The second month of the year already! So I am on the week 5 of Project 365 where I share one photograph daily for 365 days. I am so proud of myself that I posted until now on this challenge since consistency is not really one of my strong points!
So here are our stories from the last week.
Saturday, January 30, 2021
My mother loves plants, pots and plates. As a child, I used to tease her that she has to buy a plate every time we went for grocery shopping.
Now my 5-year-old asks, ‘Momma, are you happy because you have got new plants?’ (When we shifted to our new house last year, her question was ‘Momma, are you happy that you got a big kitchen?’😆)
I am becoming my mother. All the statements I said to her then are coming back to me now!😬
Le Husband: Koduthal Kollathum Kittum! (A Malayalam proverb which roughly translates to, ‘what you give, you get it back even in Kollam’ or the concept of Karma)
Sunday, January 31, 2021
2 year old tried to make a DIY Laptop and Zoom class with her small notebook and a hairband as a stand. She wanted a Zoom class for herself when the elder one was attending her virtual school.
Like the viral video, where the 2020 baby thinks everything is a sanitiser, I think all babies now consider Laptop+ Zoom as everyday essential things rather than unique situations they are 😀
Monday, February 1, 2021
Yay! Second Month of the year! Is this year also going to be ‘stay at home’?
My father had bought us many books, encyclopedias and subscribed for Young Times to improve our English when we shifted to Qatar in 1993. I think that one action ended up being so beneficial for all four of us since it not only helped in improving our language but more importantly inculcated a lifelong love for reading in all of us. Alhamdulilah!
I have poured over these children’s encyclopedias many times as a child. It was colourful and has bite-sized information and holds children’s attention!
When my parents packed up our house in Mesaieed in 2016, I kept many of those books though we had limited space in our house. I am so glad I did! Alhamdulilah
Never in a million years did I think that my kids would be using the same books that I loved as a child! Alhamdulilah
In the pic: She is just flipping through the books looking at the colourful pictures. I was trying to keep her busy when her sister had virtual class so that she is not disturbed!
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Escape from Aleppo
I just finished reading this book today. It is a heartbreaking account of a young girl who is trying to escape from Syria to Turkey, due to the war. During the course of the escape, she gets separated from her family and had to find new travel companions.
Amongst all the stories of the Arab Spring, the Syrian story is by far the most heartbreaking. This book will help us in understanding the different factions involved, besides a picture about the ruling family. It also gives a bleak picture of the art, architecture and history that was destroyed due to the war. Syria has some of the oldest cities of the world. It has survived countless invasions and natural disasters yet it couldn’t survive this internal strife and some of these beautiful cities lie in ruin today. The book gives the sad reality of what happens when a ruler’s love for power is far more than the love for his own countrymen.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
I came across this picture of my younger brother while searching for a document. I call him my ‘twin brother with a gap of 6 years’. 😁 Nostalgic about our carefree idyllic childhood days!
Went for my daughter’s school admission today. She starts Grade 1 in April, inshaAllah. I am excited, yet…
A sense of nostalgia and a little bit of sadness.
I still remember the first day my dad took me to 1-G class in MES.❣️
Nostalgia mixed in sadness.
Of times gone. Of relationships changed. Of homes moved.
Growing older. All of us.
Words fail me today.
Tomorrow will be a better day, inshAllah.
Thursday, February 4, 2021
Still feeling quite off today. The only happy thing I did today was craftwork with the kids. 5-year-old had to make day and night craftwork for her virtual school today. 2-year-old also joins her for any craft sessions(Basically she makes me do the work so that has a similar one as her sister)
The news from my homeland makes me anxious and sad too.
Besides the fact that we are on the brink of a second wave here in Qatar. Just a few weeks back, I said about how Qatar was managing it quite well. Now we have nearly 300 cases per day when we had only 100-150 cases per day last month. How relentless this coronavirus is!
The tormenting feeling of not having really achieved my professional goals.
Everything is weighing me down.
During my quarter-life crisis years, my mom had told me the story of Imam Ahmed and the bread seller. Of how the persons Isthighfar helped him in having his duas answered. (*Isthighfar – asking God for forgiveness *duas – prayers))
I remind myself of that story.
Astaghfirullah. Alhamdulilah.
Forgiveness. Praise.
Friday, February 5, 2021
It’s the weekend. Since they are bringing in back the restrictions, avoided the malls and indoor spaces today. Went to the beach nearby and explored a new souq (kind of like market place) opening up near our house. So until June 2020, we stayed at home. From July onwards we frequented beaches and outdoor places only. Went to the mall with the kids in November only. I think this year is going to be the same sadly. Deja vu?!
That’s all from us this week. Hope you had an absolutely wonderful week. InshaAllah. (To follow our Project 365 stories on Instagram)
I love pots and plants too. My eldest always told me to stay away from garden centres before lockdown happened as I would always end up with another plant for the garden!
I have just ordered that book….think it would be good for the girls to read.
ting when cases rise again after being so low. Hopefully they don’t rise there much more. Sweet your youngest making her little laptop and zoom session. My son also used to make a ‘laptop’ from paper and notepads when he was small.
I feel like such a grown up now that I can keep plants alive. hehehe
Aww! Your youngest making a laptop is just adorable. It is the norm now.
Those encyclopedias are fab! I had a very similar one when I was a child.
I think we are just coming out of the 2nd or it might the the 3rd wave of Coronavirus here. It is awful but with vaccines been given out things are feeling hopeful now. Take care and stay safe x
It’s weird isn’t it that none of us had even heard of zoom this time last year. Love old books coming back out to help our children, although getting my son to read anything is an ongoing battle. Quite fancy reading that book too #365
Lol, I can relate to you becoming your mother. I have moments of thinking the same with mine! That photo of your 2-year-old with her Zoom set-up made me smile – it’s sad though that these things are now their normal and what they have become used to. Lovely to look back on old photos, but bittersweet too. Sorry to hear that cases are on the rise again in Qatar. #project365
I can’t imagine how the reality of lockdown manifests itself in our children’s understanding. The new normal or screens and zoom is a bit worrying or is it just the ‘new normal’ as they say in the UK…? #project365
I love your two year old wanting her own zoom class. I told my daughter she was part of history yesterday as we were getting all a bit worn down. It is very strange times and I can feel my low and down days. I think 2021 will be harder in some ways but hopefully it will end much brighter #365
Ha ha we have had a delivery of mini succlents and my kids asked the same. Love the children’s encylopedias and how lovely that they are being used by your children now. I do wonder just how many toddlers will think zoom is part of everyday life – or if it may end up being so..
I can totally relate to plants and plates! I love pretty china. How sweet of your little one to make her own laptop for the Zoom class! and pretty clever too. That’s wonderful that you have kept the books and encyclopedias from your childhood, which you can share now with your daughters. Love of reading is so important.
I have to stop myself from buying plants all the time, otherwise the house would be swamped. Sorry to hear that you are being locked down again. I am so fed up with it here, but hoping now the immunisations are going well, we will be out soon
How cute is your two year old making her own laptop for a zoom lesson. That’s lovely that your children are enjoying the books you once loved. Books are so important. We have lots at home but not many from my own childhood. Sorry to hear you have been feeling a bit down this week. Hopefully better times will come.
Love the 2 year olds zoom skills and office set up, so cute. How lovely to still ahve the books from your childhood. I have many Syrian friends who have told me about the war first hand and thier experiences, it’s terrible. Dubai has also tightened up with the malls etc now