Mayo

Mayo

Today was her thirty fourth birthday ...

Thirty four solar years and thirty five plus some days lunar one , 

It was the first day of  Eid al Fitr ,  ,, 7 days after my due date , a Sunday ,,,at Barbir Hospital , with some clashes heard away near Mathaf frontier line , the line dividing the city in two sections western and eastern regions , Takbeerat Al Eid were heard in my room that gave me energy to help me in my delivery ... A newborn  who will be born with  the first dawn  after Ramadan  ,,,  may be a boy , may be a girl ,, at midnight i left home for the hospital , Sadia was ready to be with Heba , i  got ready her Eid  dress, and her Eid basket , a small basket filled with sweet stuff, from Lebco supermarket in barakat building . I put on my red dress, i was embarrassed to put it on on Saturday , the daybefore, when Hajj Ali Jamal passed away, my neighbor , but it was the only one that still fits  , in the hospital were some other ladies giving births too, the nurse weighed me i was 68 kgs  ... And she called thedoctor who said will come in the morning ,,, i didnot feel any contractions when i went but the amniotic fluid burst out ,  so i hurried to hospital .there she were a girl 3 kgs just like her sister Heba , fair to dark skin , black hair ,, she was  enegetic ,,, we decided on the name MAY .. Though she was born in september . My uncle said people may call her Muy ( meaning water ) but still we kept the name but we wrote it in arabic with a long vowel sound of Alef so it was distinguished just as the baby was distinguished ,,, 

May was my first baby in Lebanon,  so she was dearlyexpected , Heba was almost four years , and still no kids in the family except for Aidas kids who were old already . Even in the building and in my grandfathers side she was the second grand kid after Heba , so my cousins also were waiting for her ,, 

I remember they served mlookiye for lunch in hospital on Eid day and some Mammool , mama and khalto came over directly around seven just when she was born ,,, and i was discharged from hospital the same day , Sunday evening because i was scared to stay overnight in this hospital far from ras Beirut with the situation not that good ! dr. Adel Aliya  was my Obstetrician , a surgeon who performed a surgery for my aunt and didnot charge much as Abed didnot start his job yet ,, 360 lebanese liras we paid which was cheap , where as Dr May Ariss an OB who was famous specially coz she wa female wanted 1000 l.l. When i visited her but didnot keep up with her ! 

Many babies were born whom i knew and were neighbors, Maha Riyad Itani was two weeks older than may , her mom Feryal was my school friend and they lived just in the next bldg with their balcony facing ours , then was Maya Chehab , also a neighbor in nearby building ,  on sept 8 or 9 i guess , and Rania Hareessa also in the same building on the third floor ,  on the same day  as Maya ..

May was an active child , she was colicky , every night from 10 till 2 pm till she was almost 40 days we had to hear her voice , abed used to carry her ,we made almonds sachets with sugar  which was customary ,  ...May Was named  by her grandma Inaam who liked the name but didnot get the chance to give it to one of her daughters so she suggested it and Malak , i liked Maybetter because it us short and new even though it was a very old fashioned name the new version was Maya .... 

I remember May , nowc, how we loved her  very much as if we didnot have any children , my neighbor Hajje kept told me that if a mom loved her kid a little more than what god allowed her she will swallow up her kids ,,, she told me this when i waschanging mays diaper and i kissed her buttocks m i wasnot aware she would notice , an elderly lady , so she gave me this note and i really keep reminding myself and my daughters of it ,,, May was smart and witty and was always carried and seen with my brothers and their friends and my cousins ,,, in the store own with my parents , we used to sit around the corner of myfathersstore wher we would put her in a box , and she would watch sunset in the see , or one of the kids would hold her and carry her around ! 

Once she was busy , then we discovered she was scooping tide detergent into the barrel of shortening which was liquidy because of the summer heat ,, we through the shortening with detergent and my father didnot throw a word he was happy with May and blamed us , mama and mefor notcovering the pil well.. saadiya has her adventures with May too , she would clean the floor and mop it then shefibds may stepping on purpose to make prints and see Saadiya get mad ...may had very sly looking eyes , whenever we read a story any story she would act it as shehears the sentences , with cinderella she mops she dances , with layla and the wolf she acts like the wolf then she is a wood cutter ,,, 

At school she was bright and good but also very daring ,  Miss Samia tells when she told her " i dont  like to see your face "  . may always wanted to be a teacher , she holds a stick and wears the scarf and high heel shoes and pretends ,,,she watches herself in the mirror in the hall.. She was always the first  in her class and we were proud of her!  

May won a computer  when she was in brevet from inmaa , she was happy and we were too ,,may after Heba passed away was completely different she grew up not as vivid as she was but still bright and special and responsible ,,, in many means she is a copy of me soecially in her worrisome manners ! She became as our first born after Hebas death .. We were always worried about her dont be late , do this do that , specially in her university years , way different she was from eman or bayn and were different too ,,, 

Now May a mom she is living the experience ,, but please forgive us if were harsh on you but it is all because we love you and we care , to you all my kids we love you a d still worry  about youall and care  sooooo, so we are harsh and strict in ways , do forgive us and keep us in your prayers and thoughts . 

Lovmom