Things I miss about being a kid

1- Playing "girls catch boys" in the play ground with my classmates.

2- Having Music and Art lessons at school.

3- Being taken on random trips by ANY member of the family traveling at ANY time of the year.

4- Playing 3 sports in parallel, and spending whole days in the club because I have 4 practices a day.

5- Building tents out of quilts and blankets inside my room.

6- Running around our so-called garden with my cousins.

7- Being put in a box and held OUTSIDE the window by my beloved brothers :)

8- Sleeping in the car on the way back home and being carried up to bed.

9- Having size-37 feet and weighing 45 kilos :D

10- Making friends with kids I don't know in the playing area in club and not knowing what "snobbishness" means :)

11- Singing loudly with friends on the bus on our way to and from school trips.

12- Sitting on my mum's lap. (still do it sometimes - poor mum)

13- Being called "Arouba" with a shocked smile when I say something clever.

14- Having "perfectly" curly hair that my friends are jealous of (not the case anymore)

15- GENUINELY not caring what people think - even when you're a complete tomboy and when you're kicked out of the class for innocent chit chatting or group games "under the desks".

16- Having face painting in birthdays and other occasions.

17- Wearing Bikinis and shorts and not getting any type of looks!

18- Not worrying about BIG words like "Career", "Future", "Balancing your Life" and "Leadership"....etc

19- Not knowing or understanding politics and economics and their effect on us.

20- Not understanding (or caring to understand) the complicated girl/guy relationships, whether as friends or otherwise.

21- Thinking that the "P.E." (in P.E. lessons) stands for "Princess Emy", only because Daddy said so!

22- Being called "Besella" by my brother and thinking it was an insult and thus replying "aho enta el besell"

23- Thinking that "ya kalb" is the worst "sheteema" in the world and not saying it in front of my parents.

24- Going home to a hot, freshly cooked meal and not worrying about who's gonna wash the dishes.

25- Running back from the beach and fighting with my cousins over who's gonna use the shower first. (and of course no being allowed in the chalet because of our sandy feet)

Auntie Noel

Someday in 1999, I am 10 years old..

As soon as I rang the doorbell, I knew she was in there. Her perfume filled my nostrils and put an excited smile on my face – I love it when I come home to find her. I ran through the corridor and into the living room where I knew she would be. As always, her classy sophisticated fragrance was coated with the rich smell of fresh bakery. I hugged her tight and asked her what she had gotten me this time – typical of a child my age! She smiled gently and patted my hair; and as magically as Santa Claus, she started opening up the bags. And oh, how the unforgettable sweet aroma of cupcakes and cookies filled the whole room... :)

The warmth that flooded my nose and my mouth; and the happiness that filled my heart at that moment have all stayed with me since then. It also helps that my favorite auntie still comes to our house with delicious bakery to this very day :):)

Mother

Mother is the first light at dawn, that I don't necessarily see but definitely feel around me.

Mother is the first voice I hear in the morning, and without which I have no strength to even wake up.

Mother is the sound around the house that makes me feel safe and secure at all times.

Mother is the only reason why I would "want" to do my chores, and the only reason I'd feel guily if I don't.

Mother is the only one I believe when she tells me that everything will be fine.

Mother is the hope that things are better than they seem and that tomorrow will be better than today.

Mother is the one who genuinely and patiently tolerates my craziness, weakness and hysterical moods.

Mother is the mirror through which I see myself prettier, smarter and better than I would perceive.

Mother is the one person who bets the highest on me, believes the most in me and pushes me to be my best and do my best.

Mother is the only one I expect to see when I hit rock bottom.

Mother is the reason I'm here, and the reason I want to prove myself; to myself, to her, and to the world.

Count to Seven

Why do we do wrong? What makes anyone do anything wrong? Is it need? boredom? stubbornness? misjudgment? ..... 
Or is it just the fact that it feels good? Because let's be honest, it does feel good. It feels good to smoke, when you're bored or tempted, even though you know it's not good for your health, and sometimes your reputation. It feels good to steal when you're in desperate need for money, or too lazy to work for it. It feels good to drink when you're in partying mood, and it certainly feels good to engage in some kind of physical activity with your partner, especially when you're in love. It might not feel so good to lie, but it gets us out of trouble, so at least we feel relieved, right?


But do we ever stop for a second to think of who we're hurting by doing this wrong? It doesn't have to be a direct or physical hurt, but merely a negative impact on some level; an impact that we wouldn't take notice of, that could be too subtle or even silly, but could leave a mark and live for years. 


How about we stop and count now, starting from the very inner circle - one's own precious self.


1. Ourselves.
2. People we're doing wrong with, for one of us must have dragged the other into it.
3. People we're doing wrong to.
4. Our parents, their trust in us.
5. Our close community. Now admit it, some of the wrong things we're doing, we're actually preaching against in public, aren't we?.
6. Our religion, we display a wrong image that is unfair to our religion.
7. Our GOD.


Now, you might think it's shameful that I put God at the end of this list. But to be honest, I personally believe that by hurting each of the six people above, we are partly hurting Him too; and that's a bigger shame. 


Some people might put God at the beginning of this list, and that's all they need to stop themselves from doing anything wrong to begin with. But I speak from a time when it's not that flowery anymore, or maybe it never has been. We are human beings, we are selfish - yes, we all are selfish; and we're self conscious and we're aware of how people perceive us and how close ones feel about us. It is never going to change, this is the world we live in, this is who we are. Never will the time come when our wrong doings don't affect anyone. They will always affect someone, and you can't predict or control how this effect is going to be. 


So I beg you...


Count to SEVEN before you do anything wrong. Think of yourself, your partner in "crime", your "victim", your parents, your close community, your religion and your God... Maybe then you'll feel it's not worth all the pain.

Not so faithful

London 1893

Carla loves Frank like she has never loved anyone before.  She knows he loves her too; she can see it in his eyes. He looks at her in such a way that makes her feel like the woman she once was, and the woman she still feels she is on the inside. No one ever makes her feel that way……not even her own husband.

She sits by the fire place, with her anxiety growing and her breath heavy and slow. Her eyes are fixed on the pendulum clock - right and left it goes, following her heart beats. She wishes she could stop the clock so time won’t pass and she wouldn’t have to see him. But she quickly takes her wish back and urges the clock to go faster, for she had missed him so much.

She didn’t care if anyone noticed her nervousness; for she had practiced a thousand times the lies she would tell if she was asked about her mood. She heard the slowing trots of horses and got up to leave the house, asking the maid to inform her husband that she will be waiting in the carriage outside.

She had insisted that they arrive early at Mrs. Rosely’s party, so that he would not be there before her and hence she would not have to start the greetings. She acted pleasant, dancing and talking to the other guests, while her eyes were fixed on the entrance. When he finally came in – alone, her heart tightened and she could barely breathe. The whole party started to blur and he was the only radiant part of it. His eyes seemed to be looking for her amidst the dancing couples, and when he finally saw her, his attempt to hide his smile failed miserably.

Carla was very self conscious. She felt that the whole room could touch the magnet between them. He walked towards her with his eyes fixed on hers, oblivious of the men throwing their hellos at him and women trying to get his attention. By the time he reached her, Carla felt like a million years had passed. She expected his regular courteous and composed “Hello”; but instead, he surprised her with three tender and slowly whispered words; “I love you”.