Making Memories
We sat by the window watching the rain. We cuddled each other and stroked the sleeping cat. That's what we do when it rains, my daughter and I. She loves watching the rain. So content and comfortable we were, I found myself wondering "will she remember this when she's all grown up?"
Will she remember kicking the ball in the park with daddy? Will she remember hsi strong hands pushing her on the swing? What about making pancakes and milkshake with mummy? And watering the plants on a hot summer's morning?
It came to me then that so many things I do now, are but a continuation of my own childhood comforts.
I still have to have chicken soup (just the way mum makes it) whenever I'm sick....no matter what the ailment is.
The smell of ta3meyya (falafel) takes me back, not to a couple of weeks ago when we were fasting lent...but to hot Cairo summer days when we were fasting in honor of Our Lady's ascension (I don't know why that specific one)
A warm summer's night always takes me back to those nights we spent on the balcony in our home in Shoubra. Enjoying the relief of the relatively cool breeze and solving crossword puzzles with dad.
Hearing Um Kolthoum or Abdel Halim takes me back...not to a couple of days ago when I listened to them in the car on my way to work...but to lovely spring evenings when I was a young girl, studying in preparation for end of year exams and listening to them on the radio (much to my parents dismay...they couldn't understand how I could study with the music on)
I still find comfort in remembering the late evening walks with dad in the summer...the voice of mum teaching us how to pray at night when we were but little children with our eyes closed and our hands clasped...waking up at dawn to prepare for our trip to Alexandria in the summer...staying up all night when it was hot, and sitting on the old couch all wrapped up in blankets when it was cold.
My husband and I have been parents for just over 2 years now. I suppose we always thought being a prent is about giving love, providing for our child and dicipline...and I'm sure it is...but I just realised today that it's also about giving them a comfortable place to reassure them when they're out in the world...It's about making memories together.
Will she remember kicking the ball in the park with daddy? Will she remember hsi strong hands pushing her on the swing? What about making pancakes and milkshake with mummy? And watering the plants on a hot summer's morning?
It came to me then that so many things I do now, are but a continuation of my own childhood comforts.
I still have to have chicken soup (just the way mum makes it) whenever I'm sick....no matter what the ailment is.
The smell of ta3meyya (falafel) takes me back, not to a couple of weeks ago when we were fasting lent...but to hot Cairo summer days when we were fasting in honor of Our Lady's ascension (I don't know why that specific one)
A warm summer's night always takes me back to those nights we spent on the balcony in our home in Shoubra. Enjoying the relief of the relatively cool breeze and solving crossword puzzles with dad.
Hearing Um Kolthoum or Abdel Halim takes me back...not to a couple of days ago when I listened to them in the car on my way to work...but to lovely spring evenings when I was a young girl, studying in preparation for end of year exams and listening to them on the radio (much to my parents dismay...they couldn't understand how I could study with the music on)
I still find comfort in remembering the late evening walks with dad in the summer...the voice of mum teaching us how to pray at night when we were but little children with our eyes closed and our hands clasped...waking up at dawn to prepare for our trip to Alexandria in the summer...staying up all night when it was hot, and sitting on the old couch all wrapped up in blankets when it was cold.
My husband and I have been parents for just over 2 years now. I suppose we always thought being a prent is about giving love, providing for our child and dicipline...and I'm sure it is...but I just realised today that it's also about giving them a comfortable place to reassure them when they're out in the world...It's about making memories together.
posted by Bent El Neel at ٤:٢٥ م
5 Comments:
As a fellow tommaya lover, I enjoyed the post.
We do similar things as well for the sake of nostalgia. I drink shay (tea) when I have a headache instead of taking asprin, buy a particular brand of gum to remind me of Teta and it's not Easter without grape leaves. And my wife and I have started our own little traditions and look forward to having children one day. All that is part of our story and reminds of God's goodness.
Anyway loved your post, God bless you guys.
Thanks Jack :)
Hope God gives you beautiful children to bring up in His love.
I guess the Lord gave us the ability to remember, and we have managed to develop the ability to revisit memories that usually end up better than the original event.
Recently I attended a school old boys reunion that was one of the most "memorable" events in my life, it was like "Back to the Future" only better...a lot better. It took my childhood friends and I all the way back to the days of innocence and the simple life, and reinstated my trust and love to everything Egyptian.
red
I know exactly what you mean. Lately I've been revisiting so much of my childhood years (a sign of old age, lol?) and I do seem to romanticise the memories so much. But i do believe that there is so much to love about Egypt and Egyptian people. At least that's what I remember about growing up there.
I think we can sum it up by saying that it's indeed a land of contrasts!!
This is a great post and like you, I appreciate the precious memories God has given us from childhood.
My mum passed away in 1999 but she too, taught us the importance of creating memories with our children.
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