This proud red kalanchoe has been my companion for over 30 years. I got it back in my very first apartment and moved it with me from home to home, from the little basket it came in, to the bigger terracota pot, the small patio bed, and presently my home's backyard. At every place I take it, it confidently settles its roots deep down the soil and shoots its brightest blooms up towards the stars, surviving the move and Mother Nature's frequent mood swings. Though it knows this

Sorry mama, it was not supposed to be this way... Sorry I left and went so far. Sorry that, though I may have been there for the big things, I have not been there for the little ones. The times you needed me to laugh with you, at the blink of an eye, at something only the two of us would understand, to put your head on my shoulder when you werehaving a bad day and no one else was around, to share your excitement at a new thing you learned, to tell you how pretty you looked

One of the most beloved Lebanese traditions is the weekend sobhiyeh (in reference to morning)-the almost sacred morning family get together around a fresh pot of coffee or nescafé and whatever sweets are available around the house. When I was a young child, the task of making the coffee for the sobhiyeh was my dad's. He arranged 5 coffee cups and saucers on the rectangular colorful plexi tray and proudly carried it to the balcony or the family room where my mom, my two younge

It is so touching to see young love, witness vows written with heart's ink and shared with the sincerest and purest of intentions, the promise of an unshakable partnership, through life's thick and thin. You watch the two young ones and hope life is gentle to them each and every day. You hope they grow old together and always look back at this first step of their journey with the same joy and excitement, smile and think: "A blessed day this was." #aphotoaday #love #weddingvow

I can't explain why, in the middle of the symphony hall last night, listening to the heartwarming works of Debussy, my late grandma, of all people, came to mind. I remembered her sweet happy face, her small eyes that all but disappeared when she laughed, her plump rosy cheeks. Those were always glowing, courtesy of her all important daily Nivea routine and her multiple layers of clothing, no matter the season. "Ed'dafa 3afa, wlaw b3ezz es'saif", she used to say (Warmth brin

Continuation of my previous post ... As children, we never understood all the excitement and joy my grandma felt when we visited her. Sure, we loved her and had missed her too but what was the big deal about... It is only as we become parents that we understand the joy our parents and grandparents feel from having their kids around and being able to take care of them and their every need and whim, as they did when they were still little... the sense of fulfilment and wholenes

"At night, I open the window and ask the moon to come and press its face against mine. Breathe into me. Close the language-door and open the love-window. The moon won't use the door, only the window." Rumi #aphotoaday #goodvibes #moon #themoonandme #windows #doorsandwindows #olddoors #barcelona #spain #beautifulcities #love #motivationalquotes #inspirationalquotes #quoteoftheday #lifewelllived #thesoundofmyheart #trueself #bestself #livelovebeirut #livelovelebanon #leb

The word never is one of the most frequently made, yet least frequently upheld promises. It sounds like those New Year resolutions we all love to make then break. One of the most useful lessons I learned is to keep an open mind and a good supply of flexibility. People and perpectives change in life, and that includes you and yours. What was once unmentionable, unthinkable, unlikable, may become a need, a joy, a blessing, a regret, or sometimes simply an unescapable reality.

Side by side we still stand, you and me. Under the smoldering suns of life and its ravaging rains. Through its soft dreamy breezes and its long gentle embraces. Older, sure. Duller, maybe. But also richer with loads of great memories, inside jokes and endearing secrets, and volumes of stories rivaling those of a storyteller. Did I tell you lately that you are still as beautiful in my eyes as the first time we stood side by side, united for life? My heart still skip

I was looking at this 1948 photo of my beloved dad. Then I read a comment on my previous post, which spoke directly to my heart. "... life is continuous. What is old now once was new."* So true... "What is old now once was new" and who is older now once was young. I look at this sweet little boy's photo and I know that he always remained alive deep inside him. I look at this sweet little boy's photo and I think of all that he's gone through in his life journey, the hardwor