So I\u2019m well into the morning routine when, to my surprise, my three year old daughter Mervat pads into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.\u00a0 This was not in my schedule.\u00a0 I was used to the baby waking up and crying, but Mervat, well, Mervat talks.\u00a0 She talks.\u00a0 She comments on what she sees and asks questions.\u00a0 Moreover, she expects answers.\u00a0 \u201cGood morning Mommy.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing Mommy?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOh, you making food for the boys Mommy?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI sit next to you Mommy.\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cIs this my water, Mommy?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cI like butter.\u201d\u00a0 Her monologue continues as I make the food, and I answer as best I can with grunts and monosyllables.\u00a0 Abdel Hamid comes into the kitchen and stands there dazed.\u00a0 After a minute, he desperately shushes his sister, to no avail.\u00a0 She is wide awake.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you allowed to eat when you\u2026 why you\u2026allowed to eat next to the computer?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cCause I\u2019m a grownup.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cOh.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cMommy, don\u2019t eat my toast\u201d.\u00a0 My husband and son have already fled the table.\u00a0 Abdel Hamid foolishly decides to go to the bathroom, foolish because of course the moment he does Mervat realizes she has to go as well.\u00a0 \u201cOpen the door, I have to go to the baf-room\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cClose the door\u201d.\u00a0 She comes back afterwards, brushing her mussed hair out her face, and grabs a crust of toast, heading now to the living room where her brother is hunkering under a blanket until the adhan calls.\u00a0 Her chattering is infectious.\u00a0 Looking at the cat, who is up hoping for scraps, he says \u201cYou know, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a tail\u201d.\u00a0 I grunt in answer.\u00a0 I mean, how can you answer that?\u00a0 Fortunately he doesn\u2019t seem to want a conversation so I swallow the last of the toast and put the plate away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you need a bowl?\u00a0 Why you need\u2026 why I need a bowl?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a plate.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 It\u2019s a plate?\u00a0 Why you need a plate?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cSo you don\u2019t get crumbs all over.\u201d\u00a0 Munch, munch, munch.\u00a0 Her chattering continues and I consider going to sleep in the car after fajr.\u00a0 Sigh.\u00a0 Instead I clear the table and head to my room.\u00a0 Five minutes until fajr.\u00a0 Five minutes until she has to be silent because she has finally learned not to talk while we\u2019re praying.\u00a0 Five long minutes.\u00a0 I spend the time asking Allah to give me patience.\u00a0 Patience, and earplugs.<\/p><\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As usual, I stumbled out of bed this morning at o-dark-thirty to make suhoor.\u00a0 I repeated my morning ritual of opening the fridge and staring at the contents.\u00a0 As before, nothing jumped out at me so I grabbed the eggs and bread.\u00a0 In a burst of creativity, I decided on scrambled eggs today instead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n