I always liked Lord of the Rings for one of its extremely valuable underlying themes– even the tiniest of people can make a difference in the world.

In this past year of teaching, I’ve found this to be very true.   The little kiddies of the elementary school not only can make a difference in the world, but they can teach you a multitude of things.

For example, at the start of the year I did not have memorized a du’aa for reciting in the morning and a du’aa for reciting just after prayer and prior to making dhikr.  But now after teaching, I can proudly say that I do know these two new du’aas.  And who were my teachers?  Why the hobbits in my life– the elementary school kids!

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the end of the school year and I’m in shock.

There were moments I felt like I had been teaching for decades and the school year would never come to an end.  But now I feel like I’ve hardly spent anytime with my students and now the end is approaching at lightning speed.

Where did the time go and how did I spend it?  I’m really worried that I didn’t teach my students properly, that I’ve jipped them of a proper education.  What if my Algebra students go on to the next class and still can’t factor properly?  What if my Biology students don’t remember how the heart pumps blood because I didn’t teach it clearly enough?  What if my 4th graders can’t remember how to convert between mixed numbers and mixed fractions?

I’m worried I didn’t do a good job with them and that I haven’t left enough of an impact on them.  Sure they tell me I’m their favorite teacher now, but what about next year?  Will they forget Sr. Ayesha and start to adore whichever teacher is chewing their ears off 5 days a week then?  I know it’s a stupid concern to have, but I don’t want my students to forget me and the things I’ve taught them.

Read the rest of this entry »

It sure feels like it.  Today it was a 81 degrees and uncomfortably humid.  Bees and wasps alike were buzzing outside and around our deck.  And of course, abbu had fired up the grill for a family BBQ.

A puhpo of mine came into town this weekend from Jersey and she requested that abbu barbeque.  So he planned a menu filled with tikkah and kabobs.  But I was uninterested from the sound of all that.  I interjected yesterday and demanded there be hotdogs and hamburgers!  As much as we barbeque throughout the summer, burgers and hotdogs, in my opinion, don’t get enough grill time.  We usually have steak, chicken tikkah and kabobs on heavy rotation.

Read the rest of this entry »

Shocking, as it is to read the above statement, it is true! I am going to miss these blasted roads in Michigan. Definitely not because of their quality, but because I know them like the back of my hand.

The very fact that I can hit the road and know exactly which direction I’m heading in, which street I’m going to cross, which store is going to come up on the right, which pretty house is on the upcoming corner, which gas station is cheapest, which highway exit I should take, how to avoid traffic, what is a better construction detour is something that I think I may have taken for granted.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m another week closer to my wedding, and I just finished up having my first pre-wedding party.  On Saturday my mom invited her closest friends over to the house to listen to a short talk (dars) on the etiquettes of dealing with in-laws and other new relationships post-marriage.  It was a lot of fun to have everyone come over and get into the wedding mood.  If I wasn’t sure I was getting married in just a few weeks before the party, I definitely know it now after the party.

This is primarily because everyone and their mother kept referring to me as the dulhan (bride).  They kept asking me if the dulhan was excited, or if the dulhan was nervous, or if the dulhan was prepared for leaving, or if the dulhan was happy, etc.  After a while it became kind of… annoying.  First of all, it’s weird to ask me questions in the third person.  Second of all, I don’t like being called the dulhan!

Read the rest of this entry »