It’s been four days of teacher in-service, and I’m already exhausted.  My body hasn’t adjusted just yet to the schedule I used to keep last year.  The schedule of waking up early, running out the door with a half empty stomach, standing on my feet all day running around from here to there, coming home only to find more work waiting for me, and finally crashing into my bed at a time that is not nearly early enough for me to be refreshed the next morning.

I was thinking back to my first few days working in Michigan, and how stressed out I was.  The first time I went into my classroom it was a dumping grounds for other teachers’ misplaced and unwanted things.  I was moving boxes from here to there and trying to get all my things in order.  Meanwhile the air conditioning was having mood swings and turning on and off as it pleased.  I was a mess at the end of each day, and found myself not only physically and mentally exhausted, but emotionally defeated.

In hind sight, however, I realize I had one thing going for me that made all of that commotion a little bit easier:  I had my own classroom!

(more…)

Imagine yourself at a wedding.  You’ve just met with one of your oldest and closest friends and are exchanging salaams and “how do you do’s”.  Just then, you see your friends parent (opposite your gender) approach your circle.  Your friend says salaam, you say salaam, the uncle/aunty says salaam, and then they go in for the kill.

The next thing you know, the uncle or aunty is reaching in for a hug, a pat on the head, or even a kiss on the forehead.  You’re feeling awkward and extremely uncomfortable.  But you don’t know what to do! This aunty or uncle has known you since you were in diapers.  You feel like he or she could double as your own parents.  But the fact of the matter is that the person isn’t your actual parent, so if they’re touching you, it isn’t okay.

But then you think to yourself, “Yea… it’s wrong, but I don’t want to offend him or her.  I’m just like a baby to this person.  What’s the harm?  I can’t reject their love by not accepting this affectionate gesture.”

Or can you?

(more…)

I’m currently enrolled in an Al-Huda 4 Week Summer Course.  In it we study the tafsir of certain selected verses, practice reciting with proper tajweed, memorize different du’as, learn about various figures in Islamic history, and finally go over different aspects of good  Muslim behavior.  Today we had an assignment to find an example of patience in the life of any companion of the Prophet sallalahu alyahi wasalaam.  I used this site to find an amazing story.  Below is the post I wrote on my class forum to complete the assignment.

 ——————————————————

In class we mentioned the idea of having patience and knowing that when one door closes, another door opens. Such is the case of Zayd ibn Thabit, radhiAllahu ‘anhu.

(more…)