I knew it was going to be bad, but in reality it’s so much worse than I thought it would be. I could live with the painters, who only broke a glass table, scratched up a solid wooden cabinet, dropped and broke some porcelain statues and made a mess when they sanded the walls and ceilings. I survived all of that. But then arrived a very nice gentleman who would repair and fix my parquet floor. At the same time some carpenters would fix the stairway and several doors to the bathrooms. They took the doors with them so they could fix them in their own workshop. So there I was: radiators taken outside as the floors beneath them needed fixing (and it was freezing at night), not a toilet or bathroom in the house with a door, and my whole house, including everything stored inside the closets, covered with a thick layer of dust because of the abrasing of the parquet floors. That’s when I started to cry. And what a coincidence! It was Tasua when all of Iran cries for the death of Imam Hossein. This was the first time ever that I cried with them.
January 8, 2009
January 1, 2009
The Stroke of Midnight
Ringing in the new year can at times feel like going through labor. Bringing in 2009 has been a long labor with 2008 loaded with so much. As a nation we had one of the most exciting primary election seasons imaginable which became even more exciting at the start of the general election that turned into a thrilling moment of national pride. We watched Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals, some by split seconds, an awesome achievement. Collectively we held our breath through the entire month of October as we watched the stock market plummet and bank accounts dwindle. We lost jobs – by the millions – and they have hit our households and hit them hard. We saw a cease fire come to an end and a new war break out in the middle east and old wars that just seem to continue. But we cling to optimism and are sure that the new year will bring a burst of creativity that will change everything. Just like the birth of a new child, we will need to nurture this young year, give it the opportunity to grow, take its first steps and then take off running. I say this as much to myself, to convince myself that patience is what we need right now, but where do we find it when we all seem to want this year to take off running at the stoke of midnight?