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rzeti Bilbina, a senior model and actress who owns modeling school Zema Management and Muslim clothing line Arzeti Bilbina Collection, has had to give up her free time for a while because she is busy filming a soap opera being aired by a local private TV station.

“My husband [Aditya Setiawan] and I had planned to go on mudik [annual exodus during Idul Fitri holiday] to his hometown in Yogyakarta this year.

We planned to go with our three children to Yogyakarta by train because the kids and I always want to take a train to the city.

But it turned out to be merely a plan because unexpectedly I had to work over Idul Fitri, starring in a religious-themed sinetron [TV soap opera] titled Khadijah dan Khalifah.

It was actually a soap opera dedicated to Ramadhan and aired during the Islamic fasting month, but since there were good responses from audiences, the producers decided to produce more episodes.

Two days before the festivities, we, the actors, even still had to do some episodes and had to resume filming just a day after Idul Fitri.

My two sons and my only daughter in the end went to Yogyakarta with their grandma and my husband stayed with me in Jakarta.

It was really sad, though, not being able to spend the Idul Fitri holiday with my children and my husband’s extended family in the city, but I cannot complain. This is my job so I have to go with it and enjoy it.

This soap opera marks my comeback to the acting world after such a long time. Why did I decide to return to this industry?

It’s simply because I wanted to. Then I asked for my husband’s permission and he said OK as long as I could still fulfill my responsibilities as a wife and a mother of three.

Since I began acting in this soap opera in August, I have often spent my time with my family on the set. On Friday, for instance, my children usually come after school and we play together during the breaks.

Their presence does not bother me at all, in fact it boosts my spirits. I feel happy having them around me.

Besides, I do not have much time to be with them because sometimes I have to work from the morning to the next morning. Fortunately, the filming location is still in Jakarta so I can still see them.

When I have a whole day of free time at home, I usually spend time with my children and we even do chores together like cleaning up things and mopping the floor.

They voluntarily offer their assistance to help me, including my three-year-old daughter. Sometimes the house gets messier than ever when they try to do the chores and it means that I have to clean up all of the clutter they make, but that’s not a big deal.

For me, the most important thing is that I can spend time together with my beloved family.

It’s not about what kind of places you go to on vacation, it’s more about togetherness and the spirit of the holiday itself. It does not matter even if we just stay at home, as long as we are together.

As for me time, for my apart, me time is the time when I’m working. Yes, I’m a workaholic. I don’t like hanging out somewhere or having a cup of coffee at a coffee shop without doing something.

When I was still single and active as a model, I once took a job in Bali and my fellow model friends told me to have fun. Well, taking a job in Bali at that time was a vacation for me and I enjoyed every second of it.

Me time also means being with my children and spending time with them.”

— As told to Triwik Kurniasari