Eid week recap
The Eid weekend was Amazing! I have never had as much fun during other Eids as I’ve had on this Eid-al-Adha.
Friday
I went to the mall and spent a couple of hours staring at the toy aisles debating on which ones my siblings and baby cousin will love. I kept picking and changing my mind over and over again. Finally I narrowed down my choices to two gifts for each child, wrapped them in a plastic bag (forgot to by gift bags or boxes), and stashed them in the laundry room, far from 3 pairs of prying eyes.
Saturday, Eid day
Woke up bright and early to get ready for Eid prayer. I thought about giving the kids their presents right then and there but decided that they wouldn’t appreciate it as much since they were half asleep. We went to a local centre and prayed amongst hundreds of other excited Muslims. The atmosphere was electrifying. Everywhere I turned I was met with greetings, hugs, kisses and warm wishes. We caught up with family and friends we haven’t seen for months. It was a bit chilly though so we headed home where we rented a couple of movies and watched them all together while stuffing our faces with xalwa and biscuits. Mmmmm.
After the movie marathon, I took out the gifts and gave it to each child. With gasps and wide eyes they tore apart the bag and each kid ran to me with kisses and ‘thanks!’ as they held their gifts. They loved them and I felt happy. It was a wonderful feeling. But the biggest surprise of all was my 12 year old sister. She was so happy about her presents that she went and got one for me while I was preoccupied! She bought me (from a drugstore close to our house) a make up kit and a cute pink little make up bag. I was floored. What a sweet, sweet girl. I usually don’t put on makeup so I didn’t have any except some limp balm so it was very much appreciated.
In the afternoon, I went to the Body Worlds exhibition alone. I knew that my friends would not have come so I didn’t even bother asking. It was incredible. I was in awe throughout my whole visit. I spent there for a total of two hours and I cannot stress how much I recommend people to see it. The exhibit that still amazes me is the fetal development one. One case showed a 7 week old fetus - it was the size of half of my pinkie finger and yet it was fully formed, with a head and well defined limbs. Subhannallah! I’m glad I took the time to see it before it moved on. The $25 fee was well worth it.
Sunday
A couple friends and I went to lunch and then a movie. It was nice to catch up and spend time together. We watched ‘The pursuit of Happyness’ with Will Smith and his son. The movie was excellent. I loved it. I was a bit wary of seeing a Will Smith movie because I had his Fresh Prince character in mind but he proved me wrong. It didn’t hurt that it was based on a true story either. The man the movie was based on is such an inspiration. To rise from homelessness to becoming a multimillionaire, what an extraordinary man. It made me realize that I haven’t worked half as hard to achieve my goals and dreams as that man had even though I had all the resources available to me and he had to fight for it in the worst circumstances imaginable. Recommend it.
Monday
Rented ‘Whale Rider’. I cried, cried cried. I spent almost an hour in Rogers, reading the back of the movies, and couldn’t decide what to rent. When I’m at home there are hundreds I want to see, but when I go into the store my mind goes blank. I only choose this because Ebert (movie critic) gave it two thumbs up. I do too.
Tuesday
A friend who couldn’t make it to Sunday’s gathering invited me and my siblings to go skating. Now, I haven’t gone skating since 7th grade so I was quite rusty. I spent alot of the time with a walker on the ice because I was deathly scared of falling. Stupid triangle made me slip at one point and I feel hard on my tailbone - ouch! That was not funny at all although my group could kept on laughing. My little brother and sisters put me to shame, sliding across the ice as if they were born with skates on their feet. Argh. A poor lady feel hard on the ice on her head and had to be taken my ambulance. Next time, I will come with full gear - gloves, pillows, puffy jacket, hard hat, mask, and knee pads. A girl can never be too safe.
After hauling our aching feet home we again sat our butts down in front of the tv and had dinner with her family while watching a Somali Wedding video. I swear Somalis cannot dance. Especially Somali men. I was embarrassed for them. A couple of times I had to place my hands over my face because I couldn’t believe what I was watching. A couple of the guys were just looking for an opportunity to shove their pelvics onto the girls’. Ewww.
Phew. What a week.
Friday
I went to the mall and spent a couple of hours staring at the toy aisles debating on which ones my siblings and baby cousin will love. I kept picking and changing my mind over and over again. Finally I narrowed down my choices to two gifts for each child, wrapped them in a plastic bag (forgot to by gift bags or boxes), and stashed them in the laundry room, far from 3 pairs of prying eyes.
Saturday, Eid day
Woke up bright and early to get ready for Eid prayer. I thought about giving the kids their presents right then and there but decided that they wouldn’t appreciate it as much since they were half asleep. We went to a local centre and prayed amongst hundreds of other excited Muslims. The atmosphere was electrifying. Everywhere I turned I was met with greetings, hugs, kisses and warm wishes. We caught up with family and friends we haven’t seen for months. It was a bit chilly though so we headed home where we rented a couple of movies and watched them all together while stuffing our faces with xalwa and biscuits. Mmmmm.
After the movie marathon, I took out the gifts and gave it to each child. With gasps and wide eyes they tore apart the bag and each kid ran to me with kisses and ‘thanks!’ as they held their gifts. They loved them and I felt happy. It was a wonderful feeling. But the biggest surprise of all was my 12 year old sister. She was so happy about her presents that she went and got one for me while I was preoccupied! She bought me (from a drugstore close to our house) a make up kit and a cute pink little make up bag. I was floored. What a sweet, sweet girl. I usually don’t put on makeup so I didn’t have any except some limp balm so it was very much appreciated.
In the afternoon, I went to the Body Worlds exhibition alone. I knew that my friends would not have come so I didn’t even bother asking. It was incredible. I was in awe throughout my whole visit. I spent there for a total of two hours and I cannot stress how much I recommend people to see it. The exhibit that still amazes me is the fetal development one. One case showed a 7 week old fetus - it was the size of half of my pinkie finger and yet it was fully formed, with a head and well defined limbs. Subhannallah! I’m glad I took the time to see it before it moved on. The $25 fee was well worth it.
Sunday
A couple friends and I went to lunch and then a movie. It was nice to catch up and spend time together. We watched ‘The pursuit of Happyness’ with Will Smith and his son. The movie was excellent. I loved it. I was a bit wary of seeing a Will Smith movie because I had his Fresh Prince character in mind but he proved me wrong. It didn’t hurt that it was based on a true story either. The man the movie was based on is such an inspiration. To rise from homelessness to becoming a multimillionaire, what an extraordinary man. It made me realize that I haven’t worked half as hard to achieve my goals and dreams as that man had even though I had all the resources available to me and he had to fight for it in the worst circumstances imaginable. Recommend it.
Monday
Rented ‘Whale Rider’. I cried, cried cried. I spent almost an hour in Rogers, reading the back of the movies, and couldn’t decide what to rent. When I’m at home there are hundreds I want to see, but when I go into the store my mind goes blank. I only choose this because Ebert (movie critic) gave it two thumbs up. I do too.
Tuesday
A friend who couldn’t make it to Sunday’s gathering invited me and my siblings to go skating. Now, I haven’t gone skating since 7th grade so I was quite rusty. I spent alot of the time with a walker on the ice because I was deathly scared of falling. Stupid triangle made me slip at one point and I feel hard on my tailbone - ouch! That was not funny at all although my group could kept on laughing. My little brother and sisters put me to shame, sliding across the ice as if they were born with skates on their feet. Argh. A poor lady feel hard on the ice on her head and had to be taken my ambulance. Next time, I will come with full gear - gloves, pillows, puffy jacket, hard hat, mask, and knee pads. A girl can never be too safe.
After hauling our aching feet home we again sat our butts down in front of the tv and had dinner with her family while watching a Somali Wedding video. I swear Somalis cannot dance. Especially Somali men. I was embarrassed for them. A couple of times I had to place my hands over my face because I couldn’t believe what I was watching. A couple of the guys were just looking for an opportunity to shove their pelvics onto the girls’. Ewww.
Phew. What a week.
Labels: Celebration
posted by Lonesome Dreamer @ 12:26 p.m.
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