making lunch
Last Sunday I had a conversation with my mom about how I never get sick. So three days later I got horribly sick.
I attribute my sickness to two things:
- Being cocky enough to verbalize that I am above sickness.
- The fact that Maya got sick one day before me and – you guessed it – threw up on me a number of times.
Normally, when I’m sick, life goes on. I go to work. I take care of Maya. I keep up with my obsessive cleaning schedule. I mean, we’ve already established that I am not John Din, right? But this time I hobbled home from work, dropped onto the sofa, and didn’t move for 48 hours.
I woke up with a start at 5:30 am on Thursday morning, consumed with the fact that I had to make lunch for Maya. I had visions of walking to the kitchen to do just that, but I could not get out of bed. That meant that for the first time EVER (and I swear I am not exaggerating) Ali was left to his own devices with regards to getting Maya ready for school.
I got off the sofa AND changed my clothes so we could take a family picture for Eid.
Around 11 am I woke up again and gave Ali a call at the office:
Me: “Please tell me you didn’t forget to make Maya a lunch?”
Ali: “I did not forget.”
Me: “What did you give her?”
Ali: “A boiled egg. And broccoli.”
Me: “Anything else?”
Ali: “Yes. Some seaweed.”
I wish I could say that I was so impressed with Ali’s efforts that I decided not to say anything about how random her lunch was and how Maya would be starving and thus in a bad mood when she got home from school. But really, my big mouth stayed shut because I was too sick to put a smart ass comment together.
Ali brought Maya home around 4 pm to change for her 4 pm tennis lesson. (No, that makes no sense to me either). During the five minutes he was home, I watched him bang things around, snap at Maya about leaving her backpack in the middle of the hallway, and then randomly throw the trash (that never happens) muttering something I couldn’t hear but can only guess wasn’t exactly complimentary towards me.
Me: “Why are you in such a bad mood?”
Ali: “Because I just keep rushing from one thing to another today. There’s a lot to do.”
Really? I had no idea.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
Is getting sick ALMOST like a relief? For once you get to sleep and let Ali do everything. Although I suppose it would be nice to be awake and concious of the relaxation…anyway, there is a wicked flu going around so I hope you get to feeling better soon. But when you do I say you play sick for a day or two longer and take advantage of getting to sleep:)
Well this was the first time I let Ali do everything. And while being sick is no fun I suppose that in a way it was quite liberating. Plus, after sleeping all day and night I felt quite rested. 🙂
Feel better, darling. And Ali, left to his own “devices”? Which one, he has about twenty based on the techie post from the other day! 😉
Kiran
Well said Kiran! So clever. 🙂
I hope you feel better soon!
I bragged how I never get sick a month ago and then got “allergies” for a week. Because I was in denial. Totally wasn’t sick.
I’ve had “allergies” as well. Love how that can be a catch all for pretty much anything!
My life keeps marching on when I’m sick, too. Andrew is 12 and I have NO IDEA what would happen if something got me down enough that I couldn’t get outta bed. It would be a humongous disaster. Hope you’re feeling better!
Humongous disaster was exactly what my kitchen looked like when I was brave enough to venture over.
Can’t wait for Maya to be 12….
Haha this kinda reminds me of being sick at work! No matter how shitty you feel, sometimes it’s easier to suck it up and do the work yourself! Hope you’re feeling better my friend…and that Ali realises the worth of your labor as a mother!
Yes it is. So much easier!! And thank you, I am doing much better now.
Hope you are feeling better now! It’s so true that these tasks fall to the Mom, even if she is working. The schedules are dizzying!
Dizzying is right! And I only have one kid. I can’t imagine how I’d handle more than that.
Hope you’re back to your normal, healthy self soon! I feel like that’s how I get sick too –> I say “I haven’t been sick in such a long time.” And then bam, the next day I have a fever or something. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut!
I need to learn to keep my mouth shut for about 100 different reasons…
Maybe now he’ll be a bit more sympathetic when you’re running around doing stuff for Maya?
Nah. I bet he’s already forgotten about it and thinks I do nothing all day long!
Get well soon ❤ ! Yeah everyone I know has a jinx with saying 'I don't get sick' or similar. Sometimes its a blessing – its the only way to get much needed rest. Not for control freaks like me though, who'd be calling out reminders and instructions even half asleep ,"Did you give them soaked almonds? they're on the platform next to the fridge…..' 😀
I usually do the same thing…my instructions are halfway coherent but I feel like I have no choice but to convey them anyway. 🙂
That is a beautiful family photo. You didn’t look like you’re sick at all. Fabulous as usual.
Hope you’re feeling better by now. Men are the same everywhere, when I’m sick & couldn’t tend to the kids, my husband keeps asking me where the things are and what to do with them, etc. Ha, apparently we are not supposed to get sick.
Thank you for the compliment! The great thing about being bedridden is that my hair has no choice but to behave. The pillow flattens it out. 🙂
Mr. Mom sees what it’s all about 🙂
Hope you are feeling better!
Katie
PS – y’all are super cute! I think I tell you that every time 😉
Mr. Mom was a great movie! And thanks for the compliment. 🙂
haha well at least it sounds like the beginning of a good lunch but yeah. poor girl was probably so hungry later in the day! sick or not, you look amazing!
Thank you Melissa!
And yes…the beginning of a good lunch is right.
Hahaha if this was to keep up (like a man’s flu), I could see Ali having his own blog for day to day complaints 😉 But fortunately for him you already look better in the eid picture, so i hope you’re up and about in no time 🙂 You know i was just telling my family last weekend that its been a such a long time since i’ve been sick, knowing that that is a perfect queue for the world to give me a cold, but i just can’t help myself! Makes me feel rebellious – i might mention it again this weekend…
I’m doing much better…but you won’t hear me saying I never get sick. Rebellious side or not!
Hmmmm….you might have to get sick more often; when I say sick I mean “fake” sick. Nice to see him pick up the slack and step into your shoes for a day. I never get sick either…I wonder if just having typed that will jinx me? I didn’t say it out loud. Hope you are feeling better.
If you don’t verbalize something then I don’t think it’ll come true. Writing it is okay!
Ameena, you sweet thing. I love this picture of your family, you are all very goodlooking. I’m sorry you got sick, but once in awhile it’s good for the father’s of our children to really experience what we go through, the time we put in, the sacrifices for themselves, so they can appreciate us even mooooooooore than they already do right? 🙂
I think the lunch sounds great save the seaweed I guess… 🙂 I hope you are feeling better. Take care Ameena,
Shauna xoxoxoxoxo
What you say is totally true but I have a sneaking suspicion that Ali doesn’t appreciate me a single bit more than he did before I got sick. Sad but true.
Thanks Shauna! I feel much better today!
I have to say I am super impressed with Maya’s lunch, so healthy. I am one of those people too who brag about never getting sick, I should try and keep my mouth shut huh?
I love a clean house and well fed children and that is one of the things that bugs me most when I am sick, but I just have to let Glenn deal and hope for the best. Usually though he can’t see all the great food in the fridge and just ends up taking them all out to eat.
Funny how no husband can see what’s in the fridge…Ali does the same thing and resorts to In-n-Out!
The end made me laugh…a lot. Thanks for another brilliant Din family story! I hope you’re feeling better now.
I am feeling much better now…thank you for asking. And for laughing!
Bummer, being sick on Eid sucks because you miss out on all the fantastic food. Sick or not, you look great! We both worked on Eid so sadly, it felt like a normal day to us. Although we did have biryani the next day so I guess that counts?
Biryani = Eid. So yes, that counts!
And thanks for the compliment, as always.
I hope you feel better soon !
I do feel better Ayala…thank you!
hahaha I can remember one time when my mom got really sick and my dad had to take over. He did not handle it well, and he was so angry with my mom at the end of the day because he was exhausted. I’m pretty sure she still mocks him for it.
The way I’ll mock Ali? But the problem is that Ali doesn’t care. Mocking doesn’t bother him one bit.
Get well soon, Ameena!!! That is a beautiful family pic and belated Eid Mubarak to you !!!
Thank you Gayathri, I appreciate the compliment and the well wishes. 🙂
I love it when husbands get stuck with the wives’ work. Like when my husband actually goes to the grocery store (he thinks men aren’t allowed inside, except to buy beer) and comes home exclaiming how expensive groceries have become. Uh, no kidding.
Except to buy beer….hysterical. Ali thinks the grocery store is for milk and milk only. Yes, really.
It’s always amusing when my boyfriend ends up taking care of things I usually do. He’s sympathetic for the next couple of days after.
And then he forgets? Well at least you get two days…I don’t even get that.
Haha, oh man – THIS is what happens when the tables are turned! I imagine this is how my dad felt when he took me on a dad/daughter ski trip when I was 7 and I demanded that he braid my hair for the slopes. I hope you’re feeling better, Ameena!
How did your dad handle the braid? I can’t imagine Ali putting Maya’s hair into a ponytail, never mind a braid!
He actually did a pretty decent job! He’s a very impressive person. 🙂
Aww, I hope you feel better soon, Ameena! I’m glad that Maya got home in one piece (and she probably can’t wait for you to feel 100%).
Thanks Jessie…I am doing much better!
Hilarious Ameena. I have doubts my husband will be able to take care of himself, let alone a child should I ever fall sick.
Belated Eid wishes to you and your gorgeous family 🙂
Ali can’t take care of himself either. I think he wanted to ask me to make him some food but luckily he thought better of it!
Awww… I hope you feel better Ameena. It sucks getting sick, but at least you got some rest. I think sometimes men have no clue how much is involved to raise a kid, most women get stuck doing load of the work. Of course, I wouldn’t know, but i have 3 women in my family who have kids so I realize this which in process probably screwed me up for life. 😦
Your place looks so pretty.. or wherever you are. You look gorgeous in the EID photo. Eid Mubarak!
I bet you are far less screwed up than me my friend. Actually I guarantee it!
And thank you for the compliment. 🙂
In five weeks I’ll be putting my husband in a similar *test*. He’s great, don’t get me wrong. But he has never, ever packed a lunch for the kiddo. I get up at 5:30 every weekday morning to get ready, make her breakfast and lunch (or assemble, depending on what she’s eating), and then my breakfast (consisting of very strong coffee. I am the one that does ALL the grocery shopping, and most of the cooking, and though washing dishes is his thing, I end up doing some b/c I’m one of those who cleans/washes as I cook. But all that will change in 5 weeks when I leave, for the very first time, on a 4 day conference a third of the way across our nation. I am both fearful and excited.
Sorry to hear that you go so ill, but happy for you that you were finally able to “lay back” and let Ali get a taste of what you go through. Maybe you ought to be very ill once a month? Y’know, schedule it in like you do with a hair appointment or something.
cg
Wait…so he washes the dishes? I am envious. At least you get that. I really want to comment on the rest but all I can think of is, “He washes the dishes.”
I am so excited for conference and I am hoping one comes my way sooner than later.
Eid Mubarak Ameena. I hope you feel better soon to dig into some good mutton biryani.
Your husband helping out in whatever little way is a bonus. I have to threaten my husband to do something. The photograph is so lovely…
Threats can get a whole lot done…
Sweet family photo. Yes, parenting IS a lot of rushing around!
Parenting is defined as rushing around. And being covered in barf!
Oh poor, poor thing. But one must admit to some secret satisfaction at finally being revenged. I mean understood.
I think the understanding is temporary though…that’s the unfortunate part.
Ah now he knows. Being a wife is quite the job in itself, add the responsibility of being a mother and it really is a full time job with a never ending list of things to do. No wonder he was so cranky 🙂
Once my in-laws leave and I start delegating chores to my husband he is going to get a very rude awakening 🙂 Right now thanks to his parents he is having the time of his life.
A very rude awakening is right! It’ll be interesting for you to watch it happen I’m sure.
So sorry you spent Eid being unwell. Bet that taught a lesson or two to your better half 😉 I can only wish 😉
ps: WE MUST MEET. Sent you an email!
Sorry we couldn’t get together yesterday, please let me know if you are around next weekend!
Dare I say if Ali learned something it was worth your sickness? I’ve said this relating to work “all you have to do to get a raise/be appreciated is go on vacation.” Well, you’re either getting a raise or getting fired. 🙂
Long time no write for me… how DO you do it all!? Hope you back to the land of wellness.
I am back in the land of wellness, thank you for asking! And really, I wish I could get fired from housework. I’d have NO problem with that. 🙂
I Looooooooooooove you and Ali.
Men are utterly clueless, arent they? Haaa..
Venus. Mars.
I get it, man. x
Clueless may be the understatement of the year…
This made me laugh. I am so fortunate that my husband does so much with the kids and around the house. This is due to the fact that I went back to school for 6 years and he had to take over or else all would have been chaos, but I am so, so lucky because most guys really do seem clueless about the effort required to make a household run smoothly. You might have to schedule yourself a solo vacation to really let it sink in 😉
So are you saying that I have to go back to school for 6 years? Because I’d rather do housework than study again. I am NOT a good studier (if that’s even a word!).
Being sick sucks…what’s worse is having to hand over the household to the husbands. It never turns out right.
No, it never does turn out right!
Can I hire Ali to make lunch for my clients? At least it was healthy. You must’ve been really sick to be speechless. When I get nice I know I’m in bad shape.
Hi Ameena,
Get well soon. I was under the weather the last couple of days and hubby has had to go early, really early to work. So getting my 6 year old ready for school and packing her lunch was all my thing.
Luckily, hubby has been exceptionally kind and sweet over the weekend taking care of our little one and household chores including making my morning tea for me.
It’s been quite a while already, but I hope you’re feeling better! I guess at least Ali can appreciate what you have to go through every single day of the year with no breaks. There are no such things as holidays or weekends in parenting….
Hope you’re feeling better, Ameena! I have a cold too, but mine is moving out quickly unlike Ralph’s. Perhaps that’s because I’m doing what the doctor told us to do and he isn’t…Men!! Feel Better!!
Feel better soon!!! I’ve been sick also, not enjoying it.
xoAmy
http://www.dreamingincashmere.com
Thanks Amy! Hope you are also doing better.
Ha ha! Brings back memories, not all fond 😀 Hope you are feeling better Ameena.
Thank you Madhu, I am so much better!
We have this “conversation” at some point during the week. It’s the “you don’t know what I’m going through” conversation…er…heated debate. And then you get that glorious moment when the other person just seems to understand only to realize it’s fleeting. At least there was that moment.