Growing Up Tag

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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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, Humanity, Self Love / 24.01.2019

As far back as I can recall I wanted to be old. Daadi called me an “old soul”, someone who had been here before, experiencing life for a second time around. She was a devout Muslim, but growing up in India surrounded by Hindus and Sikhs, their cultural norms seeped into her Soul, widening her spiritual being to encompass more than one view of the Spirit. Even though she rarely discussed it, I sense she was a firm believer in reincarnation, the rebirth of the Soul into a new body. “Samita, we need another player for taash,” one of the elders...

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Family, Growing Up, Women / 19.04.2018

Daadi was cooking again. After the last school bell rang and I began to walk home, the air became infused with garlic, ginger, cardamom, cloves, red chili, and the new immigrant stink which penetrated everything within a one block radius of our house. Head hanging down, desperately hoping that no one – especially a friend – would ask, “Where’s that smell coming from?” I quickly walked towards the epicenter of the odor. “Salaam,” I called out to no one in particular and yet everyone upon entering the home. “Samita, ya low [take this],” Daadi presented me with a spoonful of whatever she...

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Education, Mindfulness, Self Love, Women / 05.04.2018

Having lived into my forties (44 and-a-half next month), I can humbly say that I am one of the worst employees an organization can hire. Thankfully, for all the Fortune 500 companies out there, I’m blissfully content and blessed being a self-proclaimed co-CEO of the Needelman Household, blogging, and volunteering. The line wrapped around the block, winding from the entrance of the building, which was too far to see from my vantage point, and encompassed a few city blocks. By the time I stood in line, holding my “resume”, teacher recommendation letters, report card from graduation, and list of awards received,...

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Growing Up, Love, Self Love / 29.03.2018

For decades I looked outward for signs of love, security, nurturing, belonging – home. A year ago my world didn’t fall apart but I did. This past year has gifted me countless opportunities to seek healing, therapy, healthy support, and tested my faith like never before. Broken, not knowing where to turn, and lost in darkness, the Light, which gave hope to my soul was found – within. The holy space - where Awe, Love, and Light reside - shone stronger and stronger, a beacon guiding me back to where God rests, where He never left – the seat of...

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Education, Growing Up, Immigrant, Women / 22.02.2018

In second grade I loved drawing, especially dinosaurs; reading and writing were also a favorite pastime. That is the last recollection I have of what I enjoyed or loved because I liked it and not because I was trying to please someone, wanting them to love me, like me, or accept me. In elementary school, the stacks of fresh-off-the-printer paper sat in a wire basket in the corner of Mrs. Sharp’s classroom. It was understood that after classwork was completed, the students had access to the library, the special paper, pencils, and crayons to occupy their imaginations while peers finished the...

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Family, Growing Up, Women / 09.01.2018

When Lucky Chucha (in Urdu Chucha refers to my father’s younger brother) decided to marry an “Umrican” it wasn’t the first time a male had married outside of race and religion in our family’s history nor would it be the last. Nancy was a rebel from the start: “Don’t call me Nancy Aunty…it sounds so old!”; “Start wearing seatbelts…you want to live past 13, don’t you?”; “What do you mean you don’t know what Disney is? Let’s go see Cinderella at the Cineplex...

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