I have not forgotten about Yemeni Journey…in fact I have been thinking about it a lot, as I start down the path of making it into an actual book, insh’Allaah. Mash’Allaah, though, there have been many distractions this month keeping me away from writing as I would like. Alhamdulillah, Allaah[…]
Last week I had another brief attack of vertigo, a remnant from my battle with typhoid a few years ago in the small Yemeni village I called home. It threw me off a bit, this reminder of one of the most difficult times in my life. It was unexpected, but[…]
I passed my road test last week for my driver’s license. I was relieved, and happy. I had originally gotten my license when I was sixteen, back in Wisconsin. One of the many hats my dad wore was that of driver’s education instructor, and he trained me well. I found[…]
There is a time of day, between waking and sleeping, between dream and reality, between one breath and the next, when I feel Yemen as close as my own heart’s blood. The years we spent in the mountains there, breathing ancient air, walking ancient paths, clasping the past and present[…]
You can’t imagine the joy I felt when our package from Pinetree Seeds arrived in the mail yesterday. After nine years of being unable to play in the dirt, unable to nourish little plant lives, unable to share with my family the goodness of home grown vegetables and herbs, the[…]
The sound of life here in America is almost deafening at times. Last night I found myself suddenly wide awake. The air had that middle of the night feeling, as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for some silent signal before it let its shoulders down with a[…]
Homecoming. I thought about the idea of “coming home” as our jet from New York to Atlanta climbed slowly into the air, gaining altitude to try to avoid excessive turbulence. The plane was full; I thanked Allaah that we had been able to be booked on it the night before-[…]
Last night I went to sleep to the sound of rain against the windows. This morning I awoke to the same sound. To me, it was the sound of home. Yesterday afternoon Khalil and I went for a walk in our quiet, tree-filled neighborhood. I couldn’t help myself- I kept[…]
Around 3 a.m. I finally gave up on sleep and sat up, snugging the blankets around my legs to keep warm. Sukhailah and Hudhaifah were awake as well, so Khalil went and came back with a hot cup of tea- he had had to search through all of his pockets[…]
Alhamdulillah, we have been back in the States for two weeks now. I have found that I’m not the same person I was when I left here almost ten years ago; and yet my heart aches at such sounds as the wind in the trees, or the crunch of leaves[…]
