real, raw motherhood
I want to do that mommy! We were leaving the library and she had just noticed a flyer advertising a youth triathlon. When I brought my tiny baby girl home from the hospital almost 10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine then that triathlon was going to become a part of our lives. I had not…
My baby will be 10 in just a couple of weeks. 10 years old! A two-digit number! Since 18 is the legal adult age, we are now officially past the half way point of parenting our child. Judging by how fast the past 10 years have gone by, I can tell the next 8 will…
Here it is. 2020. A new year. A new decade.To say I am excited is an understatement. For the first time of my adult life, I feel healthy, vibrant, full of energy, happy. It’s as if I’m living someone else’s life. In a sense, I am: in so many ways, I have become someone else.Who…
The older I get, the faster time goes, or so it seems. Another year is over. I’m one of those people who sets goals in preparation for a new year but before I plan for the future, I like to reflect on the past. Christmas, my favorite time of year with spirits high and moods…
My yoga teachers have been offering me wonderful food for thought lately. Here is a paraphrase of a powerful nugget I heard in class yesterday: “Let go of expectations, of how you think things should be and embrace what is. Trust that you are perfect as you are right now.”We’ve all been told: “Nobody’s perfect”.…
I went to Yoga Sculpt this morning. Before the class started, the teacher shared about her life-long struggle with acceptance: feeling acceptance from others and of course, more importantly, from herself. At the end of class, she invited us to look for opportunities to feel radical acceptance. I liked the ring of that. Most people…
Who else loves the holiday season?I’m a big fan. Thanksgiving is an American holiday that I discovered only after getting married and I never got to celebrate Christmas as a kid, since I grew up in a Muslim household. Even before we became parents, my husband and I made a big deal of the holidays.We…
It’s that time again of wanting to write and drawing a blank. Not knowing what I want to say and wondering if there’s value in saying anything at all anyway. I process my emotions through writing and inspiration comes more easily when I am sad or stressed. Thankfully, right now, I am neither. Happy times…
I usually make a point to not discuss religion or politics. I pride myself in having friends from all walks of life. I have friends who are on welfare and friends who are CEO of multi million dollar companies. I have friends who are agnostics and friends who are devoutly religious. I have Muslim friends,…
Today marks exactly two months since the last essay I wrote. Much has changed since then. My past remains unaltered but I am building a new relationship with it. The present is once again enjoyable. The future doesn’t look so scary. In the past eight weeks, I have surfaced from “the depths of despair”. I…