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  1. Circle

    September 12, 2011 Blue Eyed Girl

    “All my life’s a circle, sunrise and sundown,

    “The moon rolls through the night-time, til the daybreak comes around,

    All my life’s a circle, I can’t tell you why,

    The season’s spinning around again, the years keep rolling by.”

    -Harry Chapin

    For the past few weeks our country has been gearing up for the tenth anniversary of the horror that was September 11th. And all that time I was getting sick of hearing about it. Don’t get me wrong, I get it, I was here too and I remember it all too well, I just didn’t want to be forced to think about it everyday.  This morning Shahid and I sat down and watched one of the many documentaries about it, and while we were reliving this tragic day, it suddenly dawned on me just how much my life has changed since Sept 11.

    I’ll admit it, September 11th made me furious, and when it was revealed that the hijackers were Muslims it made me so angry, I hated those people! I remember a few days after the attacks I went into a Subway sandwhich shop, and the guy working behind the counter was speaking arabic on the phone. He hung up and asked me what I wanted, and I thought “I don’t want that person touching my food”. So I left. When President Bush spoke about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, I was all for it. Kill that bastard Saddam. It took me a few years to learn that this attitude was wrong, and  the beginning of this realization was when I met my old friend Amir in a chat room. Amir is from Iran, a country whose name brought up images of hijabs and wife beaters. Our friendship changed that, and brought about a whole new perspective when it came to the war in Iraq, and Muslims in general. Here is a pic of me and my friend Jess at a war protest a few years ago.

    My life is so different than I would have ever guessed ten years ago. My husband is a Muslim which means my daughter is one too, because in Islam the children follow the religion of the father. Besides, I’ve never been particularly religious, so I never felt that Imaan needed to be a Christian just because I am one. September 11th is a day of remembrance and reflection, and I realize my life has come full circle in the last ten years, and I am truly blessed….

        

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  2. Shoppin’ With the Kiddies…

    September 11, 2011 Blue Eyed Girl

    I remember the old days when my sister and I wanted to go shopping we would just jump in the car and go. We could wander around leisurely and go to as many stores as we felt like. Well sir, those days are long over. My sister and I packed up the kids this afternoon for a day at the outlets. Imaan needed a fall wardrobe and my nephews needed some more back to school clothes. Foolish me, I thought I had a great plan to get all of Imaan’s fall shopping done in one shot. Hah! Not likely!

    My first mistake was forgetting to pack Imaan’s umbrella stroller. On top of that I neglected to put her shoes that she had pulled off her feet back on her so we couldn’t hold her hand while she walked.  So we were  stuck lugging her around in our arms everywhere we went.  Which was no fun at all especially when after a while when Imaan decided she wanted to get down and started struggling and whining. I had to shop quickly because  Imaan’s patience was wearing out, and later when I looked in my bag I realized I’d bought two of the same shirt.  I didn’t buy half the items I’d planned on because I just wanted to get the shopping over with.

    After we paid for the clothes my nephews wanted to go eat at Johnny Rockets. This too proved to be a mistake. We had to wait forever to get a table, and then our server forgot not only basic things like silverware, but also my nephews milkshakes, which she brought after she served lunch, and only after I prompted her.  In the middle of all of this we discovered Imaan’s diaper was leaking. Big stain. Luckily I had just bought her a couple of outfits so I had something to change her into! The kids were all cranky and whining, and when Imaan started shrieking and throwing french fries we knew it was time to go. “I just want to get out of here before I kill one of them” Amy said to me. I hear ya sis!

    We plodded out to the car, anticipating a relaxing drive home when I committed a serious crime. I accidentally let Aidan’s balloon fly out of the trunk. Never did I hear such sobbing and carrying on.

    “AUNT JEN!!!! YOU LET MY BALLOON GO!!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT????? (sobbing loudly)

    Meanwhile I’m thinking, Ok, it’s just a balloon, big deal, he’ll get over it in a few minutes.  No such luck.

    “OHHHH MY BALLOON! SOMETHING BAD”S GONNA HAPPEN TO IT IT”S GONNA POP SOMEWHERE…….I WANT MY BALLOON!!!! WAAAAAAH!”

    I apologize profusely. My sister looks at me like she wants to kill me. She tells him not to worry, the balloon is going to a good place, but Aidan is inconsolable, even when she tells him that the balloon will float to Africa and a poor kid will find it and be so happy to have a toy like that.

    ” BUT THE BALLON WILL FLOAT TO THE SUN AND BURN UP!!!!! MY RED BALLOON I LIKED IT SO MUCH WHY DID AUNT JEN DO THAT????”

    I know this sounds incredibly insensitive but I have to admit that at this point I laughed. Which made it worse, of course, laughing at a six year old child’s misfortune. Basically I ended up sitting in the car staring out the window trying to suppress the hysterical laughter that was bubbling up withen me. I tried to think of something nice to say to help ease the situation.

    “Well, Aidan maybe the balloon floated up to Heaven and the angels are playing with it.”

    “THAT MEANS IT POPPED!!!!! IT’S IN HEAVEN CUZ IT’S DEAD!!!!!!”

    I give up. Finally when we get home he stops crying. I am so grateful for small things. Of course then the boys are fighting over who is hogging up more of the couch cushions when Amy puts a movie on for them to watch and Imaan is trying to sneak up the staircase when no one is  looking. Time to get out of here before some other calamity arises. I grab Imaan and put her in the car, she falls asleep on the way home, and I am finally at peace

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  3. Gone In The Night

    August 22, 2011 Blue Eyed Girl

    Here’s an interesting question for you, if you were no longer in love with your husband or wife, even if the sight of them made you sick, would you have them killed? What if you had taken a lover and wanted to clear the path without the headache of divorce court and child support payments?  Of course not, would be the logical answer, the answer that most people would give. Sadly, you would be surprised at how sometimes this is not the case. Just this past week I have been following the murder of Nazish Noorani, gunned down in front of her three year old son. The shooting was planned by none other than her husband Kashif Pavaiz and his girlfriend Antoinette Stephen.( click here)

    Pavaiz had first told police that late last Tuesday evening, he and Nazish were walking home from an Iftar dinner with their three year old son when three men shouting racial slurs came out of the shadows and shot him and Nazish. Nazish died at the scene. Somehow, even though Pavaiz himself was shot four times, all his injuries were non life threatening, he was shot in the shoulder and ankles. The police quickly found many inconsistencies in Pavaiz’s statements, and he finally broke down and confessed that he paid his girlfriend Antoinette Stephen to murder his wife so they could be together. It seems some glimmer of a conscience must have still remained inside him, because he said he could not bear to look at his children and tell them that he was the one who took their mother away from them. Both Pavaiz and Antoinette Stephen are being held on multiple charges including first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

    I think one of the things that sickens me most when I hear of such an incident, is why on earth was this necessary? Is it so hard to obtain a divorce? Certainly not in this country. I mean, just leave already! Pack your bags and go live with your girlfriend! So you look like the creep that you are, so what? It’s better to have someones blood on your hands? My God! We’ve seen these incidences over and over in the news. Does the name Scott Peterson ring a bell? Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Laci Peterson in 2002. Peterson also had a girlfriend at the time, a massage therapist named Amber Frey. Frey was not involved in Laci’s murder, but chillingly she later told police that fifteen days before Laci’s murder, Scott had confessed to her that he had recently lost his wife and son. Which as you have already guessed meant he had been planning to murder Laci at least two weeks before it happened.  However, Peterson still to this day maintains his innocence.

    Senseless acts of violence such as these do not accomplish anything. OK, so you got rid of that person you were so desperate to get away from in the first place. But what are the consequences? Children left without a mother, parents losing a child, brothers and sisters losing a sibling. And life in prison for the murderer, because these guys almost never get away with it. The saddest thing is, this is not the last time we will hear of tragedies like these…..

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  4. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes….

    August 19, 2011 Blue Eyed Girl

    Ever find yourself harshly judging someone for the choices they make?

    “What an idiot she must be”! “How does she put up with it”? “If that were me I’d…..”

    Seems simple doesn’t it? In fact, many of us are guilty of this way of thinking from time to time, including myself. Things seem so black and white when you see only one part of the picture that it’s easy to forget about the grey in-between. Not everything is as it seems, and sometimes, there just isn’t an easy choice to make….

    Sometimes we are faced with a situation in which there lies no great solution, no perfect happy ending like we see on tv or read in a book. Betrayal. Deceit. There are two good examples for you. We can’t always just pack up and leave. Later for you, jerk.  There are times when you have to stay and deal, make the best you can of a difficult situation. Of course it is not an easy thing to do. It’s not just your life, there are others to thing about, those who must be protected and sheltered, whose happiness is more important than your own. So you find a way to get through it. You find things that make you feel happy and fulfilled. You make the most you can out of what you have, and keep up the hope that someday things will change…

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  5. It’s Me Again…

    August 16, 2011 Blue Eyed Girl

    I’ve moved! A new blog, a fresh start. I spent almost five years over at blogger, but it’s time for a change. I posted so infrequently for the past few years I feel it’s time to start over fresh. So here’s to new beginnings!

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