Beautiful Life

FASHION WEEK IN KARACHI, day 4

Originally uploaded by www.first-pakistan.blogspot.com

 

Pakistani women love fashion. At least, the women that I know. Trips to shop for fabric, lace, buttons and other notions are a weekly chore, and the tailor’s bill and punctuality a constant subject of conversation.

I have in the past been exasperated and impatient with what I’ve judged to be a rather frivolous and pointless use of time, energy and resources, but lately I have had the chance to re-think my attitude. In the face of terrorist attacks in schools and markets, hatred for women, and the impudent march of the wicked, I have come to realize that all these things, the clothes, the shopping trips, the haggling with the salesman at the fabric shop and dealing with the tailor, are part of the life that women make for themselves with the cards that they have been dealt.

I have learned that just because the whole thing seems foreign to me, it does not make it less valuable to them, and as such, I should speak up against those who would take it away, who would make it disappear, who would make women disappear behind a curtain of shame and rid their life of beauty and joy.

And so, here’s to Fashion Week-Pakistan, which ended yesterday.

Julie & Julia

I finally saw this movie last night. I loved it. The clothes, the look, the setting, everything was beautiful. I’m surprised they filmed a lot of it in New York, finding that out made me really nostalgic for it, and I sighed with longing to the time when I lived there years ago.

I have never tried cooking French food and I don’t particularly wish to, except for a persistent desire to make my own puff pastry. I have more affinity for Italian food, with its bold, earthy flavors and simple, uncomplicated dishes, but I am in awe of Julia Child.

She was nearly fifty when her book was published, a full career behind her, and that gives me so much hope. I’ve spent the last five years as a stay-at-home mother, dedicating myself to my family, and sometimes I wonder if I will ever have the chance to build a career when I fear that my time is past.

I think Julia Child was such a remarkable, gifted woman, confident and full of life, and I’m so glad to know that she a had happy, fulfilling marriage to a man who saw her for the intelligent, vivacious woman that she was, and not an awkward, un-feminine misfit without any looks. Because, you know, even the ugliest man wants a pretty wife.

I had a great time, and I will definitely watch the movie again. My Life In France is going on my wish list too!

Why I Want Health Insurance Reform

It’s very simple. I want everyone to have access to the same high-quality, timely medical care that currently only the well-off people can afford.

I have worked part-time for minimum wage to put myself through college. I know what it feels like to live without insurance, only I was lucky enough to be young and healthy at the time. I have been self-employed and I have bought my own insurance. I paid more than six-hundred dollars a month for coverage for me and my husband, and yet when I delivered my daughter by c-section, I still had a hospital bill that reached into the thousands because Blue Cross Blue Shield would only cover eighty percent of my approved expenses.

I want the people who get paid by the hour, the ones who don’t have fancy job titles and corner offices, the ones whose jobs don’t come with benefits and paid vacations, the ones who scramble every month to pay the bills and who can barely make it if they have an unexpected expense, to be able to have good health insurance that they can actually afford and to have the peace of mind that you get when you know your medical needs are being met.

Not everyone in America has a secure job and a stable home life that comes with a big house and an SUV parked in the driveway. It’s not a matter of being a grown-up or being lazy and stupid. It’s about a system that is basically unfair, that favors the few over the many.

It’s about a right that is more basic and more important than speaking your mind, or congregating in a place of worship, or joining a political party, because none of these things matter if you’re ill and can’t afford good medical care.

Handmade Birthday Party Invitations

We had a party when my little girl turned five. She and I had a lot of fun making the invitation cards by hand, I cut and wrote them out, while she glued and came up with some ideas. The lady duck in the front is her own design, flower hat and all.