no taj mahal, but it is built out of love...

the gazebo that adam built...with love

the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan may have had the Taj Mahal built as a symbol of love for his wife, but he had twenty thousand people deployed to build it. and of course, all the work and that many people resulted in a majestic and beautiful building which happens to be India's most famous architectural wonder.

this is the gazebo that adam is building and it is almost ready after months working on it with his two brothers-in-law. he has been spending so many weekends over this gazebo that it sort of irked me because it resulted in very little time with me over the weekends. and weekends are always the highlight of our relationship as we have more time than other days to spend together, over the internet obviously poor us, as time and having to wake up early the next day for work are not a factor.

despite being a baby over the fact that i am losing him to the hours spent on the gazebo, i know that he is taking his time to ensure that the gazebo is built to perfection, as much as he can help it.  he told me he is putting all his energy there because of love. and he told me that that is where he wants to hold our wedding, where we will  exchange wedding vows.  the gazebo is being built slowly but surely, out of love. it may not be a Taj Mahal, but i find the gazebo turning out beautifully.

the Taj Mahal may be an architectural wonder and this may not. but the thing is u see, Shah Jahan didn't build the Taj Mahal with his own hands, and i doubt he had any part in physically building it, except perhaps to give instructions and ideas on the design.  this gazebo meanwhile, is built by the hands of a man that loves his woman... no biggie perhaps i can hear you say; after all, it is just a gazebo *eyes rolling up*.  but who would be able to say the same thing as i do?  who would be able to say that she gets a gazebo built by the man who loves her to have it perfectly done for their wedding?  u see... i do... and eventhough it is just a gazebo, it sure as hell means a whole lot to me.

p/s adam, thanks so much love...

the innocence of a child

last night, i was in the bathroom, hanging up my towel. the bathroom door was slightly ajar. ruiz and thaqif were in the room, climbing up the bed from one end and jumping off, running back and forth...(that reminds me, my matress no matter how thick would just give up someday). anyhow as i was hanging my towel, i overheard ruiz telling his brother "thaqif, slow down la. u know i'm fat."  i could not help but laughed to myself. it was so funny but it was also so cute and adorable, and i found myself saying quietly albeit a smile, "my poor baby". the innocence that emanated from him, an 8 year old who couldn't care less about saying he is fat even when what he is actually is just chubby, roly poly with a lil' boy's chubbiness that will fade off him in time as he grows up. he thinks he is fat but it does not come in the way of his own confidence and that is something every adult can learn from. i am sure his chubbiness will someday go off, and eventhough i would want that for him; because of health reasons and the fact that other people can be so cruel to those who are not super slim in this world, i will miss that chubbiness and all the "gomol" i can do to him now. then again, by that time, he will be older and chubby or not, he so definitely won't want me to kiss and hug him all over anymore. so there...

when God created mothers

i know i have not been updating regularly but i have been so busy with work and the boys' exams.  doesn't help that my thaqif in the middle has exam for almost two weeks in a row.  ruiz got his freedom first, over a week before his two older brothers, lucky him. thaqif finally finished his exam week yesterday while today is the last day of exam for thoriq. FREEDOM... haha for the boys and mommy. but wait till the results are out. mommy seems to be having more jitters than the boys, as if i was the one who sat for the exam, darn...next week, the results will start coming in and i will deal with that then, yikes, hope it's all good, insyaAllah. for now i would like to share this wonderful note i stumbled upon.  i actually found it last week and took the liberty to quickly post it up on my FB but didn't quite find the time to post it here.  here it is, finally, a tribute to all moms...


"When God Created Mothers"
When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel appeared and said. "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And God said, "Have you read the specs on this order?" She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts...all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said. "Six pairs of hands.... no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," God remarked, "it's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. God nodded.
"One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say. 'I understand and I love you' without so much as uttering a word."
"God," said the angel touching his sleeve gently, "Get some rest tomorrow...."
"I can't," said God, "I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick...can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger...and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed.
"But tough!" said God excitedly. "You can imagine what this mother can do or endure."
"Can it think?"
"Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek.
"There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model."
"It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."
"What's it for?"
"It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride."
"You are a genius, " said the angel.
Somberly, God said, "I didn't put it there."


excerpt from Erma Bombeck "When God Created Mothers"

i am alice in wonderland... watch me fall

and when silence beckons

Things break all the time

Day breaks, waves break, voices break
Promises break

Hearts break...

when love is lost...

                        After a certain point, a heart with so many stress fractures
                                         can never be anything but broken...

InsyaAllah i will find my way...

 

turn to Allah, He is never far away
put your trust in Him, raise your hands and pray
Ya Allah, guide my steps, don't let me go astray
You're the only one that showed me the way...