Sunday was Mariyah's 3rd birthday. My in laws wanted to spend the day with us so we went to Stinson Beach and then hiked a little bit in Muir woods. The weather was funny all day long and at the beach Mariyah got wet while carrying a bucket full of water to build castles using the new beach set from her grandparents. We were all excited for her and happy to see her having fun on her birthday.
The next day -Monday- she woke up with what the doctor called: "Croup"!
Mariyah got a cold at the beach and her cough "croup" is too dry and harsh. I've never heard her cough like that before.
And that's why we shouldn't have celebrated her birthday!
No, Really...
We don't celebrate a birthday!
I mean...we don't even mention it and we actually don't get gifts for each other...We don't celebrate the Valentine's, the mother's day or father's day.
We only celebrate Eid Fitr and Eid Adha.
Some might think we are close minded but we actually are not. When I met Jeeej online he made it clear to me that he doesn't celebrate but the two Islamic Eids. I found it different and I thought he was unique. When my birthday came that year and when my mom threw me a birthday/farewell party, he never called to say happy birthday. He actually called me but talked to me about everything but my birthday...I kept singing to myself over the phone: Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee....
Our first year together as a married couple, we had fights about it but then a year after another I realized that it's hopeless and that I should live with it the way it is.
To be honest...I kinda like it. Because having him -us- not celebrating these special days makes it important to be creative and get gifts for each other at random times for no specific occasion.
On Eid days, we get gifts and we celebrate it the best way we can. And now that we have kids it has to be extra special. Living in a materialistic country where every occasion is related to business/shopping/gifts makes our efforts kinda hard, but we are doing good so far.
We get Mariyah a gift every single week. Sometimes big and sometimes little, depends on our budget. We make sure we wrap the gift and use a gift bag. We leave it in her room to see and open when she wakes up in the morning.
She knows she is 3 years old and she knows it was a special day too, Remember, she went to the Beach and then hiking and then to a nice restaurant where she got to pick her own meal...but the gifts she got from my in laws were because they love her...not because it was her birthday.
I was actually writing this post yesterday but fell asleep before posting it and now I'm glad it waited because today my Jeeej got me a bunch of beautiful flowers on his way back home, for no special occasion...When Mariyah asked me about the reason, I simply answered:
Because Baba Loves Me :)
It's OK and sometimes beautiful to be different.
No, Really...
We don't celebrate a birthday!
I mean...we don't even mention it and we actually don't get gifts for each other...We don't celebrate the Valentine's, the mother's day or father's day.
We only celebrate Eid Fitr and Eid Adha.
Some might think we are close minded but we actually are not. When I met Jeeej online he made it clear to me that he doesn't celebrate but the two Islamic Eids. I found it different and I thought he was unique. When my birthday came that year and when my mom threw me a birthday/farewell party, he never called to say happy birthday. He actually called me but talked to me about everything but my birthday...I kept singing to myself over the phone: Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee....
Our first year together as a married couple, we had fights about it but then a year after another I realized that it's hopeless and that I should live with it the way it is.
To be honest...I kinda like it. Because having him -us- not celebrating these special days makes it important to be creative and get gifts for each other at random times for no specific occasion.
On Eid days, we get gifts and we celebrate it the best way we can. And now that we have kids it has to be extra special. Living in a materialistic country where every occasion is related to business/shopping/gifts makes our efforts kinda hard, but we are doing good so far.
We get Mariyah a gift every single week. Sometimes big and sometimes little, depends on our budget. We make sure we wrap the gift and use a gift bag. We leave it in her room to see and open when she wakes up in the morning.
She knows she is 3 years old and she knows it was a special day too, Remember, she went to the Beach and then hiking and then to a nice restaurant where she got to pick her own meal...but the gifts she got from my in laws were because they love her...not because it was her birthday.
I was actually writing this post yesterday but fell asleep before posting it and now I'm glad it waited because today my Jeeej got me a bunch of beautiful flowers on his way back home, for no special occasion...When Mariyah asked me about the reason, I simply answered:
Because Baba Loves Me :)
It's OK and sometimes beautiful to be different.
