan sangat n disini ga ada yg jual* - jelaslah ga dikasih.
Daaan sang anakpun mulai memelas2. Tetep dong gw ga kasih.
Tau2 dia bilang sendiri "I promise I won't eat anything sweet at Tammy's tonight. I promise."
Then gw bilangin.. dont ever make promise you can't keep loh onya. And jangan simply bilang promise just to get what you want.
Onya bilang "i know, but I promise."
Lalu gw ingetin, di rumah Tammy pasti banyak dessert yg Onya suka. Belon jus-nya, belon eskrimnya, belon cemilannya.
I asked her to think it through.
After awhile, she said "im sure. I wont eat anything sweet at Tammy's. I promise. Tapi kalo nanti Onya lupa, begimanaa mam?" *yeeh, ga enak buntutnya hahaha*
Gw bilang "kalo onya lupa, mami ingetin."
Ahirnya makanlah dia kitkat-nya sambil ditatap dengan mupeng oleh maminya.
Datanglah malam hari.
Abis dinner, bener dooonnnggg dessert keluaar. Mana bentuk n warnanya cihuy banget... Rainbow colour gitu.
Sure enough onya langsung "oooh i want one of those"
Langsunglah gw ingetin, onya kan uda janji... Then dia langsung "o iya... Sorry Tammy, I promised my mom not to eat sweets anymore tonight"
Duuuhh, ati gw gimannnaaa gitu rasanya. Antara bangga she kept her promise, dan kesian karena gw tauuu dia pengen banget. Sebenernya kalo dia makan 1-2 gigit juga gapapa, mau seporsi juga gapapa kok.. and frankly, walau warna dan bentuknya cakep- belon tentu Onya doyan.
Kalo ngikutin ati, rasanya gw pengen gave in aja. Kesian anak gue ga makan. Kesian anak gw ngeliatin temennya makan. Kesian anak gw kepengeeeennn.
Tapi tapi tapi... If I were to educate her, then gw kudu konsisten. Gw need to let her honour her promise.
I need to give her a chance to learn.
Regardless apa yg gw rasain.
At the end, as lebay as this may sound... Ati gw angeeett deh. It's not even about the sweets.
It's about her staying true to her words.
And you know what the best part is?
She feels good for keeping her words.
She feels good for doing the right thing.
That night, my 5 years old honour her words.
That night, my girl kept her promise.
That night at home, she looked at me right in the eyes, smiled and say "mom, onya kept my promise". Her face was beaming with joy. She almost literally glow.
I thank her for keeping her words and gave her the biggest hug. Told her that onya anak baik, she has a good heart and Im so proud of her.
That night I knew.
Her character was shaped.
And I couldn't thank God enough for a very simple lesson that rooted so deep in me and Andi as parents.
Parenting is super tough, but the rewards are worth it.
So. Worth. It.
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