Looking Forward

IB (grandson) is a funny fellow. He was asking me about M1 (daughter ‘s eldest one), and when was she returning back from Pakistan? She has gone there along with her parents, and siblings to attend her cousin’s wedding. I told him the due date which is four days later.

I asked him, “Are you missing her?”

M1 is great with kids. They open up to her. Apparently it looks like I don’t have this skill. When she was here for a few days, IB wouldn’t leave her side for a minute even. If she was sitting on a sofa, he would be cuddled up next to her. When she would lie down on bed, IB would go to his bed only when lights were turned off. I think if he would have permission to sleep in her bed, he would have gladly done so.

His reply to my question was, “It’s good to have someone to talk to.”

So whose fault it is?

Certainly not mine! Looks like I have crossed over into invisibility.

Eid

We had Eid yesterday. I had my tenant problems to deal with back home in Pakistan. He hadn’t paid the rent for three months. I was like kind of mad at him for not paying his dues. The last day of month long fasting had taken its toll, and as evening approached I was fatigued beyond measure.

IB (grandson) devours potato crisps night, and day, but anything homemade with potatoes in it, shies him off. For him, I made a mixture of chicken cut into bite size to fill into the samosas dough I had prepared earlier. When I put two chicken filled samosas in front of him, he refused to eat them. I threatened him with giving him aubergine to eat. I had made a dish for Son, and myself. IB had to decide — which he preferred. He ate the samosas.

I have found giving him alternatives to eat, lessons my period of agony over his not eating anything. He makes his own choice which in turn gets me less grief. I don’t have to prod him into finishing the meal on his plate.

Uncooked samosas waiting to be fried.

Me — A Komodo Dragon!

  

I took the Google Earth Day Quiz, and look what I found. I am a Komodo Dragon. My reading was: I have an appetite for life – as well as the ability to swallow an entire goat.

In reality I would hate to be this animal. I watched a video of it attacking a Water Buffalo, and injecting venom into it. 

Go on take a quiz, and find out which type of an animal you are.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/slash-and-burn/

Slash and Burn

Write 500 words on any topic you like. Now remove 250 of them without changing the essence of your post.

Those Who Inspire Us



A good teacher can be anyone. We learn from teachers in classes, from our parents, from elders, from friends —– even from young ones. The people who inspire us.

When we use the knowledge we acquire to enhance our minds, and our lives, our life is all the better.

When we let it go waste — we are the losers.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/we-can-be-taught-2/

We Can Be Taught!

What makes a teacher great?

Favorite

Do or Die
You have three hundred words to justify the existence of your favorite person, place, or thing. Failure to convince will result in it vanishing without a trace. Go!

In the photograph I have shown my bracelet, and a necklace. I bought them when I went for Haj. Haj is a pilgrimage to Mecca, enjoined upon Muslims for once in a lifetime. People who can afford it, do several Hajs.

During our ten days stay in Madina, I bought the jewelry. I would get up at three in the morning. Say Tahajjud prayers in Masjid Nabvi (Mosque of the Prophet). I would remain there till the Muezzin called for FAJR (morning) prayers. Say my prayers, and then meet my husband for a cup of tea, and breakfast.

The hotel was within walking distance from the mosque. My (late) husband R, and I were in separate rooms for men, and women. We were seven ladies to one room, and shared a bathroom.

R, and I had arranged with each other a meeting place, and fixed timings. Both of us would meet for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, otherwise we were on our own, and weren’t dependent upon each other. Any shopping we did together were after Dhuhr (noon) prayers.

I love my these pieces of jewelry. I am glad I bought them when I did, because now they are antique, and not available in the market.

Masjid Nabvi. Photo by FJ (my son-in-law).

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/do-or-die/

Make It Anywhere

“If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere,” goes the famous song about New York City. Is there a place — a city, a school, a company — about which you think (or thought) the same? Tell us why, and if you ever tried to prove that claim.

They wanted a together trip. No one else with them — not even a driver. They made their plans, and left accordingly.

They thoroughly enjoyed their stay at Murree. Then they went onwards to Nathiagali. The misty pine trees, the scenic route brought joy to their hearts. They took photographs, sometimes asking a passerby to take their picture together.

A week had gone by. They felt fresh, and revived, as they headed back to Peshawar. Two huge buses passed by, tooting their horns at great speed. The shrill sound was so annoying in H’s ears. It sort of ripped his heart.

He slowed, and turned into a gas station. J asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

“I feel a bit nauseous.”

J looked at her husband’s pale face, and phoned her eldest son to come for them. It took the son an hour to reach them. He rushed them to the nearest hospital which was in Wah.

The doctors restarted H’s heart. They kept him alive on a respirator. J, and her sons’ thought everything will turn out right, once H wakes up.

In the end H came in his eldest son’s dreams, and told him, “Why are you putting me through so much discomfort? Let me go.”

The last trip turned out to be J, and H’s last moments together.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/make-it-anywhere/
http://wp.me/p23sd-oPw

Big Day Ahead

It’s the night before an important event: a big exam, a major presentation, your wedding. How do you calm your nerves in preparation for the big day?

It depends upon the amount of preparation I have done. When I am well prepared I am calm, otherwise my nerves are on edge. I keep telling myself not to panic, hoping everything will turn out right.

Like on my wedding, I had done the crying a day earlier, and with wedding jitters in place, I had refused to go ahead with the wedding. My stern faced brother told me the time for backing out was way behind me, and I had no longer that option.

Unlike brides here, brides in my home country do cry when they are leaving their parents’ home. The guests around me must have searched for tears on my face, which were non existent.

Like today is Eid Al Adha, a day of sacrificing. In my home country, Eid was a very trying day. Maybe, when I was a child I may have enjoyed Eid, but as an adult it was a day of endless work. The mountains of food to be prepared for guests was sheer drudgery. The servant was better off than me, because he would go on leave on Eid, and I would be left doing all the work.

Here Eid is different. People meet in mosque. If a friend has arranged a party on Eid, you go with your one dish to that friend’s home; otherwise you are not inundated with guests at odd hours, and that too for three days. By the end of the hectic days I went through (before), I usually turned into a zombie. I used to be so fatigued.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/big-day-ahead/
http://wp.me/p23sd-nBL

Into the Sandstorm

Daily prompt: Sudden Downpour
It was sunny when you left home, so you didn’t take an umbrella. An hour later, you’re caught in a torrential downpour. You run into the first store you can find — it happens to be a dark, slightly shabby antique store, full of artifacts, books and dust. The shop ancient proprietor walks out of the back room to greet you. Tell us what happens next!

I look with dismay at the short, ugly man who has suddenly materialized in front of me. I feel at a loss for words. He mistakes me for someone he must have been expecting.

Now who in right mind would enter his shop, unless that person did have any business with him?

He beckoned me towards the books section. “Come”, he said when he noticed I wasn’t following him. I took hesitant steps in his direction. He searched for a few seconds, then took out a dusty volume from a shelf. There were layers of dust on it. I coughed, and choked on the dust, as he shook the book to dissipate the dust. It enveloped, and clung to me.

He held the book out, and thrust it into my unwilling hands. I was opening it when his shout startled me, “Noooooooo….. You take it home.”

It was like telling me to leave. I picked my way through the artifacts, and was out in the rain again. I pushed the book inside my coat to save it from the rain. A taxi cruised to a stop beside me. I gratefully opened the door, and gave directions to the driver for home.

Once I reached home, I went into the kitchen. I draped my coat on a chair, and sat down to open the book. Some strange power made me do it, as if it was in a great hurry.

The first page was empty. I turned the page. There was a picture of a hot sun shinning on a barren desert. Right in front of my eyes a sandstorm started. I was whooshed into the picture. The grains of sand hit me, and I was blinded. I couldn’t see anything.

As if from faraway I could hear my bewildered father saying, “Now where is she? I saw her going to the kitchen.”

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/sudden-downpour/
Into the Sandstorm

Let’s Change Ourselves

Daily Prompt: If I Ruled the World
You’ve been given the super power to change one law of nature. How do you use it?

I wouldn’t want to rule the world.

It’s enough for me to manage myself and my home. That’s it.

We have failed miserably as humans. What have we brought to this world:
Turmoil, grief, hungry masses, dying humanity.

Let’s become better humans first, the world will right itself.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/if-i-ruled-the-world/
Let’s Change Ourselves

Getting Over Obsession

Daily Prompt: What Do You Obsess Over?
Have you ever become obsessed with something? Tell about something that captivates your attention like nothing else.

I have worked out my obsessions. I used to be obsessed with buying shoes, jewelry, bags, collecting crockery, books, gardening, crafts, knitting, playing games and cleanliness.

The cleanliness bit was a nightmare. When I stopped having anyone to clean the house for me, my life became a misery. We do get a lot of dust storms, where I used to live.

I would make everything spick and span, by next day again, dust would take over. I would kill myself with cleaning. I used to be exhausted. I made myself a schedule. Once a week, I would clean thoroughly. For the rest of the week, I would give a quick flip over to places more used, like the kitchen and living room. That way I made my life bearable.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/can’t-get-it-out-of-my-head/
Getting Over Obsession