Mumma

Today, I am throwing a 50th birthday party for my mother. This post is dedicated to her. 

                              

My mother is my best friend. Ever since I was a little kid, I remember being close to my mom. My siblings and I used to fight over who would sit next to my mother on the couch. We had to develop a schedule so no one could accuse the others of being unfair. If I didn't see my mom is the house, I would call her name until she responded. I never had anything to say to her, I just needed to know that she was there. I wrote my college essay about how I developed my sense of hard work, my strength, and my moral character from my mom. (I got into every college I applied to, so it must have been good!)

Since becoming an adult, I feel even closer to my mom. I appreciate everything she has done for my siblings and me, and she is a role model as a mom and as a teacher for me.

My mom and I are almost the same person. I remember when I was about 19, I was staying with my aunt in Florida and in the middle of something I was saying, she just looked at me and said: "You look just like your mother, the way you talk and move, I feel like I just saw her." By looking at the pictures on this post, you can see that we don't particularly resemble each other physically. But we are almost identical in our mannerisms. I talk the way she does, gesture the way she does, and even catch myself saying things she always says. For example, a few weeks ago I was watching my second graders run around at recess. One of them came up to me and said "Omar is chasing me!" I looked at her and simply said: "If you don't run, he can't chase you." My mom said that exact same thing to me every time I complained that my brother was chasing me as a child! And I hated it, because my response was always "If I don't run, he will get me!"  I am even saying things that I didn't like my mom saying to me as a child!

My mom and I finish each other's sentences. I can tell exactly what she is thinking by looking at her face. I can even anticipate what she is going to say before she even says it. 

I love my mom more than words can express and I am so thankful for her. I hope inshaAllah that I can be as great a mom as she is someday. 

Happy Birthday Mumma!