When the phone rang at 1:25 p.m. yesterday, I knew who it was before I picked it up: Lil D’s teacher calling me to come get him because he was too worked up (or potentially on the verge of a meltdown, or coming off a meltdown) to ride the bus. I’m prepared for this. I’ve let go of so many “norms” for Lil D these past months that the new autism norm in our house (and isn’t that an oxymoron?) is... Read more
In my post last week about the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of autism, I wrote how Mr Hyde has been my son’s persona for several weeks, if not months now, and of how I continue to struggle in my faith, in my ability to put full trust in Allah that somehow He will help my son and me. Although I know I should pursue a course of faith and worldly, practical actions (therapies, medical treatments, education, schooling), the scales... Read more
Dr. Jekyll graced me with his presence yesterday. It had been a really, really long time. Mr. Hyde took a backseat and allowed Dr. Jekyll to regain control for the better part of the day. I realized that I spent much of the day holding my breath, waiting for Hyde to rear his ugly head and regain control of my son. So after we got home from school, I let my breath go and made plans for the afternoon, thinking,... Read more
Being Muslim has certainly reduced the imaginary figures in our house – no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, and I never really pushed the Tooth Fairy either – not because I felt it was un-Islamic or anything, but my kids just didn’t seem into it. So, I’ve never had to really navigate that defining moment when your child finds out that there is no Santa Claus. (Hope I’m not bursting anyone’s bubble here!) Thus, I wasn’t prepared in the least... Read more
It’s about love, yes, but it’s about all the ways love happens, begins, ends, endures, frustrates, eludes and abounds. It’s about the love stories of American Muslim women, who lay their claim to love in ways previously not openly discussed in the American Muslim community. Love InshAllah, a new anthology of 25 love stories edited by Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi, is creating quite a buzz in Muslim and non-Muslim circles for its embracement of all types of love stories,... Read more
Parents are pretty good at wearing masks, keeping up a solid front in the face of stressful situations, making sure the kiddos don’t know when things are barely in our control. Most parents are good at that. Even I, who has been told by several people that every emotion I’m feeling is seen on my face — even I am pretty good at putting up an fairly controlled front. One night last week during dinner, my husband, our two younger... Read more
January 25, 2012 — They are gathering in Tahrir Square today. Egyptians, journalists, and others gathered and marched and protested, one year ago today, in an epic citizen-driven Egyptian revolution that ended in the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. But really, it didn’t end there. In the year since, revolutions have engulfed nearly the entire Arab world, starting in Tunisia, grabbing the world stage in Egypt and Tahrir, and continuing on to Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and others. The mass protests... Read more
Note: It took a while, but here is part two about our experiences regarding the past winter break, managing Lil D’s autism through the break, and finding some sort of piece with the chaos that is our life. Click here to read part one. For those of you who are wondering if we did it, because really, how else would we have managed a flight with Lil D all the way to San Antonio, Texas without it – we did.... Read more
Note: There are a lot of things I want to share with you regarding our winter break, managing Lil D’s autism through the break, our adventures in flying and finding some sort of peace with the chaos that is our life. So I’m doing this in parts. This, of course, is part one. They went back to school this week, my kids – after two weeks of winter break. We survived. We did something radical, we had some fun and... Read more
Note: This article is a joint venture between Patheos and AltMuslim, which has a tradition of publishing the best “good news” stories at the end of each calendar year. I thank Altmuslim editors for working with me on writing and producing this. Sometimes it seems Muslims can’t get a break, and 2011 was no exception. The “creeping sharia” paranoia in the US continued unabated (despite any evidence that there is any real threat of sharia law supplanting the Constitution) with... Read more
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