Tag: thoughts

daily prompt

Would You Live in Your Parents’ Garment?

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What’s something you do completely differently from how you were raised?

In Arabic, there’s a saying or perhaps an old adage says: I’m not going to live in my father’s garment. 

Actually, this saying became the title of a famous TV drama in the nineties.

Anyway, parents, in most cases, want their children to live a far better than life than they did. That’s why they often work hard, save money, and build big dreams for the future of their children.

And, sometimes, parents believe that their children will always follow their footsteps. 

But the thing is, life is unexpected.

And this garment whatever it may be; a profession, a business, or even certain traites, won’t always fit the size of their children.

So…even though you and your siblings may have been raised in the same way, your lives don’t have to be the same. 

It’s not only about choices, whether to follow this path or that, but it’s also about how life changes, and how it changes you along the way.

With parents’-garment thoughts,

Nahla

Daily thoughts

Hello September 

nhpureandsimple

S for school, studies, and those warm and chilly sunny days,

E for early mornings, early alarms, the early race to have the first access to the toilet.

P for parents with their checklists: school uniform, school bags, and lunch box packed just right.

T for timetable, for lessons, exams, and that copy you pin to the refrigerator.

E for every day, with its new drama full of moans, excuses, and the latest friendship-challenge test.

M for mothers, rushing through those few free hours they try to enjoy, while the clock hands keep running towards home time. 

B for birthday, have you ever thought how lucky you are if your birthday falls in September?

E for every night, when the lights turn off, the roads get quiet, and everyone tucks themselves into their own little nests.

R for remember, school days make precious memories, just do your best to create good ones.

With new September thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

Manchester Oxford Road

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What’s the best thing you’ve ever found randomly on the street?

On familiar roads, streets, and cities, memories are often the first things to rise and flow one after another as you walk along and through them.

Have you ever experienced that quiet feeling of nostalgia?

I have.

As you walk along a familiar street, a memory of an old friend, a joke, or even a phone call might pop up into your head without any warning.

Those moments are actually the best gifts you may find along the road, and they may be the most precious too.

Whenever I visit Manchester and walk along Oxford road, where Manchester University is, the memories of our first days in the UK rush back into my mind as if it was yesterday.

Things have changed, though; with new shops, new buildings, and of course new faces, but I don’t mind. My first memories of this city always come back fresh and strong. 

There, in the university accommodation which still has its unique name, Horniman House, we lived for quite a few years.

On this road, I walked with new friends from different countries. 

On this road, I heard the Manchester accent that was so different from the English I learned throughout my entire education.

On this road, I knew how it felt like to be soaked by the British heavy showers.

On this road, I got my first sunburn under the British glaring, bossy sun.

And there are more and more memories, I find along this road whenever I go there, but that’s enough for now.

With memories-along- the-road thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

My First Cooking Book

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What’s a book you never finished but still think about?

Years ago, during the final steps of my wedding preparations, my mother insisted that I should have one of those well- known cooking books in my new home. She had already bought me one before I had even thought about it. 

Before getting married, I used to help in the kitchen, but I had never been in charge of making full meals or anything complicated.

So my mother (may God bless her soul) believed that a cooking book would be a good help.

Honestly, I never used it, and I have no idea where I left it.

I might have had a look at it, though, but that was all.

Since then, whenever a booking book, with its colourful, mouth watering pictures and recipes, fell into my hands, I would give it a quick scan and put it back where I found it.

This doesn’t mean I don’t like cooking, because I do.

The thing is, perfection, consistency, exact measurements, are not on every woman’s cooking agenda.

By the way, would you really pause one day to think about a book that you never finished?

If the book was really of any interest to you, then you would have finished it. 

Otherwise, you’d ruffle through its pages and quietly set it aside without anyone noticing.

With a-book-never-finished thoughts,

Nahla 

P.S. the falafel in the photo are not home-made.

Just writing

A Blank Page

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I’ve just started writing this post with no clear idea or topic in mind.

I’m just wondering how it will go, and where it might take me.

Have you ever experienced this before?

I mean the moment when you grab a pen and a blank sheet of paper, stare at them, and wait?

You wait for any inspiration to flutter around you, or for a current of some thoughts to flow into your mind.

By the way, isn’t the idea of using pen and paper so classic?

I mean the image itself seems like a piece of history. 

Of course pens and papers haven’t disappeared yet, and I really hope they won’t end up as museum antiques any soon.

But using notes on your device is also a good way to write.

Tapping on your screen or your keyboard doesn’t carry your unique handwriting, but at least it still carries your thoughts and feelings.

So, now, a blank page can be filled after all.

With blank-page-thoughts,

Nahla

P.S. the cute cat photo was taken at the Cats Café in Malaysia.

daily prompt

Can it be a book?

nhpureandsimple

What’s the last movie that made you cry?

I didn’t watch movies much but I used to, though.

The recent movie I watched was Toy Story 5  which of course doesn’t make anyone cry. 

Me and my daughter watched it just for a change, something different to do during the summer holiday.

But that’s all.

I love reading more.

So, instead of a movie, my recent reading book is really what can make a reader weep. 

It’s such a book that stirs tendre emotions; fear, horror, sadness, compassion, mercy, love, hate, injustice, and even moments of happiness.

But… honestly, I didn’t technically cry. 

It just made me feel like crying.

This is the book; Before We Were Yours

With no-movies thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

The Conspiracy Theory of Seagulls 

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What’s a conspiracy theory you actually find believable?

I used to believe seagulls were fish eaters.

Really.

And I never imagined they could be that big until I moved to 

the UK many years ago

But they’re not only getting bigger, they’re multiplying. 

And… they don’t seem interested in fish anymore.

They have changed their diet to human food, any kind of food, even the discarded leftovers in the food waste bins.

Apparently they have changed  their own conspiracy theory about food hunting over the years. Everything changes, so why shouldn’t they?

So, according to my humble observation, their updated theory now consists of two components.

First: the secret agents, the ones positioned on the rooftops, cars, buses, and those who walk side by side next to humans along the streets. They try to look cool and cute and well-behaved which is the most important part of the plan to support the second half of the theory.

Then comes the critical part, the job reserved for their professional leaders. When the right moment arrives, the gull commanders launch into one of their marvellous scuba-dive shows. But neither the dive nor the show has anything to do with marine life. Those big commanders plunge from the high sky, straight, strong, committed, towards their target: human hands. They snatch a poor human’s long-awaited meal. 

Yes, they snatch, gulp, swallow any kind of food, you, human, might be enjoying at that very moment.

And you, poor human, are totally oblivious to those gulls’ conspiracy theory. 

But recently, It seems that humans finally decided to form their own conspiracy theory against the gulls.

Yes, some old men in a public park were joking about having roasted gulls for dinner.

I only wish they would consider the difference between the wild gulls and the trash-eating ones.

Otherwise, their conspiracy theory does them no good.

The gulls will multiply, and those funny old men will be extinguished. 

With seagulls- conspiracy thoughts,

Nahla

daily prompt

Shakespeare and Uncertainty

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How do you deal with uncertainty?

To be or not to be, this is the question.

Doesn’t this line certainly evoke uncertainty?

I once read that there’s some uncertainty surrounding Shakespeare’s writings. According to some researchers, he may have been supported by other writers who added much to his literary works.

Now I’m really uncertain about this news.

But I’m certain that Shakespeare was a main, heavy course during my BA studies years ago.

But again, I’m uncertain whether my lecturers and professors back then were aware of this information.

Anyway, even if there’s uncertainty about his works, I’m pretty certain that no one cares much this piece of news.

With uncertain thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Play the Adult

nhpureandsimple

What’s a moment when you realized you were officially an adult?

I was the youngest of my siblings; my sister was the eldest, my brother was the middle, and the youngest was me.

So I didn’t have to play the adult much. 

It wasn’t until I cradled my first baby in my arms that I felt both the beauty of motherhood and the weight of its responsibilities. And since that day, I realised it was time to play the adult.

As a full time mother, I played the adult with its different characters, moods, and shapes.

Yes, I played the kind nurse, the angry doctor, the mad teacher, the patient counsellor, the strict inspector, the loyal lawyer, the secret keeper, the watching owl, and so many others.  

But the youngest sibling in me always finds a time and a space, to laugh, to play, and to have fun with family, friends, and even her own-self, with no adult roles to play.

With play-the-adult-role thoughts,

Nahla 

Just writing

Reading Challenge Fulfilled

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At the beginning of 2026, I set my reading challenge target to sixty books.

A month or two later, I reduced it to thirty.

I thought it was better to achieve the target than to lose track of it.

This wasn’t cheating, was it?

But at least, I’ve been honest with myself.

So over the last two, no three, days, I finished a wonderful book, and it happened to be the thirtieth one. 

This means my 2026 reading challenge is officially fulfilled.

Now I can read more, without any pressure.

My best reading challenge score was seventy-eight books in 2023, 

and I was so happy with that big harvest. 

But honestly, I’m not sure if I had followed the same strategy back then.

I mean if I had started with a target of thirty and ended up finishing seventy-eight books.

Things didn’t work with the same enthusiasm over the last few years, though.

Why? I wonder sometimes.

But, I do know why.

Mainly because of my stubbornness.

Once I set my mind to read a book, I want to finish it; even if I don’t like it, even if it gives me a headache, and even if it bores me to tears.

And I discovered another reason; the high target I set for myself.

Whenever I planned to read more books, I ended up reading far less than expected.

But we do learn from our mistakes.

So, I will stick to my old strategy; start with less and end up reading more.

And perhaps, for stubbornness, I’ll pretend to forget about the books I don’t like until the end of the year. Then I can say, “sorry but your time is out.”

So… well done, me, for achieving my reading target in August. 

And I will let you know how many more books I finish by the end of this year.

Or you can simply have a guess.

With happy- reading thoughts,

Nahla