Dad

Every June on the 3rd Saturday (usually??) is Father's day.  Now I know I know I know...mothers are more important than fathers. Mothers are the ones who carried you for nine months and still loved you despite the fact that you gave them cramps, bloating, fatigue, weight gain and ridiculous cravings during those nine months. Furthermore, someone said that you teach a man and you are only teaching one person but when you teach a woman you teach an entire generation (atleast that is what someone wise once told me)...I get that I really do! However, as important and wonderful mothers are there is something very special about fathers.

The idea for father's day started in the early 1900's in the state of Washington. Richard Nixon made it an official day of observance in 1972. Fathers day is celebrated as we all know on the 3rd Sunday in June. I wish I was the one who thought of the idea for fathers day! The woman who created the day was a daughter just like myself who adored her father. He was a man who made a lot of sacrifices so he could raise his daughter to the best of his ability. Her love and appreciation for her father was clear when she thought of this day of observance to the role of fatherhood.

Someone once said "a dad is someone who holds you when you cry, scolds you when you break the rules, shines with pride when you succeed,and has faith in you even when you fail". I could not agree with this more!! A father has the amazing ability of making you feel protected. Almost like its dad and daughter against the world. Dads know exactly what to say to make everything better even if they were the ones to upset you to begin with.


What Makes A Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
-author unknown

Now I know my mother is an amazing woman with amazing patience and strenghth. I mean come on now. She raised me and that takes a whole LOT of patience. A TON in fact. I love her dearly but for some reason I just have a stronger connection to my father. When i do something wrong he is the first person's reaction I am worried about. When I do something well he is the first person I want to tell and the first person I want to be proud of me. I think this is the case because with my mother I know no matter what she will love me and be proud of me. But with my dad it is not as easy. He is always pushing me to do harder and be a better person. He wont let me settle for what is good. He wants great for me. (I am not saying my mom doesn't want that but my dad actually pushes me for it). He makes it a challenge for me...I like a challenge. His is pride is conditional...I have to earn it. With my mom, her love and patience never wears away. It is unfaltering. I do not feel like I have to fight for it and that is excellent. However, after all I am my father's daughter. I like the challenge. I like to fight for something. I feel like my father never just gave me his attention. He never just gave me his approval or his sense of pride in me. I always had to prove to him that I deserved it. When I brought home an A in school he would say "why not an A+ ?" My best was never what he thought was my best. My mom was proud of me not matter if I got the A or the A+ so I guess I kinda know my mom will always be there for me no matter what. With my mom, I know she loves me no matter what; she's my mom so its her job to love me no matter what.

I am growing more into understanding astrology and zodiac signs. I also took notice that my father is a scorpio and I am a virgo. Virgos and scorpios are harmonious because of their mutual respect for loyalty. Its funny because nothing means more to me than loyalty. I might be a brat sometimes and act spoiled but at the end of the day I am loyal to my family. Virgos and Scorpions have the same ambitious drive and have many similar quirks about them. Furthermore, they are their own worst critic. That is me and my father. We are always harder on ourselves than anyone else is.

 I also owe a huge thanks to my dad. He is the one who installed a sense of self pride in me. He was the one who taught be proud of who I am no matter what. He was the one who taught me about life. To my dad I am eternally grateful because he taught me about religion and God. There have been so many things in my life that I have survived because of my faith in God. Again, I love my mother to death but it wasn't from her that I got my religious knowledge but rather my father. Also, my father is the one who showed me Arab culture and all its beauty and mystery.

I might get angry with my dad alot. I might not like his actions half the time. But it was God that chose my parents for me; not me. I can't change my parents and I do not want to change my parents. Therefore, I have learned to accept my father's flaws. In his defense, he is not perfect just like the rest of us. I would rather have a dad with flaws than to have no dad at all.


I love you dad! May God bless you and keep you with me for many years to come.

Evelyn Lauder

Evelyn Lauder was the daughter in law of the famous Estee Lauder. Evelyn went to work for her mother-in-law's company back when it only sold six products. Evelyn Lauder was a visionary, a truly magnificient woman. Evelyn Lauder went on after being an executive at Estee Lauder to found Clinique and wore a white lab coat that is now famously worn by Clinique salespeople all over the US and the world. Being the typical girly girl that I am, I of course love Estee Lauder products and Clinique products so already this woman is impressive to me!

However, beyond Evelyn Lauder's brains and beauty was something far more important to me--her efforts in combating breast cancer. Evelyn Lauder founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Pink Ribbon Campaign. Through her efforts both personally and through the Estee Lauder brand, Evelyn Lauder raised millions and millions of dollars to fight a cause that is so important to so many women.

However, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars Evelyn raised, on November 12, Evelyn lost her battle to ovarian cancer. The world has truly lost an amazing woman. May her efforts and legacy live on through all the breast cancer survivors and to all those who fight to find a cure for the disease that kills so many women every year.

Bear-ness, the doggiest edition to our home

So October 2011 was the beginning of a major change in our lives. My sister adopted a dog from a rescue in North Carolina. He was this puny little 10 week old black lab mix. His name was Tao. But to us he didn't look like a Tao so we renamed him to a more fitting name, Bear. Well he certainly is living up to his name.

Since we got Bear back in October, he made me mature by leaps and bounds. I learned quickly what taking care of a pet really meant. (Taking care of a bird is nothing compared to this!) I have already picked up his poop dozens of times. I've learned to let him lick my hands, my feet, my arms etc. Usually I hate being licked by animals. I am too much of a germaphobe. However, anything for the Bear-ness. I didn't think I could ever love an animal this much. But I have to admit it, I do!!!

Bear has the personality of a spoiled little rich kid! He wants to play with more than one toy at once. He is constantly demanding attention; he hates when someone is on the phone and not playing with him. We tell him all the time how hard his life is (sarcastically speaking of course). I mean come on...this dog has the life! He eats when he wants (kinda--he's on a schedule); he sleeps when he wants; he gets so many treats and play time with me, my mom, my sis and my dad. We all take him for car rides with us where he sits by the window and stares out as the cars are passing. Bear is the epitomy of a spoiled rich boy. We are just the maids, servants and care takers in Bear's world. He has become the master of this house and he knows it. His food bowl even says I am King on the inside of it and has a crown on it.

Bear has put so much joy into our house. We all smile a little more and laugh a little more. I've never been so excited to come home but now I am because I want to see Bear aka Fuzzy Lumpkins aka Bear-neccessities aka Bear-licious aka rat's *** aka Bear-Bear aka Fuzz Foot along with a million other nicknames.

I already have such a major attachment to this dog. Everytime I go out I pick up treats for Bear or a new toy. Just the other day I took him to the local pet store near my house. They wear giving away dog friendly cake. So Bear of course being the foodie that he is had to gobble up a piece of pumpkin cake. I had to tell him to breathe while he was eating it; he literally inhaled it. Speaking of peanut butter it is one of Bear's favorite things. He eats chicken, carrots, white rice and peanut butter (not all at once of course.) Those are the only things we give him from the table. Other than that Bear has to eat his own dog food.

Ahh enough about my love for this dog!! He is the most precious thing but I don't think anyone cares as much as I do. Haha.

Why do people think its ok to involve in something that is not their business?

This is something I need to remember:

Life is TOO short to care what others think.

Why I am wasting my time caring what other people think? Why I am wasting my time trying to prove who I am and what I can do?

The quote, life is too short, struck me as interesting because it made me remember a convo I had with someone back in October. That person criticized me and questioned me on something that was quite frankly none of their business. The last time I checked that person was not a friend of mine--hell they weren't even a family member. This person is just someone I know.

So basically they were questioning why I was doing one thing and not another. It bothered me at first but then I quickly got over it when I remembered this person has no control over me. They do not know the reasons I am the way that I am. Furthermore, this person is not my friend, not my family member and most importantly not ME. In addition, they do not pay for the clothes on my back, the roof over my head, the food that goes in my mouth or anything else for that matter. So essentially it was NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS.

From now on, I am not going to let that person or any other person for that matter criticize me and TRY to belittle me with their own psychobabble and personal issues.

I am going to do like Bob Marley said: "Live the life you love and love the life you live."

Blessings

When I saw this quote I instantly loved it.
At times I may seem spoiled and ungrateful but I know deep in my heart I am the furthest from that. I wake up everyday and thank God for everything good in my life. I appreciate everything and everyone in my life who has contributed to my happiness and positive environment.

I am not perfect by any means and that is not what I am attempting to say here. However, I am tired of people complaining how bad their lives are because they can't appreciate what is right in front of them. My father taught me something beautiful when I was younger and I probably (hopefully) will never forget what he said. He told me "when you get tired of looking above you, look below you." This is how I live everyday of my life. Sometimes I start to feel like "why does that person have a nicer car or bigger house?" That lasts for a total of two minutes because I thankfully remember what my father taught me. I then say "thank God I have a roof over my head"; "thank God I have a car" etc etc.

Whenever I start to feel down about my life I make a list of everything I have to be grateful for and suddenly I don't feel so down anymore. Really, I am so blessed in so many things. Someone asked me the other day if I was rich. I replied yes I am. Its true; I may not be rich monetarily. However, I am rich because I am healthy; I am rich because I have amazing friends; I am rich because I have a loving family. There are a dozen reasons why I am rich.

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes. The friends I made are a blessing. The dog my sister adopted is a blessing. The experiences I had are a blessing. The negativity I witnessed is a blessing (it taught me good lessons.) My parents are a blessing. My sister is a blessing. My mind is a blessing. My heart is a blessing.

Like I said I am not perfect. However, I try to be the best person I know how to be; the best I can be. I wake up every morning counting my lucky stars. I go to sleep every night thanking God for the life I have. And sometimes I feel like I am blessed beyond what I deserve.

Meshallah ala kol shey qwayes fe hayati. Meshallah. Allah akbar. Dayman ya rab.