When the going gets tough, it means you are on the right path…
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم The thing with being a writer is, that you evolve with time: your thoughts, writing style, and even priorities, keep changing. I suppose that is true for every aspect of life: the only thing constant in life is change. As a homeschooling parent who also likes to write, I keep growing … Continue reading The Clouds Parted and “the Son” Shone Through….
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ What does being a niqabi, an unschooling parent, living in culturally-rigid Pakistan, not being able to people-please and sweet-talk my way into and out of superficial, culturally-enforced social conversations, and being a work-from-home, freelancing housewife make a woman? Answer: a Majorly Misunderstood Misfit. But, in order to answer this question in … Continue reading The Fruits of Unschooling: Better a Misunderstood Misfit, Than a Cultural Conformist
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ I was relatively new to the parenting world until, well, my children started growing up. In particular, when my oldest started acting mature and ladylike almost overnight. The awaited and cherished transition of your child from a baby to someone who can actually have a proper conversation with you, happens so … Continue reading 5 Leadership Mistakes that Parents Should Try to Avoid
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ "How do you remember names, places and events that took place decades ago, complete with all the little side details?" "Having a good memory is not always good, you know. It means that you remember the pain of the hurtful aspects of your past. And it also means, that the regret … Continue reading Life Lessons at the Threshold of 35
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ My daughter is now 6 years old and my son will soon be 4, اِن شَاءَ الله. Since the past 11 months, I have been homeschooling them and, contrary to how I anticipated this journey to be like at the point when I was about to embark upon it, it is I who … Continue reading Happy, Havocked HomeFront: Riding The Home Education Wave and Lovin’ It
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم On our way to an extended family gathering, I floated an idea to my significant other about offering to take all the children of the clan – some of whom were visiting from outside the city – horseback riding along the now-quite-clean stretch of Clifton Beach after dinner. He thought the … Continue reading From Infants to Inspectors: Incessantly Intelligent Little Interrogators
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم She hurriedly sets the food on the dining table and calls out to him, "Come on, food is ready!". She checks again to make sure everything is there: the plates, a glass of water, and cutlery. As he rushes in and takes his place at the table, he says, "Turn the … Continue reading Little Men – Sons Today, Husbands Tomorrow
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Had someone told me years ago that I'd one day be educating two hyperactive, adorable little mini-me's at home, I would have laughed in their faces and called them the most glib prophesiers ever! Stay at home all day with two naughty little elves always up to something? Never! And here … Continue reading The Adventures of Homeschooling
We mothers have all been there. The ‘bad’ days when we are on edge; cranky, moody and irritable; the day the children repeatedly overstep their boundaries until one of two things happen: either we snap, or something breaks irreparably. That is when all our anger-management vows and self-help resolutions go out the window, making us … Continue reading Sincere Sympathizer or Moody Mama: Disciplining Delinquents With Decency
“Come inside!” I hear Ammi’s voice as she squints outside from behind the French windows. “In a while; we’re making the doll camp,” I reply, sitting in the middle of the courtyard in the blazing sun, tenaciously trying to balance a ragged piece of cloth on four tiny sticks. “But it’s too hot! Come … Continue reading Bundles of Joy, Balls of Fire
