Omigosh, writing this blog post is almost a sort of relief.

Child’s play.

A chance to unwind after weeks of incredible information overload.

I’ve been in meetings and immersed in research a story I’m writing for an educational publisher, and I honestly feel like I’m drowning.

It’s very humbling.

There’s so much information out there I had no idea about.

For example, I just finished reading an article about narcissistic parents and I *gasp* recognized certain tendencies in relatives of mine! And subhan Allah, I couldn’t see any in myself.

I guess narcissism is in the air what with the Trump campaign.

In raising my kids I always tried to look for whatever qualities and aptitudes they naturally displayed and then I encouraged them in it. I’d acknowledge the ways they shone. I think it’s like shining sunlight on a seedling. It helps them grow free of competition from their siblings. And I’ve taken the same approach now with my grandchildren.

I’m blessed because I guess I learned a long time ago not to focus on material items. I don’t care to live in a fancy house, nor do I care if my children do. As long as there’s a roof over all our heads and food on the table, we are blessed!

And it comes down to character.

Do they do good?

Do they shun evil?

That’s what’s really important.

And alhamdu lillah I have nothing to complain about.

So over the last few weeks I’ve been immersed in meetings, and thinkings and ponderings about the state of children’s publishing. Last night I even had a call from a guy in Calgary who is thinking of getting into the biz.

I don’t believe in discouraging anyone but honestly there are SO many Muslims who are jumping into publishing without doing enough homework. And the stories they want to produce are quite mediocre. And they think there’s no good literature out there, because again, they haven’t done their homework.

I should mention this is going to be one of those incredibly rambling posts, in case you want to stop reading at this point. ;O)

I’m just unloading the stuff I’ve been exposed to over the last few weeks. Stuff that I was too busy to blog about till now.

Met up with some dear old friends, and it was so nice! And during lunch a little kid came up and asked if I was ‘Rukhsana Khan’. LOL

Omigosh! I was recognized!

The little tyke had a broken arm and his aunt had gifted him a copy of Big Red Lollipop, to make him feel better. So we took a selfie.

And then I went to an outdoor camp for Muslim youth and I did three presentations there, one of which was some storytelling before they went to bed for the night.

We put the lights down low and I told these teenagers some lovely romantic stories! And oh, so many of the boys lay down, and yeah, some fell asleep but I didn’t take it personally. The others listened, their eyes glowing, and I think I heard a few of them sigh when the guy got the girl.

Earlier I had done a public speaking workshop with them, that they were so enthusiastic about. Instead of the whole ‘talk for a minute about a topic on a card’ bit, I had them storytell. I told them a very funny but very violent story set in Pakistan that my dad had once told me. Ironically the moral of the story is how stupid violence is–something I made sure to make clear to these kids. Oh how they loved it!

And then I spent the night on a rubber mattress covered by a furry blanket I’d borrowed from the counselor who’d invited me (she’d forgotten to tell me to bring my own bedding) and I borrowed her pillow, and all night I tried to keep the blanket from bunching up underneath me, and I slept horribly.

My camp days are pretty much over.

In the morning I did one more presentation for the kids. It was hard because of scheduling, I had to cut things short, but I’ve always heard that your audience will get from you, what they were meant to, so I suspect they got something good.

And then I drove the long way home.

The funny thing was so many of the girls thought I was in my thirties!!!

When I told my husband he said they were just flattering me.

LOL

Who knows and who cares?

I’ll take it.

Just finished the first draft of the educational story. Tomorrow I will polish it up and see if it’s ready to send to the editor.

I hope so.

I really do want to get back to my other projects.

So many ideas! So many projects! So little time!

Subhan Allah!

Where has the summer gone???

Oh, and on top of it all, I’ve been working on promoting our new initiative The Story Club. When you watch these videos (they’re really short! Just imagine how many takes it took and how hard it is to sound intelligent when you’re in front of a camera!)

Here are some of the videos of me talking about the Story Club:

https://www.facebook.com/469853356541737/videos/539218232938582/?comment_id=539540999572972

 

https://www.facebook.com/469853356541737/videos/539218232938582/?comment_id=539540999572972

 

https://www.facebook.com/469853356541737/videos/539218232938582/?comment_id=539540999572972