Mother's Day (one more time)

I guess feeling guilty for not 3abaring me on Egypt's Mother's Day, I received this poem from my Mo on North America's Mother's Day (second Sunday in May).

Thank YOU Mo. Ma2boola minak. Walahi I loved it. You will always be my favorite monkey. (I think I liked you better when you were osayar w oz3a - as in the picture- mish taweel w ........ Sorry )

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there. And enjoy the poem.

Thank you for…

Living through the nine months it took to make me,
And the gentle voice you use when you wake me.
Giving me everything you ever had and more,
Watching me play sports and cheering when I'd score.
Knowing when I was feeling sad and reinforcing me,
Teaching me to fear God without forcing me.
Being a perfect mother figure who I admired,
Cooking me the greatest meals even when tired.
Showing me that in a messy home nothing would get done,
Actually…maybe you went a bit overboard on that one!
Helping me with homework when I'd come and cry to you,
And knowing way more about computers than I do.
Teaching me politeness and manners was a big plus,
And you instilled in me a lifelong pride in Musr.
Your amazing talents in writing and storytelling,
Managing to raise three great kids without ever yelling.
Telling me that I could become whatever I believed in,
From a banker, to an actor, to a comedian.
Marrying a man who is your perfect other half,
Who taught me how to joke and make others laugh.
I'll never love someone as much as 7dritik,
And I promise you that I'll always be Mo-itik

Happy Mother's day

The third special occasion in this festive week is Mother's Day. In Egypt, this occasion was established by Mustafa Amin, the Egyptian journalist, who was known for adding a human dimension to journalism. Amin, who believed in western-style democracy, involved his readers in a vote (the one and only free & uncontested vote in the history of Egypt) to choose a day to celebrate Egyptian Mothers. Most readers chose March 21st (the first day of spring) which symbolizes birth, serenity, & blossom.

The first Egyptian Mother's Day was celebrate in 1956. Later, several Arab countries followed suit and the day is now celebrated in 14 countries.

Some voices have risen requesting changing the name of the occasion to Family's Day. Their reasoning is, fathers too deserve to be celebrated and that the occasion might be painful to children who have lost their moms. To the two groups I say:

• If you haven't noticed yet, there are 365 days in the year. March 21st is Mother's day. You still have 364 days left (& even 365 days in leap years) to choose a day to celebrate Father's or Family's Day. All I can say to people who still wanna hijack March 21st, and as best said by Salah Mansour in the movie "elZawga elThania" : "Heya 7abaket????"
  
• I am capable of and I actually do a lot of mean things. But one thing I would never want to do is to hurt the feelings of others. Moreover, I would rather die than hurt the feelings of a child. Yet to those who want to change the day to a Family Day not to hurt orphans, I say: "In a society that claims that it is the most religeous society in the world, if orphans do not find a relative, a neighbor, or a friend who would replace (as best as possible) the mother this child has lost, then there is a huge problem with the society, and the problem won't be treated by canceling Mother's day.
  
• If you are still not convinced, .............. well, I ran out of good arguments, so just let's celebrate.
  

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, & to all mothers in Egypt, the Arab world, and the whole world.