Working Mom?

Alhamdulilah, I've been blessed with good health and an uncomplicated pregnancy, allowing me to continue to work full-time well into my 8th month and Inshalah, I plan to continue working up until a couple of weeks before the due date.

It was the same when I was getting married; I was in office up until the day before my Mayoun and I think it helped me stay sane, having an outlet where I could be productively employed, away from the spats that inevitably crop up when relatives and extended family from all over the world get together for a few days in the hot and humid month of July!

At the same time if I'm honest, I do feel that I missed out on the excitement and pampering that the traditional bride gets at home; the poignant moments before one leaves the parents' home for the new home and new life with the husband. It was such a whirlwind week that I barely remember anything and everything I do recall was more from the perspective of a detached observer than that of the bride...

I don't want to do this with baby... I want to (Inshalah) enjoy each and every moment and spend as much time as possible, watching him or her grow up and be there when it needs me. At the same time, I don't want to give up everything I've worked so hard for, not to mention the freedom, the financial independence, the excitement of meeting interesting people and working on meaningful projects, the lunches and dinners with my colleagues, the mini-celebrations when we achieve a mutual target, the office birthdays, the monthly paycheck and perks and mostly just being able to get up, get ready and go to work...

I'm trying to be flexible and see how I feel about going back to work full-time... Let's see!

Snog = Highly Overrated

Froyo outlets are popping up everywhere so I decided to have my first frozen yogurt in Karachi... I went for the natural flavor and my friends got blueberry, strawberry and chocolate so we could all share... One plain cup is priced at Rs. 340 with additional charges for each extra topping! For that amount of cash, I could buy a pint of Haagen Daaz or Starbucks ice cream and 2 liters of Walls or Omore!

The natural flavor tasted like Nestle full-fat yogurt and the texture was rather watery... The server mentioned at least three times that the froyo is sugar-free and fat-free and sweetened with Agave nectar but, if I'm having dessert at all, I'd rather have it good or avoid it altogether. Frozen yogurt (at least the one we tried) doesn't fill you up, nor does it give you that feel-good, happy feeling you get after downing a cupful of old-fashioned creamy ice-cream.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!

Decisions decisions!

Good news... I got into a Masters program at Yale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alhamdulilah

Except, Mr. F can't leave his job to come with me and I don't want to go alone... I also want to spend all the time I can with baby and hopefully Inshalah be a good mom... but, I also don't want to look back at this time 20 years later and regret not having gone to grad school... And let's be honest, a part of me has gotten used to the idea of being back in my hometown with parents, grandparents and cousins close by and ideally, I'd want baby to have that kind of environment to grow up in. Yes, Pakistan has its issues but it also has a lot of comforts that we take for granted...

Tough decision :-S

Quick Update

Work is getting slightly more manageable but I'm exhausted at the end of the day...

But the independence and the added self-esteem is so worth it! I think it's really unfair how women of earlier generations had to ask their men for money or get a weekly/monthly "allowance"... I mean, yes, men are responsible for supporting their families but the whole giver/receiver role is a little archaic... And men never say "thank you" for the million services women provide them (making tea, serving dinner, running the house, entertaining their families).

I'm getting really big now... I guess it was inevitable but I don't think I was prepared for the changes :-P... Big butt, thick thighs, swollen feet and of course, the protruding tummy! Hopefully will be worth it in the end but my respect for my gender increases every single day :)