Fancy That…Fancy This

Saying Goodbye

16 Jul

I am the type of person who cannot keep things around if they are old, outgrown, broken, damaged, or in any way rendered useless.

Example A: The day after Maya outgrew her crib, I gave it away to a co-worker and stared blankly at Ali when he asked why I didn’t want to keep the crib for memories. Ummm, I listened to my child scream nonstop for a year…I am pretty sure I’ll never, ever forget that.

Example B: When I realized that no amount of praying and/or crying was going to get me back into the size 0 Banana Republic pants I wore regularly prior to my daughter ruining my metabolism, I gave them to the Salvation Army. I still miss those pants but there was no need to torture myself by seeing what could have been, every time I opened my closet.

I believe Ali and Maya are slightly worried they too might find themselves discarded one day. I really want to reassure them that won’t happen but I refuse to lie, just to put their minds at ease.

Anyway, as someone who has no trouble moving on I surprised myself this past week by actually getting sentimental about saying goodbye to several things.

1. We said goodbye to Maya’s preschool after 4 + years. Who knew I’d be sad to take home her box cubby, several stuffed animals, her giant notebook, assorted loose leaf papers (she has pack rat tendencies like her father), and a very old, bacteria-ridden toothbrush?

The benefit of saying goodbye to Maya's school? Saying goodbye the check we have to write them every month!

2. We said goodbye to all the really amazing museums DC has to offer. I wasn’t sure I would actually find the motivation to drag Maya to one museum, nevermind 6 in 3 days! I am reveling in the realization that I actually CAN handle culture, and my daughter can too.

The National Gallery of Art - I know next to nothing about sculpture but Maya and I agreed this was one of the coolest things we'd ever seen.

3. I said goodbye to the most shallow bunch of reality stars on television. Yes, I was so bored on the flight to DC that I watched a marathon of MTV’s The Hills. Honestly, I’m really not that torn up that the show has ended as I stopped watching it a long time ago, but I am a bit bitter that it appears none of these girls have had to give up their size 0 Banana Republic pants.

Am I the only one who thinks there is something slightly off about Audrina? I can't put my finger on it...

4. Maya and I said a quick hello and then a quick goodbye to some new friends. We met up with Sophia, Adam, and Danielle for lunch at Le Pain Quotodien on Tuesday…

Photo Credit: Maya Din

And then Estela, Tracey, and Marin for lunch at Zaytinya on Wednesday…

Photo Credit: Maya Din

Maya's temporary BFF Marin...hopefully Marin can forgive Maya for trying to force feed her!

Thank you again all for taking the time to meet up with Maya and I. It was great getting to know you better!

5. Even Ali also had some trouble with goodbyes. First he had to bid farewell to all of the new and nerdy Microsoft buddies he met in DC, and then he had to say goodbye to a little piece of tech heaven.

Who knew that Ali's heaven was housed at Dulles airport?

But of all the painful things that I had to say goodbye to these past 7 days, I am most sad about saying goodbye to my freedom for the next two weeks. Yes, Maya is off from school and my new full-time job will be to entertain her all day, every day for the next 14 days.

Seriously, I am about to start crying.

Tags: le pain quotodien, national gallery of art, preschool, something is off with audrina, tech showcase, The Hills, visiting washington dc, zaytinya

Comments 46 Comments
Categories Blogger Meetup, Food, Maya, Parenthood, Restaurants, Travel
Author Ameena

A Shade Shadier

12 Jul

We landed in Washington D.C. yesterday and for the first time in more than a year we actually brought Maya with us on vacation. Yes Ali and I travel all the time and no we never bring our child with us. Let me count the ways I am a bad parent…

Sorry, I ran out of fingers.

Anyway, it goes without saying that I am learning a little more about my family than I wanted to. I mean, what better time to learn about another person’s “quirks” than when you are on vacation?

For instance, I had no idea that Maya was so utterly unimpressed by some things…

“I don’t care about the big elephant. Can we go get some chips now?”

And yet so impressed by others.

“So dad’s iPhone games work in Los Angeles AND Washington DC? Neat.”

I also had no idea that Ali, the master of all things technology-related, wouldn’t be able to take a photo of the Lincoln Memorial with me in it.

And yet he managed to make our hotel room a miniature replica of the cable-ridden mess we call our living room.

I learned a few things about Abby Cadabby as well. Did you know that Abby is allergic to pork, ham, bacon, raisins, sparkling water, and exercise?

Me neither. She sounds a bit high-maintenance to be honest.

And who knew that Maya would be more interested in playing with the pool noodles than she would be in going on a tour of the Capitol Building?

No judgement here as I kind of was too actually.

Finally….who knew that Ali would take off to a spur-of-the-moment “Microsoft meeting” halfway through our Capitol Building tour?

That Ali…he’s shadier than I gave him credit for.

Tags: abby cadabby, capitol building, fairmont hotel washington d.c., lincoln memorial, museum of natural history, washington d.c.

Comments 53 Comments
Categories Marriage, Maya, Other, Parenthood, Travel
Author Ameena

An afternoon in Beverly Hills

9 Jul

Aside from the occasional airport pickup, laundry “assistance,” and requests to help land a girlfriend (kidding!! kind of??), my brother doesn’t ask me for favors too often. That’s why, when he asked me to shamelessly plug the event he did for the Free Wheelchair Mission I readily agreed.

Jazz in June anybody?

My brother’s snazzy rooftop in Beverly Hills made the perfect backdrop for the event. Lucky for us the June-gloom dissipated and the weather ended up being beautiful.

All you can eat sushi - what more of an incentive does one need to write a generous check?

As someone who has trouble asking for directions, nevermind for items to donate for a silent auction, I was again quite impressed with the array of jewelry, autographed books, wine, and gadgets that my brother had available to bid on.

Note the camera in a sea of jewelry? I give you two guesses as to which tech-obsessed person in my life donated it....

I donated a bottle of Chateau Montelena but I was told it wasn’t “good enough” for the auction. I wasn’t too surprised. I know less about wine than I do parenting…which means I know next to nothing about wine.

MIT graduate Don Schoendorfer (not the individual in this photo) designed this wheelchair using elements already in existence. It costs just $59.20 to manufacture and deliver to the most remote areas of the globe.

I’m glad my brother and I are close now. We used to fight nonstop but we’ve limited our arguments to approximately 1 major blowup each year. Our annual fight is downright ugly and includes horrible, mean things we don’t actually mean and loads of four letter words I can’t repeat in front of Maya.

All I can say is that we are no longer welcome at Gyu-Kaku and I do believe that Ali’s cousin (who witnessed our annual fight back in 2004) will never recover.

My friend Adam, my sister-in-law Mediha, me, and my friend Nadia

Anyway, who knew that the same kid who took close to three months to learn how to tie his shoelaces (unlike my superstar Maya) would be able to throw a party for 75 people with absolutely no hiccups?