Tag Archives: daily prompt

Back To School for Mom

By

I actually don’t remember ever being anxious about going back to school. After a long rather boring summer, I looked forward to it. What definitely made me anxious were the exams. Even today whenever I am worried about something I dream that I have an exam and I haven’t prepared for it.

Now as a mother I was more anxious when my little boy went to the “big” school today for the first time. Would he manage going to the toilet by himself? Would he like the lunch and eat it? Would he make friends? Would he manage to see the hours through?

My son was just excited to be wearing a uniform and wanted to go as early as possible. The result was that we had to wait till his teacher called us inside. As I stood nervously by his side holding my car keys, my son chatted with the other students waiting (who he had met for the first time and were much older than him).

When I went to pick him up he was wearing a crown and a smiley face sticker and he told me that the teacher said he was a good boy. He had also had his lunch and snack and had no trouble going to the toilet. Oh boy, relief!

Back to school
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/zoltars-revenge/

Chores no more

By

Congrats — you’ve been handed a robot whose sole job is to relieve you of one chore, job, or responsibility you particularly hate. What is it?

In fact I have a brilliant person in my life who has relieved me of a lot of chores that I hate, cleaning, washing, ironing. Her name is Rubie and she’s the 4th member of our family. I can leave my son with her and know that she’ll treat him like her own. Here are Rubie and my son “protesting” for more holidays.

20140508_173726
Thanks to her I get time to pursue my hobbies of writing, crafting and photography. I can go out on the weekends on a movie date with my husband knowing that my son is in safe hands.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/you-robot/

No Surprises

By

You return home to discover a huge flower bouquet waiting for you, no card attached. Who is it from — and why did they send it to you?

Having been married for nearly 11 years, when I get a huge bouquet, it can only be from my husband who wants to say “Happy Birthday” and apologize for being out of town on that important day. It doesn’t have a card because, well, he forgot to attach it and obviously I would know who it was from.

Here’s the bouquet I got on one of my birthdays…

20120726_214913
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/secret-admirers/

Let Time Stand Still

By

You wake up one day and realize you’re ten years older than you were the previous night. Beyond the initial shock, how does this development change your life plans?

As it is, time passes so quickly when you have children that you don’t want to forget to enjoy every moment. If 10 years passed, it would just be too much for me, not because I was 10 years older but because I would have missed so much from my son’s life. I made a decision to stay at home for him so I would not miss anything. Four years on, I am still a stay-at-home-mom. I started writing some things that he had said or done so I would not forget them and I ended up authoring 2 children’s books.

I wrote this poem on my son’s 4th birthday…

Time passes so quickly,

It leaves me a bit giddy,

I just cannot believe it,

My baby’s four already.

I feel a sense of panic,

Should he know more?

Phonics and pencil grip.

My baby’s turned four.

Should he be a bit taller?

And learn how to strive

Before I even know it,

He will soon be five.

What more can I do?

To make sure he knows

Everything he needs.

As he grows and grows.

For soon my little baby

Will be a young man

Taking on the world

With his very own plan.

And then I’ll watch him

Meet success all the way,

But for now I should just

Enjoy his every day.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/new-wrinkles/

Indecision

By

I’m a typical girl as far as shopping is concerned and whenever I have to buy something I need someone with me to confirm my choice.

Recently I bought a sofa for my new home in Bahrain and I was alone (not by choice) when I was shopping. I took ages to select one and when I got home and showed the pictures to my family nobody liked it. So I went back the next day, this time taking my cousin with me to help me. When I arrived at the store, the salesman told me that they had a promotion that day till 2pm with 20% off on all furniture. I looked at my watch, it was 1:52pm. Well thanks to my cousin being there with me, I made the exchange in that 8 minutes and got the 20% off.

My husband is terrible as a shopping partner. It’s the last thing he wants to be a part of. If I ask him how something is looking on me, his one and only reply will be, “It’s fine. If you like it, buy it.” (Yet I persist in asking him.)

“But is it good, is it worth it?” I insist.

“Are you sure you need it?” he answers.

“I don’t need it, I want it!” By this time I am thoroughly put off and leave the shop without buying anything. Mission accomplished for my husband.

At other times when I really, really know that I want something, I take my sister along and select it. Then I call up my husband, “I’m standing in the shop and I really like abc and it costs xyz. Can I buy it?”

“Do I have a choice?” asks my husband perplexed.

“Not really.” I reply cheerfully. “Thanks!”

And that’s it. Mission accomplished for me.

indecision

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/second-opinion/

Predictions

By

Back on January 21st, we asked you to predict what day #211 would be like. Well, July 30th is that day — how have your predictions held up so far? If you didn’t reply to the prompt at the time, is this year turning out to be as you’d expected?

On January 21st these are the predictions I made:

My husband would be settled in his new job: Check

If we moved to another country we would be living together: In progress

We would be spending the summer at home: Check 😦

I would be making some money: Check (but not on my books 😦 )

Thanks to Daily Post I got to revisit an old post that I had forgotten about. It was fun to see that I had a fairly good idea what we would be doing in the near future. Of course I had no idea that we would be going to Bahrain of all places, I was thinking more of Europe or Asia Pacific, but what really matters is that we will all be together and my husband will not be commuting any more.

I think it would be interesting to do this exercise more often. Predict what will happen x number of days from now. Write it down somewhere and store it. Revisit it on xth day to see how accurate your prediction was.

calendar

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/190-days-later/

The First Time I Saw You

By

This post has been specifically written for today’s Daily Prompt: Viral

25th Nov 2009 1:24 pm. My world has changed.  I’ve just given birth to a healthy baby boy. I’ve become a mother.

We have named him Nadir which means exceptional in Urdu. The doctor checks the baby and hands him over to me. I look at him for the first time and I’ve already forgotten the ordeals of labor. He’s so small and yet so perfect.

I’m overwhelmed with emotion and the tears start flowing. Tears of relief and gratitude that God has given me a perfect baby. All through my pregnancy it’s been my biggest fear that something terrible will happen. I’ve been praying to Him not to test me with a burden I cannot bear. I’m just not strong enough. And now He’s listened to me and given me a healthy beautiful baby.

Will He grant the rest of my prayers too? When I prayed that let him grow up to be a good person, let him have good health and good fortunes, let him be one who looks after the less fortunate and is a shoulder for his parents in their old age.

And what about my responsibilities? How I care for this child will largely be accountable for the kind of person he grows up to be. I’m ready, I’m ready for that responsibility.

I put my finger in his hand and he wraps his little fingers around it. Does he already know that his mummy is holding him? Does he recognize my voice? He curls up his mouth on one side and I instantly get my answer. It makes me feel that I could do anything and everything for this child. I’m completely and utterly in love.

First photo with Nadir

First photo with Nadir

Other entries:

Look, I’m rhyming!

By

I need a daily prompt to write,

A photo challenge to click my camera,

I think I just might,

Have to do something extra.

My very own prompt

To raise the bar,

I really doubt

I have to look very far.

My life as a mother,

My son is an inspiration,

So I should look no further,

And make my own creation.

(My first attempt at writing a poem!)

Daily Prompt: Procrastinate

By

I haven’t been home for the last 3 years. Not even once since we moved to Dubai.

I always have an excuse. The electricity shutdowns are too much to bear in the heat, the winter is too cold and the security situation is terrible.

I haven’t met my only brother since then. His daughters are so much bigger now. They are even too shy to be seen on Skype.

What is the real reason for not wanting to go back? Am I too used to the comforts of a big house and a maid to do all the work? Will I be uncomfortable in my small house back home?  I’ve lived all my life there, why do the 12 hours a day electricity shutdowns and suicide bombings scare me now? Shouldn’t my son visit his own home and know his own country? He can’t even speak his mother tongue. Shouldn’t I have made more of an effort to teach him? When he speaks the few words he knows he sounds like a foreigner.

Should I plan a trip home in the next holidays? But…

We came to Dubai for a better life and now that we have it I don’t want to look back. If it’s not safe in my country, I don’t want my son to be put in any kind of danger or discomfort. Let me procrastinate a little longer.

Daily Prompt: Three-Tenths (Mater rescues McQueen)

By

My 3 1/2 yr old son loves making up stories and combines all his favorite characters and settings. If he had been asked to write down 10 words, choose 3 out of them and write a post, here is what he would have come up with…

Mater rescues McQueen (The Chosen 3 words)

It was a beautiful morning and McQueen was very excited. Today he was going to race the fire engine all round the island of Sodor. But there was a loud scary sound coming from one side and McQueen forgot all about the race. Instead he went to check what the matter was. Suddenly a huge big dinosaur jumped out and scared McQueen.

“Aaaah” said McQueen and tried to run. But his wheels were stuck in sticky brown mud and he couldn’t move. “Help!” cried McQueen. “I’m in trouble! Help!”

Mater raced out of the barn to help his friend. But the dinosaur jumped in front of him.

“I’m trying to save my friend, please move out of the way” said Mater.

“I won’t if you don’t listen to me” answered the dinosaur.

“Why do you make scary sounds if you can talk?” said Mater in surprise.

“Because no one listens to me” replied the dinosaur.

“Ok, what do you want to say?” said Mater.

“Will you play with me?”

“Oh is that all? Of course! But first let me rescue my friend”.  Mater puts his hook on McQueen and pulls him out of the mud.

Now Mater, McQueen, the dinosaur and the fire engine can all race together. Ready Set Go!