Last night, my husband and I attended the UPenn MSA Alumni banquet, where we saw some friends that we have grown with over the past 6 years. I remember the first banquet dinner I attended in 2007, when Mohamed and I had gotten back from hajj. As the wife of the alumnus, I felt strange to be there simply as a "wife." There were a few wives I met at that first banquet, and many MANY weddings I have attended since then (maybe 8 Upenn weddings). I witnessed the pool of banquet attendees gradually increase from 30 to 40 to 60, as people got married and started their families. The only markers of that time that has passed is the children. Once you get married, there really is no other progress to indicate the health of a relationship other than a child--and perhaps the fact that you are still married. It is quite a strange deliverable and marker, but I believe this is the marker set by my particular community. After 6 years, I am at times still struggling in this role of "w...
I began writing as an outlet for narcissism but found that blogging was more about the people in my world than about me. I am at my core a writer and educator with interests in community- building, social justice, markets, philanthropy, and academia. I am forging a path with your Dad, who I got to know mostly through the comments section of this blog. This is my story, and I'm happy to share it with you, my daughter.