Today, my Baabo (dad) is traveling to Somaliland for a two-month trip. He'll be back in February, but if he gets a good opportunity, he might stay there.
My Hooyo (mom), for the past week, has been a nervous wreck and has been going out of her mind, preparing this trip for him. Last night and this morning when we were leaving, she was so anxious that she was pacing around the house looking for more things to pack up for him. We had to take her car to the train station and she was driving. Bad idea. She was braking a lot and commenting a lot about how weird she was feeling. My father told her that he could drive if she wanted and she got out of the car with the door open. She even said that she doesn't know why she wants to cry right now. I had to keep telling her to calm down and breathe in and out. When he left, she couldn't take a nap and when she did fall asleep, she woke up looking like the world had asked her to run its circumference.
I thought it was really cute that she was acting like that. I've never seen my mother get fluttered (I don't know the right phrase) over my father and it was nice to see, even though it was during an extreme moment. This is going to sound really bad, but I've never witnessed Somali love, affection and appreciation between married couples first hand, so to see it today in its morphed form was refreshing. I hope to one day show Somali love as a mainstream phenomenon.
My mother has always misunderstand my feelings of depression and my language during those times. What's been kind of cool to see is my mother going through some of the things I've been through this fall. I comment of this coincidence sometimes, because I don't want to seem pretentious. I hope that she notices the similarities someday.
Another thing I want to remember today was that I paid for my dad for the first time. It was for an extra carrier that cost $175. It was momentous. I'd never paid for him before. I'm saving that receipt.
P. S.
I also was nervous. When I'm nervous, I make horrible jokes, laugh awkwardly, or become uncomfortable silent. My Baabo seemed to be nervous, too. When he was pulling out his passport for check-in, his hands were shaking so badly that I kinda felt bad for him.
My Hooyo (mom), for the past week, has been a nervous wreck and has been going out of her mind, preparing this trip for him. Last night and this morning when we were leaving, she was so anxious that she was pacing around the house looking for more things to pack up for him. We had to take her car to the train station and she was driving. Bad idea. She was braking a lot and commenting a lot about how weird she was feeling. My father told her that he could drive if she wanted and she got out of the car with the door open. She even said that she doesn't know why she wants to cry right now. I had to keep telling her to calm down and breathe in and out. When he left, she couldn't take a nap and when she did fall asleep, she woke up looking like the world had asked her to run its circumference.
I thought it was really cute that she was acting like that. I've never seen my mother get fluttered (I don't know the right phrase) over my father and it was nice to see, even though it was during an extreme moment. This is going to sound really bad, but I've never witnessed Somali love, affection and appreciation between married couples first hand, so to see it today in its morphed form was refreshing. I hope to one day show Somali love as a mainstream phenomenon.
My mother has always misunderstand my feelings of depression and my language during those times. What's been kind of cool to see is my mother going through some of the things I've been through this fall. I comment of this coincidence sometimes, because I don't want to seem pretentious. I hope that she notices the similarities someday.
Another thing I want to remember today was that I paid for my dad for the first time. It was for an extra carrier that cost $175. It was momentous. I'd never paid for him before. I'm saving that receipt.
P. S.
I also was nervous. When I'm nervous, I make horrible jokes, laugh awkwardly, or become uncomfortable silent. My Baabo seemed to be nervous, too. When he was pulling out his passport for check-in, his hands were shaking so badly that I kinda felt bad for him.
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