Tag: Family

memories

The honest

nhpureandsimple

Honesty is a noble, human trait, and I believe that, along with  kindness, it will never die out. But, honesty is truely unique when it is genuine and touches your heart. I am not referring to the type of honesty that comes with formal interrogation or businesslike settings; I mean honesty that simply slipped off the tongue when you feel you compelled to be honest at that moment, regardless of any costs or requirements.

Last summar, just before moving, my eldest son, my daughter, and I went for a long walk by the seafront. It was a  clear, hot day, with overfed seagulls soaring and screaming all of the sky. They looked as much happy and busy as all the people walking along the parade.

What could be better than having a fish and chips meal on such a summary day? We headed towards a fish and chips takeaway restaurant which was so busy with long queues waiting to either make or collect orders. I always tell my family what I’d like to order and wait outside as far as possible becuase I can’t bear the smell of frying oil, especially on boiling days. However, on that particular day, my son insisted that I go inside with them. Perhaps that was becuase it was so busy outside.

I walked inside with them, and we were waiting for our turn to make the order. As we were talking, I noticed the chef glancing at me once or twice, as if he wanted to say something. When it was our turn, my son gave the order, but then the man looked from my son to me and said: ‘ I just want you to know that we fry pork, sausages, fish and chips, all with the same oil.’

The three of us stood still for a while. It was the first time someone had given us this piece of information without us asking. When we thanked him and declined the order, he said. ‘ I  know you have laws, and I respect that.’

We stepped out hungry, but so happy.

‘Oh, mama, that’s becuase of you,’ my son said.

‘And what have I done?’

‘Your hijab, mama. It’s the first time you came in,’ he laughed. ‘You know how many times we ordered fish and chips from there, and no one told us that before. Such an honest man!’

‘But mama what about the other fish and chips we ate before? My daughter seems more interested in whether we had been making a big mistake.

‘We are allowed to eat fish, so we make an order for fish and chips. God knows that we don’t know it’s been cooked with pork, and in that case we are pardoned. But, from from now on, as we know how things are, we’ll ask every time before having any takeaway.’

I will remember that day forever. This is not only becuase, since then, we know about the frying process, but because of the honest man you come across once in a blue moon.


With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

To be loved

nhpureandsimple

Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?

It is to feel relief, comfort, and safe when crying into your beloved’s arms.

One day, just after the lockdown, I was walking home from school with my daughter. As we neared the end of a shortcut side road, I glanced at someone walking with a small child, about three years old. I immediately recognised the child as my new friend’s son, and guessed the person with him was his father. After brief greetings, the man asked if I knew his wife.

‘Yes,’ I replied looking down at the child, feeling uncomfortable. No one had ever stopped me on the road to ask whether I knew his wife before. If it werent for the child I was looking at, I would have ignored the man.

‘She died,’ said the man, and my head snapped towards him. Shocked, I remained silent wondering whether what I had just heard was correct.

‘Because of COVID,’ he added, and I stood there, still, all the convenient words ran out of my mind.

He added a few sentences, I didn’t hear and I didn’t want to hear.

‘May Allah rest her soul, and make Eden her eternal home.’ I finally said and walked away from him, clasping  my daughter’s hand tight.

‘What he was telling you, Mama,’ my daughter asked as she always found it hard to understand different dialicts of Arabic.

‘Will tell you later,’ I told her as we hurried toward our house.

I knew my daughter guessed what he said, because the word died was clear and harsh as he said it. We went home, and my daughter ran to her room. I knew she did’t want to know anything about the man or what he said.

There, my eldest son had just come home, and after one look at my face, he knew something was wrong. My tears flooded down my face as I leaned against his shoulder.

‘I can’t believe she died …I had …  known her … for … a few months … and her children …. they are … still young.’ I wept and wept, and my son listened, patting my shoulder until I had no more tears to shed.

‘But her husband had no sense. I just want to punch him in the face. How could he just throw that heartbreaking news at someone he doesn’t know, and on the road.’

‘Yes, Mama, but now you’re better.’

Can anything else be better than crying into your beloved’s arms?

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

A flight will do, right?

nhpureandsimple

Think back on your most memorable road trip.

A year before the lockdown, during the Christmas break, my family and I went on holiday to a beautiful country in North Africa.

Can you  guess which one?

Excited and happy, we headed to Heathrow Airport, had a light meal, browsed around the shops, and finally completed our check-in and boarded the plane.

The flight was full. Passengers, as usual, were talking, laughing, yelling, and some were dozing off. The clicking of seat belts began, and as my husband tried to fix his, he realised that his seat was swinging. I stifled a laught, watching him trying to stablise it, but it was no use. It was broken, but the hostess assured him that it would be fine. No worries!

But worries I couldn’t avoid especially when the plane started taking off. It was the worst, and most violent takeoff I have ever experienced on a flight. The night was clear, and the weather was calm, so I couldn’t understand why things were not smooth. Once the flight disappeared into the sky, and dived into its deep dark waves, announcements of air bumps and turbulences didn’t stop. The plane started shaking, not slightly, but harshly, as if it was a toy in a spoiled child’s hands.

Praying, I did and tried to look cool like the other passengers. My daughter’s seat was next to mine, and we were both full of  fear and worry. When things calmed down a bit, she asked me to swap seats with her eldest brother. I did, and moved to sit next to my middle son.

‘What a great flight,’ he whispered, looking at me, and we both burst out laughing, but just as we started to calm down the plane suddenly dropped. Our hands locked as we sat back, clothing our eyes. A moment later, the drop stopped.

‘Are we going to die?’ He looked at me, laughing.
‘No, we’re going on holiday’.’ I smiled, taking a deep breath to get ready to the aircraft’s miraculous landing.

Thank God, we arrived safe and sound.

‘You have been making this trip quite a lot. Why didn’t you tell me how horrible this flight is? I asked my husband, as we hurried out of the plane

‘You know I fell asleep once I took my seat.’ My husband said, just as simple as that.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Blue and Sky

nhpureandsimple

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?


I have two cute parakeets for about three years now. Their story at my house started when my son’s colleague asked him if I could take care of her bird while she was away for a week. Of course I welcomed the tiny creature. Since it wasn’t mine, I never let him out of the cage but it was a torture watching him inside. Though, I liked him, I also couldn’t wait until he would go back to his friend. His short stay visits became frequent, and one day my son wondered if I would like to keep him for ever. Of course, I agreed, but I asked him to get a companion for my little friend. He did, and since then we have two: Blue and Sky.

‘How long do you expect birds would live?’ My son usually asks, teasing me.
‘Why does that matter? Today, they are alive, chirping, fighting, playing, eating, and flying around.’ I answered, making a face at him.

Do you think birds care about how long they are going to live? I don’t think so. But they do, of course, care about their life and take good care of it.

There is a common saying in Arabic:  “The soul is so precious.”

Every breath counts, every day counts, and every moment counts.

That’s my concept of a very long life.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Fun time

nhpureandsimple

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

Children are, or used to be, always the best at having and enjoying their playtime. But this doesn’t mean that grown-ups can’t have any.

But things change as we grow older. As a child we usualy play to have fun, to enjoy the company of our friends whether in the neighbourhood or at school, and time would stretch before us as if it would never end.

But then, we grow up, and time becomes more precious as it slips from our hands faster and faster. Still, we can grab some fun time, steal some special moments of playtime.

Years ago, we were living in Scotland, and I really loved it there so much. My boys were around ten years old. We were living in a two- bedroom flat with an open kitchen-lounge. Sometimes, no honestly most of the time, just before dinner as we waited for my husband to come home from work, my boys and I would start a funny game. You might wonder why and how I could join them?

My boys at that age were too distant from one another. They would rarely talk or play together unless other friends were around. But since friends aren’t always available, my husband and I became the magnet that would pull them both to each other. That’s the main reason I joined most of their playtime games. The second reason is that I really enjoyed it, the child inside me wanted to play as well. It didn’t  matter to me that I was a full – time postgraduate student with loads of studying to do. I also wanted to have fun and make my boys happy.

One of our best and funniest games was racing around the small wall that separated the dinning area and the kitchen. Sometimes the race would cover the whole flat. The three of us were so light and little that we didn’t consider being any annoyance to others, especially we rarely saw any neighbours in the two – floor building we lived in. But, actually, there was one or two.

When my husband came home, and as we were setting the dinner table, the doorbell rang. My husband opened it, and there was our elderly neighbour. All I could hear from his brief talk with his thick scottish accent, at the door was; ‘It seems like it was raining cats and dogs.”
“What have you been doing?” My husband asked after finishing with the man
The boys told him about the game.
“Where was your mother?”
“Joining us, baba.”

We sorted things out with our neighbour. The following day the boys and I picked a nice card. They explained that they were sorry and promised to be more careful and considerate while playing indoors. Since our neighbour had two, big jumpy dogs, we delivered the card through his door mailbox. It didn’t take long until he paid us a neighbourly visit and brought my boys a nice lego game.

Playtime is when you let the child inside you play, laugh, and enjoy the moment.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

Books, Just writing

Playing cards

nhpureandsimple

Before the smart phone games, app games, and all the massive screen based entertainment, some parents used to play cards with their children during holidays and school breaks. I did, still do, though rarely nowadays.

Those moments engraved wonderful memories in our minds. We laughed, shouted, and jumped as we sat in a circle on the carpeted floor to play cards. We played for fun with one rule: the first loser is out, but had to keep sitting and watching until the last round. It was something like “The Weakest Link.”  What made those moments even more enjoyable was how my husband and I called the cards names in the Egyptian Arabic. Our children wouldn’t mind,  wouldn’t even try to use the english ones. They liked it this way.

I wonder, and you might also wonder, why I thought about all that today? That’s becuase of the book I have just finished reading: The Solitaire Mystery. Have ypu read it? I really recommend it. It’s a good book,. But to be honest, I was a bit confused with the English cards names version. I even don’t know what the Solitaire game is? We play basic cards games. Bit by bit, I came to understand things, and that’s when I started enjoying the book more.

Herewith the link for my book review. Have a look and let me know what do you think about the book?

https://nh825.wordpress.com/2024/12/28/the-solitaire-mystery/

With hope and peace,

Nahla

Just writing

Don’t let them age

nhpureandsimple


I remember my grandparents from my mother’s side as I hadn’t seen my father’s since they all died early before he married my mother.

Anyway, my grandparents were barely in their late sixties or early seventies when they died. As a child, I used to believe they were so ancient, so weird. Their house was so big and so old. Not becuase they didn’t have enough money –  they did, but because they didn’t like change. They liked their old furniture, the old walls, the old staircase, and even their old clothes.

From my mother’s tales, especially about her father, I believed he was a monster and a tyrant. By the way, he wasn’t religious, but I am not going to detail more because we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, should we? However, he was, actually, so kind with me. Perhaps, because I used to avoid him all the time, or because I was the quietest of his grandchildren tribe. But, he really was kind, and when he laughed or smiled, I didn’t see him that old at all.

Some people say that the real youth is the youth of the heart and the soul. If you read Mr. MacBride’s story, you will know how important it is to not let either your heart or your soul age.

Have you read The Five Wishes Of Mr MacBride. It’s a wonderful book. Have a look at my review!

https://nh825.wordpress.com/2024/12/17/the-five-wishes-of-mr-murray-mcbride/


With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Strange

nhpureandsimple

Do you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?


We often hear that men do not know how to cook, or even worse, their cooking is terrible, don’t we?

But isn’t it strange when you find out that they can, or can do very well.

Cooking is mostly one of everyday mandatory chores, but it can also be fun and a special hobby.

I still remember my father’s baked potatoes with meat. Although he mainly used basic spices, that dish was like nothing else- delicious. I remember he used to cook this dish, mainly, but not often, during the summar holidays. The aroma would waft through our house, making our mouth water. I remember how he looked so proud and happy of his achievement.

Strange how simple things, such as baked potatos with meat, can be carved in children’s memories. And, how strange that some parents deny their children such beautiful moments to relish later on when they grow up.

If it weren’t for the speciality of the chef, the love it was made with, and my family around it, I am sure that dish wouldn’t have crossed my mind for today’s prompt.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

Books, daily prompt

Anne with E

nhpureandsimple

What book are you reading right now?

I guess you have read about the most popular children’s classic; Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Have you read the series or watched its adaptation? Well, I highly recommend it if you haven’t done either.

I first discovered Anne of Green Gables during the lockdown in 2020 when nights seemed so long and quiet. My daughter couldn’t sleep well at night and to be honest I didn’t either. But then I thought it would be a good idea to watch something together until her body relaxed and sleep came. After a quick search, I found the full animated series of Ann of Green Gables online. In bed, snuggling together with her IPad, we watched one episode every single day. We giggled, we cried, we dreamed of Anne, and we learned a lot from her story. We really had a wonderful time.

Three years later, the whole book series of Anne Of Green Gables was my gift for my daughter’s twelfth birthday. She was excited to read them, at first, but couldn’t read more than a few chapters. ‘ I loved the animation more, mama,’ she told me though promised to try again. To this day, she hasn’t. You know that the one who ever says that TV kills your senses was so true.

It was just last month when I decided to borrow the book series from my daughter. She handed them all with a broad smile. I have already finished the first two books and I enjoyed every bit of it. The book took you back to a different generation, different people, different place, different fashion, and different food. It is full of sounds, colours, activities, tastes, and smells. Besides, everyone is very welcome to read it.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla

daily prompt

Let’s make it personal

nhpureandsimple

What major historical events do you remember?

But of course,  the major historical events are all related, like blood brothers, to inhuman man-made catastrophes, major catastrophes. So why not let the ‘big’ leaders of the world and their loyal devotees answer that? Their answers probably wouldn’t be different from what we learn at school.

So, let’s make it personal. Can there be a bit of alteration? Something like, ‘what is the best day you can describe as the major historical event in your life? That’s better, much better this way.

I was waiting at home, running from one window to another and looking out for my father. He used to bring my end of year exam results every year. I had never disappointed him, but this time was so different. I was shaking from head to toe. It was the result of my final exams in high school.  I studied hard that year with no private tutors, no extra help. I lost too much weight and looked miserable. All I wanted was to pass with honourable results. And I did. I glanced at my father walking down the street towards our house with a big smile on his face, and I knew I did it.  Not only did I get honourable marks, but my result was the second highrest at my school. Such an event had never happened in the history of my family.

That was the major historical event in my life. First, because my parents were so proud of me. Second, because my life had changed  significantly after that day.

With all the best wishes,

Nahla