Love

Belief, Humanity, Love, Women / 16.01.2018

On any given Sunday, a sea of hats, in all colors of the rainbow, is visible before you set foot on the grounds of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in South Central Los Angeles. Women, men, and children in their finest fill the entryway with vibrant colors, matching the rich laughter and greetings, as we are welcomed by Reverend Cecil Murray. My mother-in-law has always been very involved in her temple: from a member when Damon and his sister, Dawn, were younger to one of the first female presidents of Temple Isaiah. Mom has exemplified what it means to...

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Joy, Love, Mindfulness, Women / 03.01.2018

Getting lost as a child is terrifying. Being lost as an adult is paralyzing. After one of the happiest moments of my life – at our boys’ B’nai Mitzvah – I looked at my reflection having no idea who the person was staring back at me. She smiled but it wasn’t genuine. She laughed but it was forced. She was going through the motions of living without feeling. Who was she and where did I go?   "I looked at my reflection having no idea who the person was staring back at me."   We wait our entire childhood to grow up, gain responsibilities,...

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Belief, Humanity, Love / 27.12.2017

His name was Benny or at least that’s what the stitching on his work shirt read. I don’t know her name. I guess I could ask my neighbor, but I relish the fact that we were total strangers, never having met before, and possibly never meeting again. As one of the few stay-at-home/work-from-home parents, I have the honor of not only retrieving my children after school but the children of two dear friends - five teenagers in all. Snack time is a must when “my kiddos” come home: fruit, veggies and dip, a sweet treat, chips and dip, fresh baked banana...

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Family, Joy, Love / 12.12.2017

The splinter was a few inches long, having torn through the sheer stockings, and lodging itself deep within the skin of my right foot. Two slices of our wedding cake sat next to me while my father-in-law (inaugurated within the last eight hours), meticulously and carefully, using very sharp tweezers, extracted the wood shard from his only daughter-in-law’s foot. My mother-in-law stood watch holding onto rubbing alcohol and cotton balls, awaiting instructions to “clean the area”. “Why should cake go to waste while I just sit next to it?” I thought, as I picked up one of the slices to consume....

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Growing Up, Love, Mindfulness / 06.12.2017

“Bayta [child], how is this itchy if you haven’t even tried it on?” Umme [Mom] patiently asked as I, much like a miniature-Pakistani, George Washington- resolute and determined- stood at the crossing of the Delaware, which was a local dress shop Umme ventured into in Karachi, Pakistan. Umme says I was an easy child to raise, probably because she literally had a village of elders watching, guiding, and nurturing me for most of my life. I said my salaams [greetings], respected my elders, was diligent with my education, prayed my namaz, and read the Quran. There was one condition that I...

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Love, Stories / 21.08.2016

I’ve never thought our love story was unique: Boy meets girl. They talk and date for five years. They get married. Boy happens to be Jewish and girl happens to be Muslim. My prince didn’t ride in on a white steed nor was I a damsel in distress. He in-line skated all over our college campus with a camera around his neck while I worked two jobs to put myself through college. He was the photographer for our college paper and I a news writer. We collaborated together on our first assignment, a behind-the-scenes look at the historical Mission Inn in...

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Love / 04.07.2016

How do you wish someone a happy birthday knowing that it hasn’t been the best of years or even the best of lifetimes? Do you fake your way through platitudes, not expressing the reality of her condition- trying to “fix” her even though she just wants to talk? It’s taken me years, decades actually, to be at peace with just bearing witness to someone’s pain, their situation; holding a place of reverence for them while they are with me, not trying to “fix” anyone or anything, so I shall do just that- listen to her, love her and empathize with...

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