LOVE.... Is Everywhere!

Once we hear the word "love," we mostly probably get mushy, gushy feelings. We envision flowers and hear humming. We're tempted to say "awwww!" We see a couple hand in hand at the beach...

And despite the fact that this scenery is mind blowing-ly nice and a dream come true to most of us, I got to say that it is degrading to "love."

Love is a lot more than a guy a girl... love is not just romance, love songs and roses. We've become manipulated by the books we read and the movies we see that feed into our brains that if you don't have a significant other you are not loved.

I often fall into this trap.

However, gladly, I've recently learned that there is a lot more to love... I've opened my eyes and heart to feel love... love that we are granted by so many people yet we chose to look at the half empty glass of water because no boy is down on one knee claiming his love to you.

Feeling the love and appreciation of people around you is a blessing. A blessing you don't realize, one that you take for granted until it really shines under your eyes... Love that is strong enough to replace the void you thought you had in your heart. Love is best when you realize you are loved... when you realize that the people you live with and see everyday care... that they value and appreciate you. That although they don't bring you roses everyday, deep within you mean something to them. It is best when it comes when you least expect it, from those we think they can't show affection.

Love is the little gestures that people around you make to show affection. Going to church just to pray for you! Calling you to wish you luck on a important day for you! Buying you breakfast! Making time for you! Smiling at you! Popping their head everyday in the morning to say good morning! Calling you just to say hello! Giving you a random hug! Teaching you something! Investing in you! Making sure you know that you will be missed! Writing you a note! Tagging you in a childhood picture! Letting you know you're important!

Love isn't just about the prince or princess you're waiting for. It's not about a romantic movie, a love letter or a late night romantic SMS.  Love is a lot more bigger than that... a lot more stronger... a lot more respectable. Love is in eye of each one who cares about you. Everyone who appreciates you. Everyone who is willing to make time for you. Everyone praying for you. Everyone wishing you well. It your parents, your siblings, your kids, your neighbours, your friends, your colleagues, your clients, the seller at your everyday supermarket and coffee place you go to...

Love is everywhere...
We are all loved some way.... we just need to open our eyes and heart to see it!

Love you all :)

My Pre- Jan. 25th Fears...

WARNING: content of this post is naive, superficial and would piss off most political activists.... I acknowledge this and apologize for it, so please don't attack! 

So a year from Jan. 25 and the entire revolutionary road we've been travelling on in Egypt... I look back and think if this revolution has bough us any good! And unfortunately my answer is NO! As much as I would like to think of the so many positive things this revolution has brought upon us; such as freedom, hope and a boost optimism; I would still have to pass!

On the other hand... all I see is dead people, people living with lifetime cruel disabilities, no safety, messed up tourism, a dull tomorrow and my screwed UP social lief! And this post is dedicated to the last point with all the ignorance and simplicity that this sentence carries.

So ever since the so called Jan 25th Revolution my social life has been going a downward slope. My parents have been on a panic frenzy... where any unnecessary road trip (in their wise opinion) has become a taboo. If it's not work or a must go "homework" outing... then most probably they prefer that I stay at home.

Suddenly 8 pm has become late hour... any dark hour is after curfew. Any "outing" that is not in my home zone is simply far. I've forgotten how Mohandesin, Zamalek and Tahrir look like. Suddenly these places have been restricted to "business meetings" only... and trust me if they can ask me to pass on these too, they would have done it!

Going out after work is a "no, no" because it's dark already... going out on weekends is usually done in day light.

Knowing that my friends are out late and want me to join has become a burden. Let alone internal traveling and a wedding or engagement.

My list of 101 excuses of how to skip an outing because it's an unsafe and my parents would freak out has become obvious!

My age and curfew are suddenly having an inverse relationship! And trust me that's not fun! Let alone saying that I have a curfew in first place (but that is something we can discuss later)!

My life is summarized into: work, business meetings, the mall, a birthday, a wedding, the doctor, university, or a funeral because these are the must haves of life... plus a few random outings here and there (and by there I mean a far awayyyyy there) to be honest. Anything else would need debate, discussion and comprise from me, my friends and the universe probably!

Everything has become unsafe! And they do hold some sanity in their argument, I give them that! However I'd have say 85% of it is simply freaking out! But to them, better safe than sorry! And to me, I've chosen to at least buy my own peace of mind and roll with their game! 

My social life has been screwed up... thanks to this revolution. It's honestly annoying me to the bones. If there was a positive trade off in return... I would have seen it and said "okie, my social life got screwed up for a cause and a good reason!" But seriously... I don't see any and I'm just annoyed! Sorry to say! 

So we're almost a year away since Jan. 25th, 2011... and we're all crossing our fingers with what to expect regarding what will happen on the so called Revolution Anniversary. I hope things settle down cause this isn't the life is signed up for... I support the political cause but this really isn't the plan I had for my life... I hope the coming Jan. 25th doesn't screw my life up even more!

So my hopes for the new revolutions are: to get back the security I previously took for granted and gain back my social life!


~ I've warned you! 

GIRL in Egypt...

So, let me start by saying this post is not a generalization. BUT at least it is a representation of ME and a few friends I know...

I've realized that as a girl in Egypt, our culture really deprives me from living the life of my dreams. Perhaps this is not the perfect timing to discuss this issue, however, the current situation in Egypt has really driven me to get out these thoughts on paper. Hence, to explain to you what I mean, I'm using the revolution in Egypt as an example.

I really wanted to experience going to Tahrir Square during the January 25 Revolution and my parents decided it is not safe for me as a girl to go. A whole revolution took place in Egypt and it is as if I was in a completely different country. I will not lie or kid myself, most of my desire to go was pushed by curiosity the first time. I wanted to know what Tahrir was all about. I wasn't really upset when I missed going because we were busy discovering what was going on. We had no clue where we were heading. We had a lot to keep us busy and may be I wasn't too sure being in Tahrir was really effective or that it would bring about change!

However, today, I really have a strong urge to go, for a cause, because I really want to say that nothing has really changed, that we're still where we are, just a different disguise. Because I'm sick and tired of what is going on, Egypt is moving from one disaster into another and we're really being treated like fools! Because I really want to have say... because I hate feeling like I'm passive. I want to be like one of these girls in the pictures!

And AGAIN my parents would never let me go! It's as if going would bring them a heart attack, or I'm insane to ask for it, like I'm kidding, it won't happen in a million years! And AGAIN it's like I'm in a different country, like Tahrir is somewhere else! I can't even imagine or visualize the experience. I feel detached from reality and what's happening in my country. I want to feel the adrenaline rush that comes with being in Tahrir Square. I want to expereince what it is like to fight for what I believe in and want. I want to be proactive and participate! And since I have a cause this time, I'm honestly pissed off that I'm stuck at home! It's annoying! I seriously feel restricted.

I mean my life is going on perfectly well as if nothing is happening and people are dying for a cause less than 30 kilometers away! Don't I at least deserve to witness that! A simple right I suppose, to see the change in my country that's making history. Think about it, years from now my kids are studying history and they ask me: Mom where you when all this happened? What were you doing? And my answer will be:  Oh dear, since I'm a woman, I was on the couch watching the news! ARE YOU EFFIN' KIDDING ME!?

Not just that, you think when you grow up and be independent you get to have a say in the life you run for yourself. Let me tell you this is a load of crap! You, as a girl, probably NEVER get independent in this messed up culture!  I'm a real life witness to girls of different ages; older and younger than me and their parents are not allowing them to go as well! Not only that, I know married women whom their husbands are not letting them go either! Even more aggravating, our male friends think it's funny that we want to go and participate in Tahrir! They think we can't run for our lives, that we should go ONLY when things are chilled and fun! I think the pictures on top are a serious example that not all girls go to Tahrir Square to party, brag about being there or take profile pictures! So let me ask: Seriously What the HELL? 

This is just ONE example! You can really apply this to any decision in our life. Our parents, culture, friends, husbands... or WHOEVER really restrict us from doing what we want! What ever it is, you name it, we need to get their approval first, just because we're women. What we work, the places we go, the way we talk, what we say, the friends we have, the clothes we wear, where we travel, when we travel... practically everything is restricted! It's retarded! Seriously as if I'm living someone else is life! If I'm given the choice, I'd run my life a completely different way! 

Sometimes I even hope I never give birth to girls in this culture because it is really a killer!

So let me ask... in this country, in this culture WHEN do I get to do what I want? When do I live the life I want? If I have to keep getting the approval of my parents till I'm married, even if I have to wait till I'm 40 and then I have to wait to get the approval of my husband, if I get married; WHEN does what I want kick in? When do I get to have a say in MY own life! 

~Sigh!

Mom To The Rescue!

Yay! I've a super mommy :) As kiddish as it sounds, my mom isn't just my super hero, she's an amazing person. Yesterday, my mom rescued a little kid, or rather a baby, at the mall. Just, how awesome is that! 

So we were at the mall, me, mom and my sister, we were walking out of a a shop when I spotted a young mother freaking out and screaming for help. Her baby was choking. She froze, thoughtless, not doing a thing!

I asked my mom if she could help her. My mom, didn't think twice, she ran off to help her and asked what's wrong. The kid, who was less than a year old probably, was eating a biscuit and choked on it. He was starting to turn blue!

His mom was really freaking out. She started crying and wasn't really doing much to help! She was just standing there in disbelief... motionless!

I don't know what mom did, but apparently all her parenting skills and experiences kicked in in the right moment. She knew how to carry the baby. She tapped him on the back, and she managed  to let him spit out the biscuit. And it was a big chunk. He was pinking again, regaining color and breathe!

Once the baby spat it out, my mom hugged him tightly, showered him with kisses, telling him it was okay. And for a baby who doesn't know mom at all, I gotta say he felt safe and clutched on to her!

Even more mom managed to make his mother calm down. She assured her that he's okay and will be okay. She told her not to worry... She even continued to hold the baby tightly until his mom gained composure....

And everyone at at the mall was looking at my mommy like she's a hero! The baby's mom thanked her over a million time. His dad showed up a few moments and thanked mom even more! It was amazing... a lot of people were passing by, no one really cared to stop and help her... but my mom did! And it was great! She was there at the right time and right place.

It was actually a pretty emotional moment....

Seeing mom do this with a strange kid got me thinking... I must have have been really lucky as a little kid! She honestly showered him with care, love and attention. So being her kid, I can't even assume what she must have been like! Actually, I can.... 'cause my mom still showers me with love, care and attention all the time.

One day, I hope to be like her... actually, I can't wait to have my own kids and be like her :)
My mom is a Super Mommy! 

Mom & Dad...

From the first minute we open our eyes to the world, we find two people who are simply devoted to taking care of us and to making our life better.

Mom & Dad!

Our parents are there for us from the first minute we set foot to life... giving us enormous love and support whenever needed. Even when we don't ask for it. Even when we don't realize that it's love. Never asking for anything in return. Their only payback is us being happy.

Our parents shape their entire lives in order to provide for us the best life ever... from the minute we're born, their lives revolve around what we want and how they would give it to us.

They work hard, day and night... to give us good lives, good education and to see our dreams come true. Then they work harder to put a smile on our face. And then they go the extra mile to make sure this smile stays there.

Anything to put a smile on OUR face. That's all they actually live for.

BUT...
Then we grow up...

We start having our own lives. Our own demands. Our vision. Our own plans and desires. We grow up and feel the need to shape our own lives... naturally!

We make plans for our careers, plans for our education, plans for traveling, plans with friends, plans with our partners and plans for our future kids...

The question is... When we make plans for our lives do we take into consideration where our parents stand in them?

Do we stop and ask ourselves where do our parents stand in the middle of all that?

Do we place them as a priority in our new plans like they've always treated us as their top and only priority?

Do we realize that as we grow up we become responsible for them and they count on us as their first and sole dependents in life?

Do we consider what they want? Or do we expect them to continue shaping their lives around our new lifestyles?

Do we realize that we sometimes leave them behind forgetting the impact it would have on them. That we sometimes lose focus. That we might make them feel less important over time.

Personally I don't think they mind... they still would do whatever makes us happy. From their perspective, I'm sure they're saying, "whatever makes them happy." They never expected anything in return in first place.

That doesn't mean we abuse it.

I don't claim I know what the future holds for me and where they would fit into the picture.

But I know I'll try my best to make them happy always and forever.

I'll make sure they never feel like they're not my number one priority. I'll never make them feel forgotten. I'll never make them feel less important.

I'll do anything...

Anything to put a smile on THEIR face.