بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Yesterday was one of those days. You know those days when you really need to go back to bed after
You don't go back to bed. Instead you start tidying up and cooking lunch because you have to be at school for a Mothers' Meeting at 10. When you get there, you wish you had gone back to bed because your head is doing things it shouldn't be doing and the said meeting doesn't begin until 11! You sit quietly with your impatient toddler on your lap while mothers around you are either chatting or eyeing each other up and think "Smile! You're in Saudi Arabia!" By the time you've listened to talks related to cleanliness, swine 'flu and teaching your children to remember Allah often [I liked the ones on cleanliness and taqwa] one of your children's teachers has gone home. You only get to meet one, who gives you a brief, vague comment about how your child is doing in school. Nevertheless, you walk away satisfied. Your child is only 8 and you don't feel you need to pester the teacher for half an hour asking "Is she excellent at maths? How about reading? Is her handwriting good?" You don't feel you need the teacher to confirm the things that you already know about your child while other mothers crowd around waiting to have their go. You feel that if you needed to, you may as well add, "Are her nails trimmed? Has she washed behind her ears?" You almost volunteer for carfting with the kids but don't as you imagine explaing the slip stitch in Arabic! You head back home after saying salaam to a few of the nice teachers and mothers, have lunch, tidy up, get some exercise, and prepare an English lesson for the evening.
Yes, you have gone back to doing something you found a little boring, except this time it's not. Now it's more like a class rather than a lone student with your children joining her in language activities. They seem to enjoy it. You gulp down your black coffee and you seem to enjoy it too. It almost reminds you of your days at Berlitz, as you watch the children carry out role-plays and you finish it off by saying "Well done! Good job! How did you find that?" [That handy Berlitz method!] You end the day with feeding everyone, having a chat with Mum, washing the dishes (What better thinking time than that? The water runs between your fingers leaving you with your thoughts ... and a pile of dirty dishes) and of course a little crochet.
You think back on how you felt in the morning and say to yourself, "Now that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Alhamdulillah." Don't you?





