خال خالذ Khalu Khalid

Someday, inshaa Allah, AC will learn to love people. Right now, he just seems to love visits. Staying out late, eating in people's laps, touching everything. That's life with visits.

This week, the offending spoiler was Khalid whose official name (perhaps unbeknownst to him) is the wonderfully alliterative, Khalu Khalid (maternal uncle Khalid). KK flew in for a weekend trip with an FB (Fellow Bostonian). AC, the consummate Drama Prince, thoroughly wowed our company with his renditions of his favorite cries including: "Really, That Hurt," "Saddened By Sitting," and "Just Need One More Piece of Pie." Apparently for KC, playing with company, not napping, and having bread for dinner was noteworthy enough that she felt the need to stay up until 10:30 Saturday night telling the wall about it.

Reminiscing over childhood while watching my own children begin theirs, I can't help but to wonder what lasting memories my parenting and their own choices will leave them with. In my head, I really only remember going to school, playing, and eating. There are moments from fishing trips, family gatherings, and our RV days, most of which are probably pretty muddled patchworks pieced together by family stories and things I assumed must have happened. Just this weekend, I discovered that my family probably wasn't actually in the Nation of Islam while I was alive, despite my memories to the contrary. Now, when people ask me if I was born Muslim, maashaa Allah, I'll just say, yes and forgo the details of my (invented) memories of our transition.

Ultimately, AK and I pray that they will be faithful, well grounded Muslims. We hope they'll productive childhoods, which will transition them into productive adults at or around the age of 15.

As part of that, I hope, as I would think most parents would hope, that they'll be mindful that the good and the bad that they experience is all part of the Qadr (divine decree) and never look back on their childhoods thinking if only my mom would have...

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan.