Birds and bees
Tuesday
Not literally referring to the idiom though.
However, the situation you’ll feel when asked by young children on where do babies come from is similar to what I am about to share here.
Last week, while in my Year Two Maths lesson, one of the kiddos whispered to me while lesson was in progress.
“Teacher, saya mau tanya kau bah…tapi kau jangan marah ah,” she said softly to my ear.
“Aaah, apa dia?” Feeling bit annoyed but at the same time, softened by her sweet toothless smile.
“Saya nampak teacher ada tattoo kan? Betul kan?” her eyes rounded, asking for agreement.
“Urmmm…” I replied.
“Adakan??” Not wanting to give up until she gets her answer.
“Iya.”
“Bunga kan??” she asked again.
“Maybe.”
“Macam bunga oh saya nampak. Bunga kan teacher?” she asked further, suggesting a lengthy conversation.
Undeniably, I was not willing to sit down and start entertaining her questions about my tattoo and eventually do my bit on ’social-responsibility’ where I must avoid any tattoo ideas in her and why she mustn’t have one while she’s still juvenile. I mentioned the latter cos while she’s still an underage, and I am her teacher, I have the obligation to lay down the possibilities of bad and good choices based on my experience.
“I will tell you on Friday, but this is our secret OK?”
If you have been around children a lot, you will know that promises are what keep them alive. One promise and you’ll definitely be haunted by their presence EVERY single day.
So I was haunted for days until I decided to have her curiosity satisfied. I purposely leave out the lengthy explanation unless asked. After all, answer is all she wants.
I was in their class again today. Barely 5 minutes in class and already they (well, there were two of them actually) were hinting at me with “Teacher, nanti ah? secret ah..”
Right after class ended, I ushered the rest of the kids to go home. Except the two girls.
“Come here,” I called them.
I lifted up my right track bottom, baring my Celtic horse tattoo.
“So, is it a flower?” I asked them.
“No teacher…macam dragon oh,” one of the girls replied.
I smiled.
“Secret?” I winked at both girls.
“Ya teacher! Ini secret kita!!”
And all three of us walked out from the class, smiling and contented. The girls for getting their question answered and the teacher for having the ‘birds and bees’ question cut short.
Will the other kids ask?
That will depends on the two girls.
My point is, some truth is best told as it is. Hid it and forever it is a curiosity.
Don’t you think so?
Some people might think that what I just did could lead to bad influence on this young minds. I leave that to you to ponder or even judge me.
I swallow the consequences of my own action.
And I’ve come prepared.
Till next post!
*hugs*
Lol! Glad you found them 
Ala tu my travel blog and blog pasal...
Arms said,
July 10, 2012 @ 6:22 pm
There’s always something mysterious about people with tattoos… why they did it, why that drawing, why tattoo on that part of your body, why now, why this, why that. Wakakaa.
My uncle has a tattoo… and my younger brother has a tattoo. I always wondered why I didn’t get one myself. Perhaps belum masanya ba tu kan, Chegu? Hehee.
Happy Tuesday!
It’s not necessarily means your time hasn’t come. Perhaps, you just don’t fancy the idea of having one. So don’t. Cos doing for the sake of following others often results in regrets.
Happy Tuesday to you too Arms!
Arms said,
July 10, 2012 @ 6:57 pm
Actually, I do fancy to get one… I nearly got one a long time ago. But I thought about it and wanted a really nice looking one… you know those really high quality ones. Then I forgot about it till now. Hehee.
But ya, maybe I don’t like the idea. That’s why I don’t have one. See la, maybe in the future. Mo kasi fit dulu badan sia ni Chegu. Hahahaa.
Hahaha mau kasi 6 packs ka Arms? Mau ikut workout macam si Daniel Chiam tu
Amanda said,
July 10, 2012 @ 7:15 pm
i think it’s pretty cute on how u handle the situation. n u handled it very well indeed! might as well strip the bandage, kan? hrp2 nda sampai telinga GB ko ja la…
I still want to find that magic foundation! LOL!… i don’t mind if he finds out, just not while in school la
Joan said,
July 10, 2012 @ 9:33 pm
Comel la bah tu budak2 kan. Well, saya pun pernah ni student tanya dalam kelas. Tapi bukan whisper2 ah. Style yang mo kasi tau semua urang.. “Ui, cikgu ada tattoo oh” deylang..Mati la bah..huhu.. Budak skolah menengah ni lain gaya dia.
Iyabah, kalo budak2 kici they still malu2 or takut2 wana ask…kalo budak besar ni, berani sudah
joanne said,
July 10, 2012 @ 10:29 pm
everyone has their own preferences. Like me, i would really loooovvveee if i could get my hair colored but my duty says no to it.
It is by our choice and like you say, u are adult and u have ur own justification. “nanti basaaarrr suda baru kamurang buat apa seja kamurang mau ok budak2″.. Bilang sm diurg, haha..
Eh college lecturers are not allowed to color their hair ka pula? Didnt know that.
Gunaqz said,
July 11, 2012 @ 12:32 am
Hi Chegu,
That’s one situation well handled. Pernah sekali one of my former students terserempak dgn saya di luar sekolah. I’m sure he noticed my tattoo and i expected him to rub the topic in the next time he sees me di sek . Sudah saya prepare dlm hati mcm2 answer, in case dia tanya. Rupanya dia tidak tanya. Instead, dia cerita sama kawan kawan, dia nampak peha saya. Gemuk, dia bilang. And I heard that from my colleague. Haih….
Anyway, nice tattoo, Chegu. I love it!
P/s: No matter what i do for work, when i clock out, i am me. i do what i please on my own time. I have a feeling that you understand how it works. Coz it’s obvious you are not afraid to enjoy life!
LOL! Lain pula dia nampak tu pula kan hahaha… Thanks Gunaqz, that’s the tattoo I did earlier this year.
p/s: Yes i think i understand how it works. Actually, i have another set of story about wanting to enjoy every bit of life while it lasts. Perhaps one day, I’ll share the story.
Wyne Mouren said,
July 11, 2012 @ 8:56 am
Our ancestors dari dulu bertattoo and as far as I know, having tattoo means you are important person to a society. Itu dulu-dulu lah.
So these days, well, if you fancy about it, teda masalah bah.
btw, one of my besties are having tattoo too. Sexy!
Freedom to choose what best for yourself kan?
oyen said,
July 12, 2012 @ 11:55 am
Terbaik la kau chegu..campen kau elak soalan aa..mmg ngam jg cara “don’t ask, don’t tell” kau tu..klu tidak kompom panjang lebar nti mo explain..klu dgn bdk2 ni jwp stakat mana yg kita rasa yg perlu ja ba.
Thanks, sa pok silap ja tu dorang tida tanya banyak2 lagi.
nowriz said,
July 12, 2012 @ 2:39 pm
chegu.. terus sy teer-imagine happy face anak murid ko.. simpan secret cikgu durang terasa 1 kelebihan bg durang tu.. hihihi
Hahah sa rasa juga lah.
Just said,
July 13, 2012 @ 2:59 pm
Well handled carol. My rayyan pun skrg bnyk betul tanya.. Soalan ‘kenapa’ tu yg plg susah mau jwb most of the time. Huuhuhuh.. Btw, my family has negative perception towards tatoo. Nasib jg sia nda minat tatoo. Or maybe their perception makes me dislike tatoo. Apa2 pun, dilarang bertatoo jg sdh skrg ni. Hehehe..
Someone told me * i forgot who* that kalo dapat jawab soalan ‘kenapa’ dorang tu secara spot on, without banyak kias2 or a possible answer that can lead to another question, sure dorang akan stop asking. Well, until they arrive at a linking point that connects to their previous answered question. I guess, I nailed this one in a nice way lah.
Ever since my mom had her eye brow done, it was an unvoiced green light to my ‘can i have tattoo?’ question. Not that she said so but she’s a hypocrite if i have asked and she said no. I was just being smart *kunun* to have waited until I was old enough to get my tattoo done.
Aemy said,
July 14, 2012 @ 10:20 pm
hehe..so cute
u have such a cool tattoo, teacher! ^^ that’s not a bad influence…it shows them how lucky they are to have the coolest teacher..hehe
Thank you Aemy
beaty said,
July 16, 2012 @ 10:23 am
so innocent betul the two kids ask u chegu..
Secret ah bilang lagi tu..ingat lagi durang menagih ni mau minta kena kasi tingu ni
Ya, in a way…memang cute lah bila ingat balik
ethel said,
July 17, 2012 @ 7:48 pm
I wish I shared secrets with my teacher when I was in standard 2!
But I love the way you handled it with your students. So cute, in a way.
That said, I feel like having a tattoo myself but to this day, I still takut bah. 
I don’t remember having sharing secrets with my teacher while I was that small too!
Stella said,
July 19, 2012 @ 10:10 am
wah.. i am sure the two kids must be very happy to share a secret with their teacher.
I guess so
Cathj said,
July 22, 2012 @ 12:04 am
Kalau org tua2.. Memang ada nerve breaking sikit kalau ternampak tatu…. But cuba kalau itu tatu gambar bunga2 , cupcake.. Lipstick anything cute.. Mesti dorang ckp cantik jg tu hihihi….
Its more into art for me.. Tidak suka tingu kalau tatto dia ular2 la… Tengkorak lahh… Hihihi… Soryyyy… Hihi…
But yours is beautiful! But how on earth did u cover that in school???? Hihihi
Ever since I have this one on my leg, I ditched my shirt and skirt attires completely. Baju kurung all the way ^^
But I’m still searching for the magic body concealer that can cover up my tats should I feel like wearing skirt to work. Heard it is expensive bah.
nc said,
August 16, 2012 @ 4:45 pm
nicely handled situation
yg penting dua2 pihak pun hppy n puas ati kn 
btw, great tatoo chegu
Thank you nc
Emelda Shabelle said,
September 1, 2012 @ 10:43 pm
Lama dy want to have tattoo but till today I can’t really decide on the design. My mum used to hv this obsession with cicak. Hampir2 dia mau buat tattoo cicak menjalar di kaki kunun. LOL…
P/S: My moyang from my mum side punya tattoo sampai di jari2 n leher (Iban), If only we have his pic with the tattoo, boleh juga tiru tu tribal design :p
Lol! My hubby did a split tail cicak on his chest up to his collar bone. I think that is cool. If designed properly, should be nice bah that cicak tattoo
Tribal design is a timeless tattoo IMHO.