I’m participating in NaBloPoMo

NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month is all about blog posting, every day in November. Now, for those of you who do not have any idea about the strict and most of the time, unreasonable internet censorship here in Dubai, it’s time you are informed that I can’t access the NaBloPoMo page along with lots of websites including Flickr, Typepad blogs and Friendster blogs (and many others).

I haven’t read the NaBloPoMo site but the concept is blogging every day so that would mean simply just writing and posting everyday starting tomorrow until the 30th of November, right? I am go with that idea!

Also, I have something to go with my posting everyday. I’ll be also participating in 30 Days of Thanks, so every day for a month, I will be writing something I am thankful about.

This should perk up this new blog baby of mine. So bye October, welcome November!

I miss my baby

This morning when I went off to work, my daughter was still sleeping at 7 am. There was no need to wake her up because she is not going to school today. She’s not feeling well since yesterday, colds and a little bit of coughing due to climate change or dust at the park where we went or simply she caught a virus at school. The meds she took made her sleep early last night.

I kissed her goodbye and thought about her all day. I went home as fast as I can and as I entered into the front door, I was ready to hug her.

Our house was exceptionally silent. Silent like no toddler living there. My mother who stays with my daughter the whole day was in the kitchen cooking dinner and told me to lower down my voice. My little girl is asleep at 7 pm!

I asked what happened. My mother said maybe the meds are making her more sleepy and she had not taken her afternoon nap. My daughter is just there, comfortably lying on her bed, in fetal position hugging her pillow. Oh how sweet to look at her I quickly forgot it’s past my dinner time. My stomach has growled on my way home but now it didn’t seem to matter anymore.

I lay down next to her and just marveled at God’s gift to me. That moment, tears came down my eyes for reasons I can’t really express. I missed her just like that.

I hugged her and felt warm all over. She was sweating a little. I wiped her sweat and snuggled some more. “Mommy’s here.” Of course I got no answer except for a small grunt. Clearly she was busy seeing dreams and going to places, meeting lots of friends in dream land.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt - Pink

This week’s theme: Pink

Pink sakura flowers bloom in Dusseldorf, Germany. Photo taken April 2006.

Mother in-law stories - 2

A woman was leaving a convenience store with her morning coffee when she noticed a most unusual funeral procession approaching the nearby cemetery.  A long black hearse was followed by a second long black hearse about 50 feet behind.  Behind the second hearse was a solitary woman walking a very mean looking dog on a leash. Behind that were 200 women walking single file.
The woman couldn’t stand her curiosity.

She respectfully approached the woman walking the dog and said,

“I am so sorry for your loss, and I know now is a bad time to disturb you, but I’ve never seen a funeral procession like this. Whose funeral is it?”

The woman replied, “Well, that first hearse is for my husband.”

“What happened to him?”

The woman replied, “My dog attacked and killed him.”

She inquired further, “Well, who is in the second hearse?”

The woman answered, “My mother-in-law.  She was trying to help my husband when the dog turned on her.”

A poignant and thoughtful moment of silence passed between the two women.

“Can I borrow the dog?”

“Get in line.”

Being too shy leads to nowhere

A friend came to Dubai and is staying in our house at the moment. She is here to look for a job as a housekeeper or nanny. 

We went for her first interview yesterday. I could say she had a good shot and chance of getting the job, considering the requirements needed of her would be employer - -  if only she had not been too shy. She was too shy she was fidgeting with a piece of paper and so nervous she could not even bear to finish her sentences. I sat on her interview to fill in her lines, to explain to her employer. I feel so sad for her.

People with good resumes get invited for interviews. People good during interviews get the job. No matter how highly skilled you are, if you don’t present it while face to face with the would be employer, chances are, you would need to find another employer, after another.

She is 37 and single, one of the main reasons why she feels inferior. But isn’t inferiority the thing you feel when you allow yourself to wallow in your differences with other people?

I pity her and talked to her about it but I am no clinical psychologist. From our talks I could see that she never really felt good about herself and wondered what her parents had done and what I should do with regards to my own parenting.

if i could

This post I wrote 2 years ago. 

If I Could

If I Could
I’d protect you from the sadness in your eyes
Give you courage in a world of compromise
Yes I would
If I could

I would teach you all the things I’ve never learned
And I’d help you cross the bridges that I’ve burned
Yes I would
If I could

I would try to shield your innocence from time
But the part of life I gave you isn’t mine
I’ve watched you grow
So I could let you go
If I could

I would help you make it through the hungry years
But I know that I can never cry your tears
But I would
If I could

If I live in a time and place where you don’t wanna be
You don’t have to walk along this road with me
My yesterday won’t have to be your way
If I knew
I would try to change the world I brought you to
And there isn’t very much that I can do
But I would
If I could

No, I did not write that piece, it’s a Michael Bolton song and it is playing on my mind lately.

I took my darling daughter to the nearby hospital for her follow-up check up with the ear infection. To my great relief, the doctors gave her a clean bill of health so we proceeded to wait at the counter for our name to be called for payment. It was Friday so the hospital was crowded than usual.

Akari whiled away the time by (again!) running around and chasing children and saying hello. No one of the children paid attention. Jap kids have this way of being “cold” sometimes their eyes are without expression. My daughter, on the other hand, is MS. FRIENDSHIP.

A was quietly tinkering with the locker beside the bench I was sitting when a girl, around 4 to 5 years old approached her and shoved her away. I watched with caution. She never had a quarrel with other children because of toys. If she has a toy and another kid wants it, she gladly gives it. I don’t know why. She will hand over the toy and find something else for herself.

And so I asked myself, “up to what extent should I stand here and just look?”

She just watched the other kid play with the locker that was her territory before but she did not mind. But as soon as the kid went away for a while, she looked around, as if checking if the vicinity is safe and proceeded to play with the key on the locker. Then the girl came again, and SHOVED her again. My daughter tripped over. Her strength was no match for the kid more than twice her age. I watched in horror, battling with my senses whether I should scold or spank the kid or wait for A’s reaction to her own little battle.

My daughter stood up and said “no” and “itai (painful)” to the other kid but she did not cry. So the kid realizing she did something bad and maybe was terrified with the way my angry eyes were looking at her, went away and to my surprise, my daughter waved at her and said “Babay!”…without a trace of anger nor hatred in her heart. Pure innocence.

I know my child has to fight her own battles, has to shed her own tears and has to stand on her own, facing all the cruel things in this world but no please, not when I am looking.

Only a few years from now, my baby will be going to pre-school (she is attending daycare at the moment) and I am sure events like this will be aplenty. I don’t want to be called a stage mom, nor I don’t want to be labelled as cold and uncaring by my own child.

Tell me, where should I draw the line?

back to reality

The three day weekend passed by with a speed of light. M and I are back to getting up early, doing our morning routines rarely speaking (we are not bubbly in the morning) and racing out to catch our buses. The little one stays at home and gets to sleep longer as her school announced they will have the entire week off. Classes will only resume on the 21st, plenty of time to do what? Particularly nothing special since my office timing is back to normal after Ramadan. I am only home after 6:30 pm, at least.

My mother is going to be very busy tending to P’s daily inquiries (she never runs out of why’s).

no quiet time today

We have another dayoff today but since there are no plans to go out and we are tired from yesterday’s beach trip, we opted to stay at home. My mother’s ward (she is child minding a 3 year old boy who lives on the same building) was dropped off at our apartment at 10 am to my disappointment.

The parents had promised to take care of the boy when they have time and yet they are going out without him again. Part of me was furious at how they ignore the boy’s needs and longing to be with his parents and a very big part is so disappointed that I will never have a quiet time at home today.

You all know how kids are. They play, they bicker, they shout, they scream, they sing, they do things in their own little world. The adults just have to stand back and sigh.

Back to the beach

Just when the colors of autumn are starting in Japan and in most parts of the northern hemisphere, residents of Dubai are back frolicking at the beach. Finally the extreme heat is gone and everyone can enjoy a dip in the water without scalding the skin.

We went to Jumeirah Beach Park and stayed there for the whole day, until the sun set! It was a totally different experience from our previous beach trips because we brought our tent with us, so we can relax and nap with some privacy.

Little girl was more than thrilled to be at the beach again. The trip was long, as we went there by bus but it was so worth it. The sea was so calm and as usual, very clear and clean. However, when afternoon came, the sea water color turned darker. The stronger waves might have caused it, or the many swimmers or both.

Here are some photos taken on the beach, in a Flektor slideshow:

Just playing it safe

George went on a vacation to the Middle East with most of his family, including his mother-in-law.  During their vacation, and while they were visiting Jerusalem, George’s mother-in-law died.  With the death certificate in hand, George went to the American Consulate Office to make arrangements to send the body back to the States for proper burial.  The Consul, after hearing of the death of the mother-in-law, told George,

“My friend, the sending of a body back to the States for burial is very, very expensive.  It could cost as much as $5,000 dollars.” 

The Consul continued, “In most of these cases, the person responsible for the remains normally decides to bury the body here.  This would only cost $150 dollars”. 

George thinks for some time, and answers the Consul,

“I don’t care how much it will cost to send the body back.  That’s what I want to do.” 

The Consul, after hearing this says,

“You must have loved your mother-in-law very much, considering the difference in price between $5,000 and $150 dollars.” 

“No, it’s not that,” says George. 

“You see, I know of a case many, many years ago of a person that was buried here in Jerusalem, and on the third day he was resurrected.  Consequently, I do NOT want to take that chance!”