A Few of My Favorite Things

Every day as Azita grows older, she grows a personality that amazes me. My little girl has personality in spades, and she’s funny. Seriously. She has a sense of humor. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a look in her eyes when she does something amusing. It’s the way she smiles kind of crooked. You can tell she knows she’s funny and the power that gives her.

So, with that said, here are a few things that make me laugh. My favorite things. The things that make it impossible for me to not pinch her cheeks and smother her with kisses.

  1. Azita coughs a lot. It turns out she may actually have asthma, which isn’t funny. What is funny is that she passes gas every time she coughs. Loudly. And the best part is that she smiles her toothless smile and toddles along as if she didn’t just make the funniest sound ever.
  2. Azita loves to dance, and she does it all the time. It’s cute, but you know what’s funny? When Azita does something new or something she’s a little proud of, she dances a little jig. And it’s the funniest jig you’ve ever seen. She stands up on her tippy toes and starts stamping her right foot to an imaginary beat as her torso kind of jerks to and fro.
  3. Azita is as clumsy as she is daring, so she falls a lot. When she first became mobile, I was a wreck. Then I realized that I imagined it hurt far more than it actually hurt her. How do I know this? Because when she falls or has some other accident she says “Whoooooaaaaa”, laughs, and gets right back up, usually bolting across the room. It’s adorable, and not just because she says “Whooooooaaaaa”, but also because she falls with the comedic style and timing of Lucille Ball.
  4. Azita’s appetite can be pretty spotty, but when she gets hungry boy does she get hungry. Have I mentioned that she inherited her mother’s propensity for sporting a food baby. And she really, really sports it. When she gets up from her booster chair she thrusts her belly out and wobbles around, clearly off balance from the drastic change in her center of gravity. When I’m at work and missing her or just having a bad day, I close my eyes and picture her with her little belly pregnant with food and I can’t help but laugh.

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zahra, February 8th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood

Vocabulary Lesson

Sassy: adj. Lively and spirited; jaunty

Pensive: adj. Dreamily or wistfully thoughtful

v

Skeptic: n. a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.

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zahra, February 6th 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorizable Ramblings

Snowmaggedon, the Sequel

It’s happened again. We’re having a second snowstorm in just one winter. And let me tell you that the entire D.C. metropolitan area is freaking out. I know those of you who live in more frigid parts of the world are scoffing at our fear, but cut us a little slack. Arlington is south of the Mason-Dixon after all. That means we’re somewhat afraid of any precipitation, let alone the frozen kind. Plus add to that the fact that we lack the infrastructure of a city up in the great North to clear the stuff, and I think 24-30″ is a lot of snow no matter where you live anyways.

So, here we are sitting in our homes where we are all sure we will be trapped for 3-5 days. It’s true. The government told us we would be trapped for that long. I’m worried this means that the mailman isn’t bringing disc 2 of season 1 of Battlestar Galactica tomorrow. What am I going to do stuck at home with no BSG? I think even Azita is freaking out about it. She’s on the floor ripping up newspapers as if the world was going to end tomorrow.

Azita_rippingNewspaper

Look at that face. It screams “The end is nigh!” Yup. Surely this is Snowmaggedon.

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zahra, February 5th 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Uncategorizable Ramblings

Say Cheese

Let’s talk about photos, specifically photos others take of you. There tend to be two types of people when it comes to picture-taking: the person who never takes pictures and the person who never goes anywhere without a camera. My family and friends tend to be the latter. Thus, I tend to get my picture taken a lot, especially now that I have a baby.There’s something about babies that makes everyone want to take pictures, and since I am usually holding or hovering around said baby, I’ve been ending up in lots of pictures lately.

Here’s the thing. I don’t like to have my picture taken. I’m just so self-conscious, and it really shows in a picture. I look awkward and uncomfortable and unattractice. Plus don’t forget that a camera always adds 30 pounds. What? You say, it only adds 10 pounds? Well, I choose to believe that it adds 30 pounds. Because I look that horrible in pictures. Usually. Actually, I look horrible in pictures usually when certain people are taking the pictures.

Now I’m not going to mention any names here, but some of my family and friends have cameras that make me look like an aging, ugly hog. I think they try to capture every time my belly hangs below my shirt or my back fat bulges under my shirt or my mouth is gaping open as I get ready to eat a spoonful of food. If I’m smiling in a way that makes my cheeks wrinkle, it’s photographed. If my shirt is covered in baby vomit, it’s in a picture. In other words, every one of my most unattractive moments seems to have been captured for posterity.

And, even better, they are posted on Facebook. And tagged, so everyone I know will see them.

It’s bad enough I look like that. Does the whole world really need to see it?

I don’t really have a point. I just wanted to vent, so that’s all I have to say about that. We’ll now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

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zahra, February 4th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Categorizable Rantings

A Look at My Tiny Corner of the World

Today is a special kind of post. I’m Blogtrotting, everyone. It is all the rage. You should try it or at least subscribe to this blog and read it every day. So, without further ado, let me tell you a little bit about the fine place I call home –  Arlington, VA.

Arlington is the smallest self-governing county in the U.S. That makes us pretty special, as do a lot of other things. We were also named one of the most walkable areas in the country. Not only are we very walkable, but there are lots of interesting places to walk to, from idyllic wooded trails to shopping districts to quaint neighborhoods to historical treasures. Let me tell you a little bit about all of these places.

The Birds and the Bees and the Buses

One of my favorite things about living in Arlington is that I can get by without a car if I have to. I live on a few different bus lines, and I’m a very short walk from the subway.

Platform at Ballston Metro

Platform at Ballston Metro

And if I want to get away from all the people and traffic, I need only escape to one of the many parks and trails in the area. My family and I happen to live within a few blocks of several trails — the W& OD, Four Mile Run, Custis Trail, Lubber Run and many more. Our little county has miles and miles of trails for walkers, runners and bikers — 36 miles to be exact. That’s a lot of trail for a county that is only 26 square miles in size. Only in Arlington can you walk from bustling metropolis street to isolated trail complete with a babbling brook in 10 minutes flat.

Lubber Run Park, a 5 minute walk from our home

Lubber Run Park, a 5 minute walk from our home

Neighboring Neighborhoods

Arlington is a county crammed with neighborhoods — 67 of them! Many of the neighborhoods have historical significance, many of them are quaint, and all of them are charming. There’s lots to see if you explore these neighborhoods on foot.

If you like to window shop, or actually spend money, there’s lots to see and spend money on in Arlington’s shopping districts, from Clarendon to Ballston to Shirlington.

Market Common shopping district in Clarendon

Market Common shopping district in Clarendon

On the weekends, it’s never hard to find a flea market or farmers market, and when you’re hungry and in need of a little rest, you can take a break at one of the hundreds of restaurants featuring food from every corner of the world — from El Salvador to Ethiopia.

Our local Kabob joint

Our local Kabob joint

Even the President likes to stop by Arlington to grab a bite.

President Obama and Vice President Biden stopping by Ray's Hell Burger

President Obama and Vice President Biden stopping by Ray's Hell Burger

Living in History

Arlington is chock full of historical treasures. We have 30 historic districts and 54 sites in the national registry of historic places. Have I told you already that we’re only 26 square miles big?

Our historical places include sites known across the country, like the Iwo Jima War Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.

Iwo Jima Memorial

Iwo Jima Memorial

But some sites are not as well-known but just as important and amazing, like Nauck, a historically African-American neighborhood in the heart of Arlington. Nauck is built up around the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, formerly known as the Old Bell Church when it was first founded in the District of Columbia, just a few miles down the road. The Church resided in the Freedmans Village, founded in D.C. during the Civil War as a refuge for emancipated slaves. When the village was later disbanded, the church was renamed the Mt. Zion Baptist Church and moved a couple times, ending up in Nauck where it still stands today, reminding everyone who passes by of a history we should never forget.

Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nauck
Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Nauck

And that’s just the tip of the historical iceberg. We may not be the nations capital, but we used to be part of it, and we’re just as cool and interesting.

I’ll leave you with one final reason why everyone should want to live in Arlington. Last year, CNN Money named Arlington the 2nd best place in the country to be rich and single! I’m neither of those things, but it’s pretty nice for the poor and married, too. And, maybe some of that “rich” will rub off on us.

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zahra, February 3rd 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Culture + Stuff

Approaching the Finish Line…

…if the finish line is teeth that is. Azita’s been teething for what now seems like months. Every kid at her daycare, even the younger ones, already have at least a tooth or two or twenty. Even Henry, who is 6 months younger than her, now has a couple teeth. Well, it appears that the time has finally come. About 1mm of her 2 front, bottom teeth has popped up through the gums, and I’m pretty sure I see some incisors working their way out. Or maybe I’m just desperate for all this business to ease up, so my baby can feel some relief and start doing this a little more.

Smiles

Smiles

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zahra, February 2nd 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood

Inventing My Past

I was talking to my mom this weekend and like every other conversation I’ve had with my mother she went on at some length about the fact that I was a colicky baby and did nothing but cry for the first 6 months of my life.  I am not exaggerating when I say “every other conversation.” Seriously. Ever. Single. Conversation. This is especially true now that I am also a mother.

Somehow, I think my mother thinks I can sympathize with her now. In a way I can. After all, these past few days the existing agony of teething has been compounded by the cold that Azita has been suffering through. Like most of the colds she’s caught in her short life this one has come with a hoarse, rattling cough and a touch of wheezing. Our nights have been sleepless, and the daytime hours we spend with her are marked with plenty of crying and fussing and demands to be held constantly.  It’s not the most pleasant moment in the annals of our parenting history to say the least.

But don’t get me wrong. I do not mind this. In fact, I almost like it.

I may have mentioned this before, but when Azita was first born Roger and I spent many weeknights walking the warm hallways of one of our local malls. We desperately needed to get out of the house, but we couldn’t walk outside in sub-zero temperatures with a newborn. So, off to the mall we went. Mostly we window-shopped and talked, but occasionally we stopped in a store that captured our interest. One of these nights we stumbled upon the nicest salesman while we were admiring an armoire at his store. He was a father of 5 children, ranging from 7  to 25 years of age, and he reminisced so fondly of the days when they were babies like our little one. And, he shared the best piece of wisdom ever shared with me by another parent (especially a random one I had just met). He told me to savor every moment of that time with her.

It is true that others have told me this, but it was what he said afterwards that really rang true for me. “Even when I was up all night with my children, I felt like that was my special time with them. Time I wouldn’t have otherwise.” He is so right.

Being a parent is hard. Everyone knows this whether they are a parent or not. Maybe we don’t realize just how hard it is until we become one ourselves. But we have to remember we signed up for the task. Yes, there are times when I want to complain about Azita. She can be the biggest pain in the ass. I won’t lie. But, she is also the best thing to happen to me and my favorite person in the entire world. No matter what, the good she brings into my life outweighs any of the annoyances that come with it.

Maybe my mother doesn’t feel the same way about me. I don’t know, and I really don’t feel like asking her. Some things are best left unknown. But when I hear my mother complain, 36 years after the fact, of how incessant my crying was or of how I gave her permanent back pains because I wanted to be held so much or of any of the many other annoying things I’m sure I, like every other person, did when I was a baby, I get just the shot in the arm I need. 30 years from now, I want to remember all the wonderful things about this time. Just like the fellow I met at the mall, I want to feel nostalgic and happy about this part of my life. To get that, I need the right attitude now.

I’m convinced that our view of the past is always informed by how we viewed it when it was the present. If I focus on the negative aspects of my life right now, that will be what I remember in my old age. And I don’t want that. I want to live in a haze of rose-colored history when I’m ripened and wizened, and the good thing is, it’s completely within my power right now to make that happen.

P.S. I am once again participating in NaBloPoMo , so expect to read a lot more from me in the coming weeks.

5 Comments

zahra, February 1st 2010 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood

Writers Who Change the World

When I heard today that J.D. Salinger died, I was saddened like much of the rest of the world.  I remember the first time I read The Catcher in the Rye. I’ll admit that I first read it because I wanted to know — what was the big deal? What kind of novel could inspire so many people to murder others? Those must be some really powerful words, right?

Well, it was a really great book, an interesting book, a book with a main character that an outsider and a loner like myself could identify with in some ways, a book that, at the time it was written, challenged what books were written about and how they were written. I could understand the shock value if I tried to put myself in the shoes of someone who lived “back then.” Those were some pretty strong words. But I certainly didn’t feel like killing anyone. Not the first time I read it, nor the second or third or fourth…I didn’t get it. I still don’t.

There was no doubt though that J.D. Salinger had a way with words. The thing that always struck me about The Catcher in the Rye was that not many authors capture inner dialogue quite so well. There is something different about the way we talk out loud from the tone of the discourse that takes place in our heads. I know, because I talk to myself a lot.

Regardless of why this and Salinger’s other books are special and important, I think the thing that makes him so great is that his writing is not just valuable for academic purposes, but it is important to a lot of people for very different and personal reasons. Maybe that’s the most important quality of a good piece of writing — it can speak to anyone who reads it. It is personal to everyone. In my book (pun intended), that makes J.D. Salinger a writer who changes the world, and I hope he is remembered as such for some time to come.

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zahra, January 28th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Culture + Stuff

The Right Shade of Green

A few weekends ago I was browsing the produce section of our local grocery store with Azita on board, snuggling close to me in her sling. As I walked through the aisles, I did the mom thing that annoys everyone who isn’t a parent — I pointed out every fruit and vegetable and told her the name, described the shape and color and basically tried to turn this chore into a teaching moment. As she tends to do, Azita smiled and made googly eyes at just about everyone who passed by. This is probably why it no longer surprises me when I notice people staring when I walk about town with her. She is staring at everyone else after all. After a while though I noticed the produce manager staring for a really long time, so I turned my attention and looked him in the eyes. And there I saw something unmistakable.

He had the look. The look of a parent at work, missing their child and seeing their baby in just about any child they see. I knew this even before he spoke up to talk about his 4 month old daughter at home. I know this look well, because I can feel myself giving it to parents I see whenever I venture outside of my office during the day.

I participate in a lot of parenting discussion boards, and one of the topics that seems to crop up frequently is the full-time mother vs. working-out-of-the-home mother struggle. We all struggle with it in different ways. Fathers do also, but maybe it’s the fact that our children are physically a part of us for 10 months that makes the struggle so much more of a struggle for mothers. No matter what situation you’re in, it’s hard to not feel guilt and longing.

I can understand every point of view, but maybe it’s my desire to stay home with Azita that clouds my thinking a little on the topic. I once read a post written by a full-time mother who stated that she felt like a loser when she sat at Starbucks with her children on a weekday, watching all the women in their suits, carrying their briefcases, rushing to get a coffee on their way to a glamorous day at the office — all this while she  sat at a table in her yoga pants and hoodie, trying to get her children to drink their milk and eat just a little bit of a muffin.

I’ve been the woman at Starbucks. The one rushing to get to an office. If I had more time before work, I would be that woman more often. And, as I read that mother’s post, the glimpse she provided into her innermost thoughts, I was actually kind of shocked. I was shocked, because when I see a mother at Starbucks with her children in the middle of a workday I envy her. I look at her the way the grocer looked at me and Azita, browsing for produce. The word “loser” never even crosses my mind. The word “lucky” does.

It kind of puts things in perspective sometimes to remember this. To remember that no matter what your position in life, there is almost always someone looking at you from the outside thinking your grass is greener. And, maybe remembering this will even remind you just how green your grass is, even if it isn’t the shade you want.

1 Comment

zahra, January 26th 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood, Uncategorized

Calgon, Take Me Away

Remember those commercials for Calgon bubble bath? A stressed out mom shouts “Calgon, take me away!” just as all of her responsibilities are bubbling up to a head. I remember laughing at that commercial when I was a kid. It seemed so silly, or “dorky” as I actually called it. I can sympathize a little more with the mom nowadays, but I still scoff at the advertising. Some days, some weeks, even some hours out of a day need something far more potent than bubble bath to take away the stress. And anyways, what mother can actually spend more than a minute or two in the bathroom alone before they are interrupted? Clearly that was a commercial conceptualized by men who know nothing about women and the pressures we all face.

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zahra, January 25th 2010 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Parenthood + Childhood, Short + Sweet
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