To Noor…..

When I decided to start writing again, my decision was to write about different issues, which may not necessarily be political so this week I will dedicate my column to a personal issue that touches each and every one of us.

It’s going to be about you, my Noor.

Noor is a flower my family grew in our garden for 23 years. She is my neice I see as my own daughter and two nights ago we witnessed her engagement to Ali, a young man whose love for her is beyond imagination and these two decided to tie the knots and spend the rest of their lives together.

In less than six months, they will establish a home and of course a family but giving this flower away wasn’t easy since we all still look at her as the little princess who used to play with her dolls just a few years ago. Eventually everyone had to accept that she is now a grown young lady and she will start a journey on her own but with all her family around her.

The dads and the uncles gathered around the sheikh who asked her dad if he is willing to give his daughter to Ali and with a yes signed by two witnesses, her uncles, Noor officially on paper became Ali’s wife.

In our culture the signing of the paper is considered an engagement step following which the two will get officially married in a few months when the wedding arrangement are made.

With the approval and the Yes word, life changes and that little girl became someone else’s partner. Ali became the man Noor will start a life with. With yes word, someone else’s walks in your life and becomes part of your family. The girl’s family gain a son and the man’s family gain a daughter

It has happened to all of us. We all witness sad and happy moments in life, together as a family.

But what is a family. It’s an eternal bond that when established strongly, the member involved get unconditional love, support and the package comes with beautiful moments and sad times.

But this bond always remains intact because no other bond can come even close to how strong this bond is.

Now, I will write about the moments of joy and how beautiful our princess looked and how she grew up to be this young bride we all had tears of joy in our eyes for as she walked through the crowd with a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

We all wondered when did this happen. How did the years pass by so quickly and we see today one of our own children become an adult who will take this journey on her own.

 It is these moments of joy that make us look back at our lives and ask ourselves if we spend enough time with our own children

Do we put more hours into our jobs than watch our children grow? Has life become so tough that we may not recall certain stages of our children’s growth.

I look back at my time with my children and I realize that I could’ve spent more time playing with them because they do eventually leave you and go on their own.

I remember a story a friend once told me about a very influential and powerful figure in Bahrain who one day stood and stared at two pictures of his daughter. One picture was of her as a toddler placed next to a picture of her wedding. He had spent all his life dedicated to his job and he was well reputed as a man who succeeded in his mission. He was a minister. He stared at those two pictures and said “I remember her as a toddler and I remember her wedding night. In between, I remember nothing.”

This is what what our jobs or careers take from us, the most beautiful moments of our lives and the most important ones, the ones that involve our families.

Sometimes it’s too late but if we are lucky we realize it before its late and we start spending more quality time with our own families.

These are moments that never come back. So if you are reading this column and you are a parent, spend more time with your children and if you are a parent and have parents, send them a message of love, be there for them. Give them what they need because you will need all of that from your own children one day.

They all move on and leave us but if we grow the right seeds, they will start their journeys, yet these journeys will involve us too.

My Noor, my flower, your journey with Ali just started and we hope life will give you both everything beautiful you wish for, as beautiful as you looked that night in that light green dress you wore and the beautiful flowers you carried in your hand.