Motherhood – Heathenly, Heavenly Heather

Parenting of three young children, ages 4, 3, and 1, is like looking through a blurry window. Sometimes my windows are clean, but most of the time they are slightly opaque. When you try to parent at first, everything is so new and unclear. I feel like I am always asking is this normal? For the most part, everything IS normal, but there are times I seem to question everything.

For example, my daughter is super shy. Sometimes, I think it is better to let her just grow out of it slowly, and sometimes, I think I need to address it with her daily. Finding a happy medium is probably the best idea.

Parenting is like also the Dead Sea. Yes, it is murky and unclear, but it is also salty and good for you, but you are not sure it really IS good for you since nothing can live there. You will also always float in the Dead Sea—you can’t drown. I want to visit Jordan and the Dead Sea, Petra, Amman… very much. My husband’s mom is Jordanian, and half his family lives there—it will be an awesome trip.

Parenting is one of the best things I’ve ever done. Of course, it is a lot of dirty diapers and giving directions, but the super amazing part is watching them grow and learn, and they do kind of turn into mini-yous, whether you want them to or not.

Parenting is my blurry window. I need to wipe it clear now and then, and then truly I see with clarity these amazing mini creatures growing up around me.

Starting a blog for me is difficult. I am a technical writer, so I want it to be perfect, but I also want to express emotions in a way that might insult a grammatically correct, step-by-step writer.

I am married to a man from Saudi Arabia, and I am, an American, Christian woman, who has recently traveled to Saudi Arabia with my three children. My children are lovely. They are smart, kind, emotionally-dependent, wonderful human beings that need all my attention all the time. I love them so much, and I want such a great life for them. I use my mothering IQ with them most of the time. That is my intuition…and it works. Most of the time I have an instinct as to what is wrong, and this really is the truth of it. Yes, I consult “Google” when I have a question, but for the most part it reinforces the motherly instinct. Now, Saudi Arabia…

Can you imagine putting on clothes because you are cold? Of course, yes. Now, imagine putting on clothes because you are made to…not because it is cold, but because you are living a tradition that requires you to. Everyone in America, says no way, right? I wouldn’t do it. Why not? I did it because it was the rule, but also because I love my husband, and now, I love his family too. It may not be equal to require women to wear the Abaya, but it is what I faced. Would you have said no? Would it make a difference to say “no, I won’t wear it because my culture says I don’t have to?” Or would you honor traditions and cultures, before stamping yours on them. What I am saying is, I made a positive impression of America on his family by following certain traditions, being conservative (in ways that I am not) and being open to new experiences, so that his family thinks of America in a better light than they did before.

I don’t comment on a lot of issues, but I feel for everyone and everything that is happening from gun control to women’s issues (especially women’s issues) because I know the equality that does or does not exist, but I also know women that exist despite inequality, and they are AMAZING! Women have always been amazing, everywhere…they are superhuman, super-instinctual beings that know everything. Doesn’t matter the country, women should rule the world, but you know, men…