Weekly Photo Challenge: Threes

February 21, 2014

By znjavid

The playground near my house is next to the lake and is a beautiful and safe place for the children to play. In the first shot you can see it (the tent on the left) with respect to the surroundings, the second shot shows a child at play and the third shot is of a pair of shoes abandoned while the child is busy in the playground.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threes

Fashion wins the race

February 20, 2014

By znjavid

I’m tired of catching up with fashion. It always seems to be one step ahead of me.

I remember a time when the shirt or kameez as we call it was very short and the trouser or shalwar was very baggy. Then over the years the kameez became so long it was brushing the ankles and the shalwar was replaced by tights. After that I moved to Dubai and lost track. Someone told me that the shirts are short again but I really don’t care. I’ll wear what I have and I am not making any trips to the tailor.

In Pakistan the ladies go to a tailor to have their clothes custom stitched. This is not just for the party clothes but the ordinary every day wear ones as well. This is the biggest hassle of all because tailors can literally bring you to tears.

A typical conversation between a woman who is visiting her tailor for the third time in 3 days. Every time he makes an excuse about not having done the work on time. Finally on the third attempt the clothes are ready.

“Are my clothes ready?”

“Yes Baji (a term used to show respect to a woman). Here they are.” The tailors hands the woman a big package.

“What have you done with this one? I asked for long sleeves, why are they so short?”

“Baji the cloth was less, that’s why. Don’t worry they will look nice.”

“And this one is ruined; you’ve made the shalwar out of the cloth of the kameez!!!”

“Really Baji, I didn’t notice, but it looks nice, no?”

“Just give me the bill”. The woman is totally fed up by now. The tailor hands over a piece of paper grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“What? Have you increased the rate?”

“Baji we have so many power outages. We have to keep a generator. What can we do?”

The woman hands over the money and leaves. The next day she’s back because most of the clothes don’t fit her correctly. She will probably have to make a few more trips before she’s satisfied.

Who can blame me for not wanting to go to tailors?

Images credit: Google.com

Daily Prompt: New Sensation

Friday Fictioneers: Saved by the Bell

February 19, 2014

By znjavid

Amna had always been a formidable young woman, never afraid to speak her mind and tell people off. Her husband was an agreeable fellow who soon learnt that it was much better to remain on her right side.

Amna was on a strict diet to lose the weight she had gained after their first child. One day as she stood surveying herself in the mirror, she asked her husband “Do I look thinner?”

Her husband was just contemplating how to answer when his phone rang. He thanked the heavens, motioned to his wife and left the room, hoping that the conversation would be forgotten when he returned.

This post has been written for the Friday Fictioneers. For details see the link below:

http://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/21-february-2014/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Orange

February 18, 2014

By znjavid

The color orange found in nature:

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/02/18/cees-fun-foto-challenge-the-color-orange/

THE COLOR ORANGE | SERENDIPITY

https://susipet.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/cees-fun-photo-challenge-the-colour-orange/

http://processingthelife.com/2014/02/18/orange-flowers/

Cricket matches and roosters

February 18, 2014

By znjavid

Back in my homeland we have a small house in a locality where the houses are falling over each other. The houses are so close together that we can hear loud arguments or children crying in the house next door. Standing on the terrace we can look into all the surrounding houses. Any information that you do not manage to obtain in this way about your neighbors can be gotten by the cleaning ladies who frequent all the houses of the neighborhood.

Our next door neighbors have a lot of people living in the house with children of all sizes. We know this because every time a child is born they distribute mithai (traditional sweets) in the neighborhood.

One of the children is called Abdullah (we hear his mother calling him) and he is too naughty to go to school. They have tried putting him in school but after a few days the school sends him back. So Abdullah spends his time on the street waiting for the other children to return from school. Once the other children are back, it’s time for the cricket matches to start. Since the houses do not have backyards the matches are played on the street. The batsman hits the ball and it lands neatly on our terrace. Now the children are very considerate and do not bother to ring the bell and ask for the ball. The little monkeys simply go into their own house, climb the wall over onto our terrace and retrieve the ball. Another consequence of the cricket matches is that almost every week our gate lights are broken and have to be changed.

On top of all the children, the neighbors also kept a chicken and a rooster in their house. The rooster liked to climb into our house and peck on our plants. Fortunately one of the local cats solved this problem and the rooster is no more.

When we moved to Dubai we came into a locality with 3 to 5 bedroom villas with 2 car porches, a maid’s room and a big backyard. I wanted to make friends with the neighbors so I sent them some chocolates with my husband’s visiting card hoping that they would come over to say thank you. That never happened. I continued to make efforts but to no avail. Finally I gave up. Years later I have realized that only people of same nationalities socialize here. It’s really a shame.

And thinking about it, I kind of miss the cricket matches back home.

Daily Prompt: West End Girls

Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence

February 17, 2014

By znjavid

Saira had twin boys. Well they were not exactly twins but there were just 11months between them and for all practicalities they were like twins. As you can imagine, her house was always filled with excited voices, magnified screams, simultaneous laughter and heartbreaking crying.

One day as Saira went about her household chores leaving the two boys playing in the lounge she heard something unusual.

Silence.

On further investigation she discovered them in the bathroom with her younger son standing in a bucket of water with his clothes on and her older son pouring water on his head with a mug. Apparently they felt the heat of the summer and decided to have a bath with the younger one going first.

For a mother, silence sets off alarm bells. If there is silence and my 4 year old is not asleep then he is definitely up to no good. And if when I approach him he tells me that he is not doing anything I can be sure that he has already done it.

My son is extremely talkative and he is talking non-stop until he falls asleep. Literally. He talks while watching TV since there are a lot of questions to be asked, he talks while he’s having a bath and of course his stories are endless while he’s playing.

When I was pregnant with him he heard a lot of silence. I used to go to work where I would sit alone in my own office, come home and read a bit, not watch any TV and fall asleep. My husband was working in another city so there was nobody to talk to either. After all that silence, I think my son is making up for it.

But now I am so used to the house echoing my son’s personality, that when he is not around the silence can be deafening.

Chitter chatter, chatter chatter

Through the whole day,

It’s really so much better,

To hear my son play.

Tick tock, tick tock,

Go the clocks in my home

No sounds of sweet talk

When my son’s out to roam.

Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence

Only With You

February 17, 2014

By znjavid

Out of the ten years I’ve been married I’ve spent 3 ½ years with my husband commuting on weekends from another city or as in now from another country for work. We decided to have this situation because we didn’t want to sacrifice our lifestyle nor the opportunity that presented itself in my husband’s career.

However there comes a time when enough is enough. I no longer want to be on my own. I need my husband’s company and my son needs his father.

I have given my husband an ultimatum that his next posting which is due soon should be in a reasonable place where we can all live together.

During the week after my son goes to sleep at 8 o’clock I have nobody to talk to and it can get quite lonely. Then I have to handle everything on my own during the week. It’s not difficult physically but it is tough emotionally.

My son has got used to not having his dad around most of the time which is not a good thing. Sometimes it is so tough to deal with him on my own because if he’s not listening to me, his dad is not there either to take the matter in his hands. Most of the time because mothers show so much affection for their child that they are taken for granted and it is the father who does the disciplining. In my case I have to attempt to do both which often doesn’t work. And then of course he’s missing out on the father-son bonding.

I am happy to report that my husband has accepted my ultimatum and is working hard to rectify the situation. Let’s hope we are one normal family soon.

Daily Prompt: With or Without You

Legacy

February 16, 2014

By znjavid

I would like to know that when I’m gone I would have left behind a legacy of goodwill and kindness in the form of my son. I hope he is God fearing and knows the value of the blessings he receives. And that he is willing to give to others from his time and money. He respects human life and dignity and in fact all life on earth. I hope he has the strength to stand up for what is right.

I like to think that by raising my son I would have left a lasting effect on this world because when he grows up he will connect with many other people and affect their lives also. When he raises his own children he will follow the principles of what is right and wrong that he learnt himself and in addition what he learnt from his own experience.

This process is ongoing. I don’t have to wait for the end of my life to start. In fact I believe that I have no control over how long my life will be. It may even end the next moment. So I am prepared that at any given time if my life is ended, my legacy will continue.

*Photo by Zainab

Daily Prompt: Don’t You forget about me

Photo of the Week

February 16, 2014

By znjavid

A strange sight: Sea gulls on land after a rain shower.

We’ve been having some odd weather here in Dubai. The first time since I’ve been here (nearly 4 years), I witnessed a storm with thunder and lightning. Usually we just have some light rain and that also rarely. And then after the rain the appearance of a number of seagulls was even more strange.

Jobs & Benefits

February 15, 2014

By znjavid

Before I had my son I was working in Project Management in a Telecom company and looking after the sales reporting for a region. I was based in Pakistan and my boss was located in France. I used to connect with my boss and the other project managers of the region via conference calls. I was doing really well and getting huge bonuses and increments. I also would often fly to Egypt for meetings with all expenses covered by the company and any training I needed would be done in France.

I was a real hot shot.

And then along comes little Mr. Nadir and all my priorities changed. My company wrote a work from home policy (since they didn’t have one at the time) to facilitate my staying with them. I tried a month of it but I couldn’t concentrate on my work. How can you if your son is crying for you. I decided that if I couldn’t do well at my job there was no point in doing it at all. For me the motivation in doing something is if I can do it to the best of my ability. Financially we could do with my husband’s salary.

I quit my job.

I quickly came to the conclusion that raising a child was more difficult than any job I had done. There were no fixed timings, no coffee breaks, no sick leave and no salary benefits. And more than the work itself it is the consequences of what you do that are so daunting. The way you raise a child will largely affect the type of person he/she grows up to be. He/she will affect so many other people in his/her life and so on and so forth. The work you do in an office seems so trivial in comparison.

Now it’s been 4 years since I quit and I don’t miss my job as such but I do miss earning my own money. If I was to have an ideal job it would be one which just required me to work half day (in the morning) when my son would be at school. Obviously I would never have that seniority again as when I left but I wouldn’t mind any kind of work as long as I was there to pick up my son from school and for the rest of the day.

After all getting a hug from him and hearing his stories is more gratifying than any amount of money.

Daily Prompt: Money for Nothing

A mom's blog

“A child is God's opinion that the world should go on.”

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threes

Fashion wins the race

Friday Fictioneers: Saved by the Bell

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Orange

Cricket matches and roosters

Weekly Writing Challenge: The Sound of Silence

Only With You

Legacy

Photo of the Week

Jobs & Benefits

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