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Belief, Family, Growing Up, Love, Mindfulness / 27.07.2021

My husband’s reflection, soft and nurturing, guided one of our sons in the process of tying a tie. “Will it be a full Windsor or half-Windsor knot?” crooned Damon. Of course, he knew how to jazz up ties. This guy, who as a child was given the task of folding napkins into pieces of art for Cousins Bunny and Hal’s Passover Seder. This guy, who learned what Bunny explained, a fairly simple yet elegant fold, and taught himself dozens of others from a Bird of Paradise to geometric patterns of napkin pageantry, which parlayed perfectly into an Origami hobby because…why...

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Love, Mindfulness, Self Love / 16.03.2021

Walking was the only thing that helped. I would walk for miles around town, not knowing where I was going or when I would be home, but I never thought of how I would get home until a Sunday in March two years ago, but I did. I made it home. “Where are you going?” Damon asked as I grabbed my coat from the entrance closet. My choices were the lightweight rain coat, Mom’s heavy Alaska coat that she purchased for their trip to Alaska hence the name, a circus logo fleece jacket, one of the few black jackets, or the handful...

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Education, Love, Self Love / 09.09.2020

**The following experience contains racist and sexist language, abusive situations and other triggering points. Please read only if you have healthy support to handle emotions that might come up.** I was having the most normal of conversations with the produce, as one “normally” does when visiting Sprouts. Well, hello eggplants. You all seem to be looking extra lovely today and shiny, perfect for Bhaghan Bhurta or Eggplant Parmesan. Shall we go Desi or Italian tonight?  Oh, Cilantro – stunning as always. Pakistani it is! As I was mentally calculating roti ingredients in the pantry at home, a voice boomed behind me. “Didn’t you go to...

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Humanity, Racial Justice / 04.06.2020

The image of Mr. George Floyd, face down on cement, handcuffed, with an officer’s knee cutting off circulation, calmly expressing his emotions and struggles while police look on has become a rallying cry for the oppressed, unheard and unseen. It’s my cry. I am not black, but I know what it feels like to not be seen, heard, loved, and valued. My oppression came at the hands of family, specifically my parents, not the police state. It came from the stories of societal expectations, cultural norms, faith-based learning, and the training of should-dos. “Dad and I are attending a vigil for...

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Love, Mindfulness, Self Love / 16.03.2020

Sister Sledge belted out “We Are Family” as the five of us cruised towards our local Pieology. It was Saturday, March 14th, pi day and the restaurant chain had a special: buy one pizza at regular price and get one for $3.14. Our fridge and pantry were fairly empty because at 4 am we were scheduled to depart for Maui visiting the Hawaiian Islands, for the first time, as an early graduation gift for our twin sons. They had requested this trip as freshmen so it was a few years in the making. The Universe had other plans called COVID-19. Dusk is...

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Belief, Mindfulness, Religion / 06.11.2019

The duck food was passed out amongst the handful of us that showed up for the Tashlich service after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The ritual states Jews should go to a body of water and purge their sins from the previous year symbolically using stale bread, breadcrumbs, rose petals, fish food or other organic material that can easily be digested by the earth (if we don’t want to hold onto our sins, I doubt Mother Nature does as well). Our temple is down the street from a local park with a duck pond, so for the last several...

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Belief, Family, Self Love, Women / 23.09.2019

One of the most joyous days of my life, our daughter’s bat mitzvah, concluded with family and friends helping us to our home from the reception hall: carrying in presents and trays of leftovers, making room for the centerpieces that were still to be gifted to Sissy’s friends, and a relative calling me fat. For upwards of 18 months, plans were underway. Honestly, right after our boys’ b’nai mitzvah, three years earlier, the preparations had begun. Mom and Dad, my in-laws, were gracious enough to store the boys’ centerpieces: a glitter-fest, feather-filled, Cirque du Soleil romp of color and splash. Our...

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Belief, Circus, Love, Religion, Uncategorized / 18.05.2019

You would have to ask Umme when I completed the Quran…the first time. Then came the second learning and recitation. What I can share is that it was before I was 10 years old. An ancient language, the last monotheistic religion brought to humans by the Prophet Muhammad, encoded in my DNA for hundreds if not thousands of years, since our family is directly descended from the Prophet himself (or that’s what the family tree reads that Puppa has), and I did not understand a word of it. Not a single word. The warmth of the day was in contrast to...

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Family, Growing Up, Self Love / 18.04.2019

This college entrance scandal has been weighing heavy on my heart and soul; even though I have not committed any fraud or criminal act, how complicit have I been in being part of a society and culture that values success, sometimes no matter the cost. As parents we want the best for our children: a better life; the best of health; access to the best education; and may I add failure. Yes, failure: the act of not succeeding at something, possibly coming in second or not getting on the scoreboard at all. Honestly, our family knows little to nothing about sports....

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Belief, Family, Women / 04.03.2019

I’ve always been impressed with people that can accomplish two tasks at once. For example: walk their dog and read the morning paper; push their child in a stroller and look at their phone; reply to emails while on a conference call; or have a conversation and be in their own minds ready to reply as soon as opportunity arises. If you can do more than one thing at a time, and do them well, you are the bee’s knees. At this moment, as much as I want to Google whether bees actually have knees, I am typing in a...

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