I've spent the last few days trying to tie up a million loose ends before we reach our actual week of leaving, taking the kids to the dentist for checkups, took my daughter to have her little doe eyes examined as we found out last year she needed to wear glasses... needless to say at the age of 3, she wasn't very interested in keeping them on. I still need to sell my Jeep, change all my banking information, handle my student loans, call the shipping company to find out what'll cost me to ship the many things I've bought. As mentioned previously, the hubby thinks I'm nuts but I've been checking with my girlfriends over there with what's readily available and what's not and of course, the quality. Many things we take for granted here in New York would definitely be considered a luxury item there so I'm trying to cover my bases with getting what I need... and want!
The only part of this move I'm not looking forward to is the time when my husband will be here in New York- his business is here so he'll constantly be back and forth- the kids are going to go bonkers! My eldest son even cries when he leaves for work... I had to deal with this situation 2 years ago when the hubby left for Hajj- Maryam was 2 at that point and trying to make her understand he went away wasn't easy- I tried but she kept thinking he went to work... and she had the tendency to wait up for him to come from work at night so for about 2 weeks she didn't sleep and kept whinning in her sleep when she had to give in to it... that was one the most miserable times in my life. My son was 5 months old then so I was up during the night nursing and had to get up very early to go to work. I couldn't wait to get to Cairo as we were meeting him there after he left Saudi. We decided that would be the perfect time to check the place out to see if we actually wanted to make the move considering we're thinking long term. I pray to Allah daily to make this move a success and make it feel like we were just away from home- please make dua for us!
I constantly get mixed reviews from my friends and family on our decision on moving there- most of the family are concerned about the kids and not being able to see them on a daily basis and my friends... they're comments run the gamut: why are you doing this? That's a third-world country! Aren't they "warring" there? What will you do there? It's not clean there... and what type of houses do they live in? Egyptians don't like Americans... and it's dirty there. And my favorite, are you crazy??? I must mention, most are comments from people who were my friends before I converted but also, surprisingly enough, some of those comments are from my fellow sisters... yes, you can raise your kids Islamically in this environment but the daily everyday life makes it difficult. Why not raise them in an Islamic country where they can truly benefit and receive an excellent academic education (and you can choose which type of track they pursue: American or British) and receive some of the best Islamic instruction to boot? I'm looking to prepare my children with the tools to Inshallah, live through the life of this world both academically and Islamically and their hereafter as well... this is important to me. Okay, Cairo won't be exactly what I'm used to but it's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make for the sake of my children. And the intention is to be pleasing to Allah... and by his mercy will we prevail in this endeavor! You can't understand this point fully unless you've known someone who've left here or wherever you may live in the world and moved to Egypt or Saudi and come back home to visit their families and HEAR their children recite the Quran so beautifully you want to cry... and they left knowning just about nothing at all! This is what it's all about educating the children, the next generation, to be strong and knowledgeable in their deen.
Sisters, send me your thoughts- and I'm looking to meet all the sisters I can there in Cairo so hail me when you can!
I had the oppportunity to read some the other sisters blogs here- Mashallah, so many sisters out there! I'm glad to see so many of my sisters from around the world sharing their thoughts- may Allah reward you all and give us all the best of this life and in the hereafter! (Ameen)
The only part of this move I'm not looking forward to is the time when my husband will be here in New York- his business is here so he'll constantly be back and forth- the kids are going to go bonkers! My eldest son even cries when he leaves for work... I had to deal with this situation 2 years ago when the hubby left for Hajj- Maryam was 2 at that point and trying to make her understand he went away wasn't easy- I tried but she kept thinking he went to work... and she had the tendency to wait up for him to come from work at night so for about 2 weeks she didn't sleep and kept whinning in her sleep when she had to give in to it... that was one the most miserable times in my life. My son was 5 months old then so I was up during the night nursing and had to get up very early to go to work. I couldn't wait to get to Cairo as we were meeting him there after he left Saudi. We decided that would be the perfect time to check the place out to see if we actually wanted to make the move considering we're thinking long term. I pray to Allah daily to make this move a success and make it feel like we were just away from home- please make dua for us!
I constantly get mixed reviews from my friends and family on our decision on moving there- most of the family are concerned about the kids and not being able to see them on a daily basis and my friends... they're comments run the gamut: why are you doing this? That's a third-world country! Aren't they "warring" there? What will you do there? It's not clean there... and what type of houses do they live in? Egyptians don't like Americans... and it's dirty there. And my favorite, are you crazy??? I must mention, most are comments from people who were my friends before I converted but also, surprisingly enough, some of those comments are from my fellow sisters... yes, you can raise your kids Islamically in this environment but the daily everyday life makes it difficult. Why not raise them in an Islamic country where they can truly benefit and receive an excellent academic education (and you can choose which type of track they pursue: American or British) and receive some of the best Islamic instruction to boot? I'm looking to prepare my children with the tools to Inshallah, live through the life of this world both academically and Islamically and their hereafter as well... this is important to me. Okay, Cairo won't be exactly what I'm used to but it's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make for the sake of my children. And the intention is to be pleasing to Allah... and by his mercy will we prevail in this endeavor! You can't understand this point fully unless you've known someone who've left here or wherever you may live in the world and moved to Egypt or Saudi and come back home to visit their families and HEAR their children recite the Quran so beautifully you want to cry... and they left knowning just about nothing at all! This is what it's all about educating the children, the next generation, to be strong and knowledgeable in their deen.
Sisters, send me your thoughts- and I'm looking to meet all the sisters I can there in Cairo so hail me when you can!
I had the oppportunity to read some the other sisters blogs here- Mashallah, so many sisters out there! I'm glad to see so many of my sisters from around the world sharing their thoughts- may Allah reward you all and give us all the best of this life and in the hereafter! (Ameen)
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May Allaah make your move a beneficial one, and make it easy for you all, ameen.
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