I was looking at my last post and realised that I hadn't written anything this year! Worse, I didn't even miss updating the blog. Attending a course on speedreading recently didn't help either - the mantra of the course was "you don't have to read everything", making me feel like whatever I wrote, I could do so with lesser words = FB status updates.
Anyway, a blogworthy event just happened yesterday (8 April) - our second son, Muhammed Talha, was born. Talha is the name of one of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) who loved the Prophet more than his (Talha's) own life, and was one of the 10 companions promised Paradise. Talha is not a common name in this part of the world, or at least my immediate social circle. So in the hope that our son personifies the character of his medieval namesake, we decided to go with it.
The context of Talha's birth is radically divergent from his elder brother's, the ever-lovable Zayed, who was named after the Holy Prophet's adopted son. Zayed's paternal grandfather died 10 days before Zayed was born. There was mourning all around. To make things more depressing, the umbilical cord had looped twice around Zayed's neck in the womb and a natural delivery might have meant fatal strangulation. Somehow, by the Grace of God, he untied it (really, I'm serious) in the womb before he came out.
Talha, on the other hand, had a relatively uneventful stay in the womb. He heard a lot of voices being raised at his elder brother, which probably made him think that his parents were some kind of child-beaters. Talha's delivery was smooth, and he didn't have to unwind cords from his neck. He looked almost exactly like Zayed when he came out.
My wife showed amazing fortitude during the delivery. She really outdid herself. There was no special painkiller (eg. epidural) involved - just the useless laughing gas. It wasn't funny. That woman went the extra mile for Talha by choosing to do it the natural way, and my respect and love for her have multiplied immensely.
And now I feel like I am truly the captain of a ship, leading my brood to safety, making sure my crew are well-fed, healthy, and able to grow to beyond their potential - emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
