sitti and other family

my sitti (grandma), mother of yabba (dad), still lives in deir dibwan, east of ramallah. that is where she raised my dad and her three other children. i first saw her there when i was a little girl during our first (and my only yet) trip overseas. at that time my grandfather was still alive. this was a really important trip, because it was the first time they saw their grandchildren, but especially for my grandfather who got to see his first son's first son (my brother) before he died just a few years later.

my parents never let us forget that trip. one of our favorite pastimes as children was to look through the 'auntie book'-- an album of photos of us and all of our relatives and friends in the village. my mom and yabba would ask me, "do you remember when you laid down for a nap under the tree with your yabba and he got up and you woke up wondering where he was?" and to my sister, "do you remember when we lost you and found you at your auntie's candy shop with your shoes off drinking tea?" heh. she was two when that happened.

and so the memories of palestine never left us.

my sitti later stayed with us in albuquerque for several months, but other than that time and some short visits, i have not seen her. i miss her and love her very much, and much of why i want to learn arabic is to be able to talk with her.

for several years now, i've wanted to go 'back home' (that's how many arabs refer their home countries). things never seemed to work out. money of course is one large obstacle, the political situation--never really stable-- is another. this time when i broached the subject with my parents, they were surprisingly supportive, and even excited. we prayed. mom was certain that it would be possible, that we could somehow pull it off. and God has opened the door for this long-awaited visit.