15 shirts
For the past 10 days we’ve been living with my parents, as our things (hopefully) make their way across the country.
In preparation for this 10 day stay, Ali filled suitcase(s) with 15 button down shirts, 7 pairs of khaki pants, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of shoes, slippers, 4 belts, a Wii Balance Board, and a variety of weather appropriate items like a down-filled jacket and ear muffs.
And just to clarify, he did not pack the Wii, just the Balance Board.
Family picture before we left.
Me: “Are you kidding me?”
Ali: “This is what happens when you let me pack my things.”
Five hours after Ali and his luggage left – the reasons he was on a different flight is a whole other post – Maya and I leisurely made our way through LAX with one carry-on each.
And once I’d settled her on the plane with the iPad, a book, and the requisite barf bag, I realized that without Ali to supervise there was nothing left to do.
Maya making cookies with my mom and an early morning walk by the ocean with my dad.
Which immediately led me to start over-thinking our move:
- I wonder how long will it take me to find a job?
- Will the extreme NYC temperatures prove too much for Ali to handle?
- I will miss my parents. And my brother, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and my best friend Nadia.
- I hope CPK isn’t too far from our place.
- Our new place is small. What if we go the way of “The Shining” in the middle of January?
And finally: were we crazy to leave behind a perfectly good life to move across the country?
Maya and I at Lincoln Center.
But then at midnight, after we’d landed at Newark and I’d bundled myself, Maya, and her barf bag into a car, and we drove towards Manhattan?
I realized I was finally home.
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 
Nothing like home right?
Wish you a cosy stay in NYC(iam J)
Hope your fasts are going well. Im starting to hope it would be Eid already..xo
z @ kickingkilos.com
The fasts are going but they are longer here on the east coast! I too wish it was Eid already. 🙂
This is a new and exciting chapter for you! Now that I have hit the one year mark in San Fran, I can say I am happy here and it is home 🙂 miss you guys!
Can’t believe it’s been a year already Anjum! Glad that you stuck it out and that it’s now home for you. 🙂
Gah, this post made me a little weepy. So glad you guys made it out there safely and are finally home! Can’t wait to visit 😉
You are welcome anytime Azmina!
Glad you are finally home!!!
Thank you Mama D!
So glad you feel like you’re right where you belong. Next time I am in NYC I am surely gonna call on you 🙂
I hope you do! I’d love to meet you.
It’s almost tangible isn’t it? The feeling that’s this is the place to be a part of? In a world of uncertainties, It’s a blessing to be certain about such an important building block. Congrats on finding Home and Good Luck with settling in! And once again, lovely pics. 🙂
Thank you MWAD…you said it so well. It’s absolutely a feeling this is the place for me.
That feeling of being ‘home’ is the BEST!
Your post put a smile on my face today.
And your parents look cool !
Have a bagel for me! (or whatever it is you say to people living in Manhattan…..bagels? hot dogs? I have no idea!).
– Razwana
I’m not a huge bagel person but I do believe that would be the route to go. 🙂
And on behalf of my parents, thanks for the compliment!
Aww I love this post. I think it’s important to move on to new things and it sounds like you love New York too. Really looking forward to reading your new adventures. I wish you the best if luck there…I’m sure you’ll get a job soon 🙂
Thank you for the nice comment!
I’m looking forward to moving on to new things…even if it’s not always easy.
My husband once ‘accidentally’ booked us on 2 different flights 30 min apart.
Such a good feeling when you move My husband once somewhere and it instantly feels like home! Good luck settling in.
Oops that second sentence got garbled. Pretend the ‘my husband once’ isn’t there!
2 different flights 30 minutes apart? So curious how that happened? LOL Sounds like something Ali would do. 🙂
Haha….glad I’m not the only one surrounded by such silliness! I’m curious too….never quite got a satisfactory explanation for that one!
Home sweet home :)! Even though it’s a scary move, we can only grow by coming out of our comfort zone…best of luck, Ameena!
Totally agree about moving out of our comfort zone! Thanks for the comment Khushboo!
The Wii balance board? Now that is funny. I would almost let the earmuffs and down parka slide if not for the Wii board. Maybe he is planning on snowboarding (on the Wii) this week in NYC and needs all that gear 🙂
Good luck with the rest of the move!
I had to laugh out loud at the snowboarding in NYC comment…the visual is just too much. 🙂
How exciting for you, Ameena! I think you’ll be fine and I can’t wait to read the post on the flight issue!! Settle in, then tell us all about it.
Thanks Fran…I always appreciate your comments! 🙂
this is a bittersweet post Ameena but NYC has always been on your mind you guys will love it 🙂 and I am looking forward to read all about it.
Thanks Dixya…I think we will love it! Fingers crossed. 🙂
Oww… welcome home Ameena (and Maya and Ali)! What a great family picture. I love it! I also love the picture of Maya & your mom baking cookies and the picture of the beach. Beautiful. Hope everything goes smoothly with the move and you receive all your stuff intact. I’m looking forward to read the story about why/how Ali was in a different plane 😉
Thanks for the welcome Lydia! And if you are in the city please let me know…would love to meet you!
So excited for y’all! That last sentence gave me goosebumps!!!
Thanks Parita! So nice of you to say. 🙂
Welcome to NYC, you will love it here (except the snow and the messy commute on subways – but thats for later! )
I’m not worried about the snow but the messy rain! I’m hoping it’s less messy than I imagine…
we really only get april showers here in NY (then again, this past month, its been raining unexpectedly) .. rain comes in short bouts though, so nothing to worry about. If you dont like rain, then choosing NY over London was the right way to go.
BTW, since Im here, can I also say, I spent a good part (read :all) of this weekend reading a lot of your posts and it cracked me up! Thank you for also making me feel normal – I love your sarcasm and I have plenty too – only people around me dont quite get it 🙂 I hear myself talking in all those marriage scenarios ! gosh, to feel normal is so great.. I was kinda begining to doubt that.. you may have single handedly saved my marriage (for now atleast 🙂 )
Moving is always scary, I know this too well having jetted off to Pakistan from London! Look forward to all your NY posts from now on and GOOD LUCK 🙂
I only hope my next move is to London and not back to LA! 🙂
Glad you made it out there for real this time!!!
New York absorbs you if you let it with an open mind and adventurous spirits. You m’lady were born a new Yorker. 🙂
Good luck with job hunting. You m’lady are going to kick a$$!
Ali cracks me up.
Thank you for your nice words…it’s great that someone has confidence I’ll find a job! 🙂
Hopefully we’ll meet up when you are in town?
Welcome home 🙂 and good luck with everything.
Thank you Ayala!
This made me laugh so hard I scared the cat: “without Ali to supervise there was nothing left to do.”
I’ll miss you my friend but I’m glad that you feel that you are really ‘home’ now 🙂
I will miss you too Deb but luckily I know that you will be here to visit soon. 🙂
Awww.. I’m glad you see NYC as home, it takes people 6 months before they start thinking of a place as home. I’m glad you moved. NYC has been on your mind for so long. It’ll be a nice change, and you came when the weather cooled up a little.. it was horrible last week. 🙂
The weather is fantastic! I had a jacket on yesterday and was loving every second of the humidity.
Looking forward to meeting up soon!
Ameena reading your post I felt as if it’s a preview of mine in about a month as I head to Paris 🙂 Yes, it is all new and challenging but if you know when you land that you are home, that makes all of it worth it.
So excited for you…Paris! I can’t even imagine how thrilled you must be!
Best of luck to y’all! I dunno the next time we’ll be back in that area (probably not until next year) – hopefully you’ll be all settled by then. xo!
Next year? That’s so far away!
You are welcome any time Lynn!
i think you’ll feel very much at home soon! the east coast is the best coast 😉 i am getting the truck in 48hours to move…barf. maybe i can borrow one of maya’s bags bc i’m feeling ill already. help!
Loads of luck with your move Melissa. The good thing is that eventually? It’s finally over. 🙂
I’m glad you’re happy with your decision. Moving is hard. I’m just moving to another city and its a big thing for me. I can’t imagine having to go all the way across the county. But sometimes you just have to jump right?
Absolutely. Especially when the clock is ticking away and you’re 37 and you haven’t done anything you’ve set out to do by 40!
Feeling of home is the best! and hope you are happy with the new journey 🙂
P.S. missed on many posts of yours, as i had been to India, need to catch up on lot of things!
Thanks for the comment and for reading Deepti! I appreciate it.
Ha!! Maybe you are crazy but apparently it’s happening and I think it’ll be okay so it’s the good kind of crazy. Can’t wait to see your new place.
Eventually, when the boxes are gone and we have actual furniture, I will try to take some semi-decent pics of our new place!
You crack me up. I read Chad all the posts you write making fun of your husband because seriously… I do not know what would happen if he packed his own suitcase.
Yay for the move!!!! All the best to you and your beautiful family, Ameena!
Thank you Heather for the comment and for making me laugh.
I’m thinking we should do some kind of series on packing for challenged husbands? 🙂
You know, I really hope that one day I get to meet you Ameena and your family. And when I do I will shake Ali by the hand and shout “All those things Ameena wrote about you? ME TOO!” I don’t think I’ve ever empathised with a man I’ve never met in my life! 🙂
Always proof-read Ken… “I don’t think I’ve ever empathised SO MUCH with a man I’ve never met in my life”. Better. Still could do with an edit or two though…
I really cannot wait to read all about your NYC experiences. Leaving someplace where you have lived so long is a little difficult but when the new place you’re moving to is NYC, I think it is all good.
I agree. If I had to move to a small town in a state I wasn’t a fan of? This move would be 100 X harder. 🙂
–Did you click your heels 3 times to land in Manhattan?
What a lucky girl! X
I clicked my heels about 30 times over the past 30 years to get to Manhattan. LOL
It was worth the wait!
Welcome home!!! Not to dis LA folks or anything but c’mon, NY!!!!! It’ll be an adjustment for sure. Lord knows I had my own adjustment period when we moved to NY in the dead of winter. Coming from SF was a shock to say the least. But there are so many cool things about NY. I do miss living there sometimes. I think you’ll have a pretty good time there, and Maya will fit in nicely -she’s already so stylish and aware. Enjoy settling in!
I’m glad that we were able to move here in the summer…sort of softens the blow of what’s to come in January!
And on behalf of Maya, thank you for the compliment Will!
I am so proud of you. How exciting. And now…what are you doing this week? I am child and husband free (but have bandaid face as you know). Email me. Welcome!
Great to see you yesterday Lauren…thanks for all the recommendations again. 🙂
I love the way you write…I was giggling at the description of Ali’s suitcase contents…too funny! So glad you made it home…and I wish you all the best as you settle in your new space.
Thanks Skinny Chick…I appreciate the kind words and the comment!
and so a new chapter begins….
Look forward to reading more about it….
Thanks BAB…a new chapter for sure. 🙂
Awww, that pic of Maya & her grandma is so sweet :)!
I am looking forward to your new life in NYC adventures!!
I’m looking forward to some new NYC adventures too! Thanks P!
I am so glad you all made it safely, fingers crossed for your stuff! I am looking forward to lots of delicious NYC food posts.
The food posts will begin once Ramadan is over. Nobody can is looking forward to that more than me. LOL
I am so proud of you for taking the plunge! So many of us wouldn’t and would forever be held back from making big changes that we really wish we could make. I am so PROUD of you! Enjoy and eat lots of chocolate (after sunset) to survive and remember this time in life when you had guts.
So sweet of you Andrea! I really appreciate the nice words and the comment.
I took your advice and had chocolate last night. A little too much. Looking forward to a bit of a detox today. 🙂
What a move, that is a big leap. I don’t know if I could handle it without the barf bag. I bet they new coast will provide you with some many new memories and just think of all the food opportunities that await. I want to go there just to eat and then when it got cold, I’d come back and spend winter in Cali. What a wimp, huh?
-Gina-
I think that just January and February sort of freak me out weather-wise. Especially because the magic of the holidays sort of makes it even more challenging, you know?
I might be taking a trip to LA for the winter myself… 🙂
Home is where the heart is, right? Totally envious but happy for you (:
Very shortly this website will be famous among all blog people, due to it’s good posts
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about pawn shops open on sunday in houston.
Regards
มัน เหมาะสม เวลาที่จะทำให้ แผนการ บางอย่างสำหรับ อนาคตและ
มันเป็น มัน ถึงเวลาที่จะ มีความสุข ฉันมี ฉันได้ อ่านบทความ นี้และ ถ้า ฉันสามารถ ฉัน ความปรารถนาที่จะ ขอแนะนำให้คุณ ไม่กี่ บาง สิ่งที่น่าสนใจ หรือ แนะนำ บางที บางที คุณ
อาจ สามารถ เขียนบทความ
ที่อ้างถึงต่อ ไป ในบทความนี้ ฉัน ต้องการที่จะ ต้องการ ความปรารถนาที่จะ อ่าน มากขึ้น มากยิ่งขึ้น สิ่งที่ เกี่ยวกับมัน
สวัสดี , ฉันเชื่อ ว่าฉัน เห็น สังเกตเห็น คุณเยี่ยมชม บล็อก ของฉัน เว็บไซต์ ดังนั้น ฉัน ได้ที่นี่ มา ที่จะ กลับไป กลับ ต้องการ ?
. ผม พยายามที่จะ หา สิ่งที่
การ ปรับปรุง ของฉัน เพิ่ม เว็บไซต์ ฉันคิดว่า ของ
ok ใช้ ไม่กี่ ของ คุณ คิด !
โว้ววว ! ฉันจริงๆ รัก แม่แบบ / รูปแบบของ เว็บไซต์ นี้ บล็อก มันง่าย แต่มีประสิทธิภาพ หลายครั้งมันเป็นเรื่อง ยากมาก
ที่จะได้รับ ว่า ” สมดุลที่สมบูรณ์แบบ ” ระหว่าง การใช้งาน ที่ยอดเยี่ยม การใช้งาน และ
ลักษณะที่ปรากฏ ลักษณะ ต้องบอกว่า ที่คุณ เลิศ งาน นี้ นอกจากนี้ นอกจากนี้ โหลด บล็อก มาก รวดเร็ว สำหรับฉันใน ซาฟารี สุดยอด บล็อก
!
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