Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim



I have not written anything here since my in-laws came in November. My mother-in-law went to CT to stay with my sister-in-law at the beginning of December and, alhumdulillah, had a healthy baby girl five days later. My father-in-law went to CT a month later. Meanwhile my husband's brother has moved in "indefinitely" and is sleeping on the couch. As a annoyed as I am about that, he is, at least, good with the baby. Ami and Abu came back at the beginning of February and will be going bacl to Bahrain next week. It has been a bit disruptive to our routine, but our routine was not exactly terrific. It is crouded, though.



My in-laws definitely have a HUGE generation gap. Ami and Abu are still stuck in their old Pakistani ways while all three of their children are so Westernized, it's like they are total strangers. Breakfast has to be so-so, omellete loaded with veggies, four slices of bread, and chai. Dinner is cooked as soon as you finish breakfast, you sit around and wait for the entire family to come before you eat dinner, which is a nice gesture but usually everyone is not home till 10:00, meanwhile no one has eaten since breakfast and the food is all cold. When you sneeze you give it all you got, warning no one. I have been so startled of Abu's sneezes sometimes I had to sit for a minute to calm down, then felt angry about it for the next hour or so. It seems to be quite alright to rest your feet on the coffee table, which is the table they eat their meals on. When making wudu, you should throw water all over the room. when you return from shopping everyone must sit in a circle to admire the purchases. If you don't praise every little thing it means you do not like it. Every little movement seems to have purpose, even just getting ready for a walk in the park or a drive around the city can take hours.



I try to keep my mouth shut and do not scoff or belittle or try question anything they do, unless it's really bizarre, and then I ask my husband about it. I don't want them to think that I am better than they are, of course I am not. I think they are a bit old fashioned and very "innocent" and naive. Everything is good or bad, black or white. Technology is way beyond them so they avoid it most of the time. My husband and bro-in-law tease them a lot, I think they should just let most of it go and not snort and snicker at some of the things they do or say, just let them be themselves. As long as they aren't getting robbed or taken in by some crook, let it be.



I do wish they would STOP shopping at Macy's every single day! WHY?!?!? They have NO MONEY for shopping at Mcy's and we have plenty of outlet stores with much better prices for the same clothes, on is practically right across the street. That one is just so beyond my scope of thinking, it really gets on my nerves that they think theya re getting good deals by buying a sweater for $50 just becasue the sign says it was 50% off. IT'S STILL $50!!!! If you live in the Persian Gulf or in Pakistan, why are you buying sweaters anyway? You might need a sweater or two for about a month in either place, why buy them for $50 or more, just because it says SAVE XX% on the sign. In my mind saving 50% is not saving anything if you are still paying $60. Save %100 and go to Ross.