Almost perfect day in Alex

 Hi, my dear readers, I have just had the feeling like I have to type some lines about my lovely yesterday. Do you know that feeling when you manage getting closer to someone that you always have wanted to be closer to? I had it yesterday. My mother-in-law is visiting me, or shall I say baby-sitting me? Just in case, my little nunu can be born any day and it is not bad to have an experienced woman around, I must say.
But why do I feel so much inner comfort about all this absolutely breaking event in my life? Is it because I have finally found my inner peace or I just don't know what to be afraid of? I can't really define it. I just feel fine. I have always wanted to be mum. But  now I also have a chance to spend time with the mum who gave me the man of my life.She is in the same age like my own mum. I felt comfortable with this woman from the first time we met, it was here in Alex. Hot summer, I was in shock, as I was introduced to the parents of my husband and it all went so fast, unexpected, no preparation, no delays, simply done and khalas. Meeting after meeting, day by day, that we could spend together I felt we have so much in common, but still... are different in certain ways. I feel so much warmth when she welcomes me with her wahashteni. She is so eager to help me around household that I get painful desire to finish any possible kind of work before she comes, so that she has no such impression like I am expecting her help or use her for my comfort. My mum gave me the restless attitude to work, I can't sit and watch my mother-in-law working around me. I hate myself for letting her work hard. But this woman knows no rest. If I finish all work, she will find herself any of it  just to stay active.I gave up after months. How can I ever compete with this energy source? But you know what? I decided to find my way to her, so that we do not compete, but match !!! Just this day yesterday we enjoyed walking outside and shopping first by our eyes.

Something really nice happened too. Mama Mimi, as I sometimes call her, she has found the pharmacy owned by her long time friend,  madame Amira. How wonderful it is to meet a friend after many years! And what a wonderful person this friend is too. I remember we were searching for her pharmacy some weeks ago, no success,and guess what, she is almost across the street. Sometimes you can't see right in front of your nose even if you have things directly under it. But more about it a bit later.

That was just the beginning of a beautiful day. Why do I call it almost perfect? Because I miss my husband in it. He is in Cairo and I can just wait for his phone calls and wish he comes back on Thursday and stay with me at home as much as he can. Funny how I miss him even if we are in different rooms. His mum is a lucky woman to have such son. And I am lucky to have him by my side. Sometimes I wonder if i deserve so much from life or divine power...
In few days I can call myself mama and will try to be as good as my two perfect mums are.
Mama Mimi is in her nature a stubborn woman with her own views and knowledge of things. It is not easy to persuade her to do anything in a new way, no matter how much this new something  can be good for her. It takes me enormous time to make her accept some of my ideas or ways. But with patience and explaining attitude I somehow slowly manage. There is a way to this woman, people. She is just a hard nut. But inside the shell there is a lovely caring mind worth exploring and admiring. Do you know how long it has taken me to make her accept a simple present from me and actually use it for her own good? One such thing was a decorative hair comb, a nice and practical object, and she really put it in her hair, hmmmmm, I won. Then I tried a handbag. She never used it because in her opinion it is too nice and it must be "saved". For what? I told her, in year of "saving" it will turn wahesh, so what's the use of putting it in wardrobe and keep it for later? No help, I got the handbag back... Nevermind, I will not give up. And yesterday I finally won again.  

All household work done, because , and I am smiling  now, I am like that, I like things done my way and using my hands, could not wait for my mother-in-law to come and do it her way, so we had plenty of time and energy to spend on our new common hobby. I put my jiba on, a nice red T-shirt and off we went to the streets. Our doorman downstairs,Mahmoud, half asleep most of the time just greeted us lazily with his typical sabah el kheyr or something like that and the sun lit our heads finally. How I love sunshine. Our first steps that day actually led in the direction to shera Alexander Ibrahim, but as we walked few meters, mom suddenly pulled me to cross the road and headed to a pharmacy next to the mosque. There in the door a woman with wide and lovely smile was already waving at us from a distance. Believe it or not, this was mama’s Mimi long time friend Amira who moved to Alex long ago and they haven’t seen each other,so you can imagine the joy. They exchanged all the possible information, lot of catching up, indeed, but madame Amira was holding my hand all the time after we were introduced. A sign for me that I am welcome and it feels really nice.  Egyptians are like this, only most of you have never met them this way. Trust me, any hotel experience you might have from here has nothing to do with the spirit of these people. So I have a new friend from now on. And her employee, Dr. Aziz, is another pleasant person to talk to.

What a lovely start of our day !!! We cruised in the neighboring street, have found expensive shops with baby clothes, and came back to our street and refreshed shortly at home, but only because I should eat more these days and mom needs her pause too. Then we went out again for even longer.

We spent hours later walking in the street called Khaled Abnal Waleed, that one where I first met my parents-in-law almost two years ago. In the picture below you can see what I mean when I say it looks like a fire snake crawling to the sea or a river of small lights crooking and flowing to the dark in the distance. Back then my husband’s parents rented a flat in the top floor, this is a traditional Alexandrian thing, many people come over here in summer, rent some flat and enjoy bathing in the sea and evening walks combined with spending money they have made and saved for this purpose. I have walked in this street many times since then with them, eating sudeni or ice cream,  looking for nice and cheap stuff to buy, then turning back home. But this time it was different, just me and mama Mimi, two women, no need to hurry, no men chasing us or making bored faces.  That might have been the key to our quality time. We were finally not disturbed.

Our walk was a lovely time of two women who like shopping the same way, first check and look around a lot, then decide what to buy. I got new bantalon, the kind I love wearing, simple black straight easily combined with any color top. Wash and hang, no ironing, just love them!  And the red velvet ship-ship, hmmmmmm, a delicious new pair in my collection. I got the same for my mum, will bring her these soon I hope. They are red as blood and so soft like spring grass under your feet. And then it happened again. Mama Mimi has noticed shiny rings and has even chosen one to buy, so I got it for her. She is wearing it right now, looks so lovely on her hand.  

Coming back home we were chatting and laughing... and finally I found myself sticking shiny little stickers on her toe nails. They match with her new brown shoes. I can make her look ten years younger if she lets me. And she actually did, I felt her changing slowly into an open diary of hidden feelings to share. And it hit me all of a sudden, she never had a woman to talk to,sure she has friends and colleagues at work, but do they talk about personal issues among each other? I seriously doubt it. So maybe I have touched her personality in that spot where she needed and after some time together and exploring each others ways we simply talk in a more open way about stuff I would not expect. Some of those topics I will keep a secret, if you allow me, I just don’t want to damage the fragile new development and maybe it is enough to mention we talked about her young years and her own path to be married and becoming a mom to her two sons. As you all know each generation is different and it opens a lot of gaps in points of view and solutions to problems in individual representatives of various ages, but here I was chatting with my soulmate 25 years older, yet in many points thinking and feeling my way. She is only perfectly lonely with all her thoughts. Well, not anymore.

* nunu - baby (Egyptian Arabic)
   khalas - enough,that's it, ok
   wahashteni - I miss you
   wahesh - ugly, bad

   jiba - skirt ( for Slovak readers, sounds like žiba)
   sabah el kheyr - good morning

   sudeni - peanuts

   bantalon - trousers

   ship-ship - flip flop shoes