limit

Yesterday maam is saying Sally my backache is hurting very bad. I tell her maam I do little bit massage? She say no Sally I cannot make you do that. I say maam I always have to do that for my Oman maam. Back press. Leg massage. So many times after my Oman maam go shopping I have to do massage for her. Sometime I even do her nail polish.

One time my Oman maam not get time to go to beauty salon so I do her hair dye also but she not like it and she get angry with me. What I can do? She give me hair dye box and I put in her hair. I cannot help if her hair is bad. Maam is laughing. She say Sally dont worry I not shout at you for bad hair dye because I not make you do my hair dye. Or my nails. Or massage. It not your job. I know when to stop Sally.I know my limit.

I think Maam knows her limit because she has no limit. I explain. One time I am seeing the bill for her spa massage. She is throwing bill in garbage. It is 550 dirham. I can not forget that number. Little more than 550 is like almost my half month salary. She is spending that in one hour. She is throwing bill in garbage but for me it is like she is throwing 550 dirham in garbage. I wish I can do her massage and she give me that money. Maam say she not make me do massage because she knows her limit. But if maam did not have extra 550 dirham you think she would go to spa for massage? No no no. I would be doing her massage at home. For free. I know that. She stops at her limit because she has no limit. for spending money. 

Maam go to spa for massage and salon for haircut. Other time the beauty girl is coming home. Maryam. Every 3 or 4 week Maryam comes to the house to do wax. of maam legs and hands and face. I think this beauty job is good job. Not much work like house maid work. And the name of job is also better than maid. She is called home beauty expert. That sounds so much better than house maid.

But Maryam tell me that it is too tiring work. She have so many client in one day. She say she is all round beauty expert. means she do everything. Whatever client is wanting. She have certificate for waxing nail hair henna massage everything. She like nail work because it is easy. but waxing and massage is more tiring. But all that is ok she say. Maryam really not like when client want to do wax of private. I ask Maryam how she not feel shy to do that work. Maryam say Sally if my client want wax of private then I have to do wax of private. It is my job I have no choice. I need to earn money.

Maryam is correct. she have to do it even if she does not like it. Because she wants to keep her job. See how life is? For both Maryam and maam their limit is decided by money. But maam stops at her limit because she has no limit for money. And Maryam has to cross her limit because she has the limit of losing her job and her money.

It is simple. Life has lot of limits. And lot of times money decides what your limit in life will be. 

ice water

Few days back maam is taking children for swimming. After 10 min they all coming back. Maam saying Sally the water is too hot. I tell her maam it is so hot outside so of course the water will be hot. Maam get little bit irritate with me like I am not knowing anything. She say the pool is suppose to have chiller. Chiller is not work. Sally if I put children in that hot water they can be sick. 

Then she tell me this story of this swimmer who is dying in the hot water few years back. Here in UAE. I cannot believe her. She say Sally I read it in the paper. He came for some long race and he is get dehydrate or something and he die. Then she say children not do long race in pool but Sally I am too scare after I read that story. Water must be chill or children not do swimming.

Now maam is having nothing for children to do. Children take out their swimming clothes. Rayan start crying. He say I want to swim. Then Sara is starting. She like to argue too much with maam about everything. She want to be lawyer when she is big. She say who cares if water is hot. we are also hot we want to swim. Why cant we swim? Tanya is swimming. Alex also is in the pool. It is not too hot for them to swim. They are ok in the pool so we will be ok in pool. You never let us do anything fun. Why cant we swim?

Maam say Sara I am getting a headache with all this noise. Go to your room and cool down. Sara say if I was in the pool I would be cool down. Then Sara is going to her room and banging the door. Maam is now getting angry. She say Sara if you bang door again I will remove the full door. Then we see how you bang the door. Rayan is crying more because everyone is upset. Everyone is in bad mood because the chiller not working. Everyones temper is become too hot like the pool. 

Maam tell me Sally make me some ice tea. And give me two panadol for my headache. I think ice tea is good idea. If she cool down then maybe she not need the panadol for her headache. I put lot of ice in the tea so it is chill. So she can cool down.

Now I wish I am able to put lot of ice in that swimming pool. So the water is chill. So children can swim. So everyone in this house can cool down. 

God knows

You remember my friend Maria? She is the one who is all the time thinking about money. We are all thinking lot about money but she is thinking too much. She is always telling me to do part time work in the afternoon when maam is going to school to get children. But today when I tell you how she is make 5000 dirham you will be so shock. I am also shock I am not wanting to write this story. It is like how you say a scandal.

She tell me that her maam is give her this money to convert her religion. So now she is different religion. I am not writing name of any religion because I am not saying anything bad about any religion. All religion is good. I am only talking about Maria and how bad she is thinking. 

When Maria tell me she is changing religion I am shock. I think how you can just change like that? I tell her Maria how you can do this? What your mother and father will say? What she is saying is make me even more shock. She say Sally no one need to know anything. My mother and father not know anything because when I go back to home country I will do my family religion again. I will not keep this new religion but I will still have the 5000 dirham. 

I tell her Maria you have gone mad about money. You think no one know anything but God knows. You cannot sell your religion for money. Religion is not like clothes or shoes that you can keep on changing. If you are converting then you are having to stay in new religion.

She say Sally do not do lecture to me. I do this because I need the money. when I go back to my home country I can do whatever religion I want. It not your business Sally so do not judge me.

I tell her Maria I not judge you. But you will be judged And 5000 dirham or even one million dirham will not help you then. so you better start praying. Because God knows what you are doing. 

Maria say she is never going to talk to me again. Never ever. God knows if she will keep this promise. or if she will change her mind. like she is changing her religion.

sand

Few days back I am going to Spinneys with maam. I am seeing this man. He is worker on the road. He is wearing orange uniform. I call him orange man. He is working in so hot weather I feel so sad for him. Even maam is saying this poor man how can he work like this. When I tell you what work he is doing you will think that he is gone mad. But he is not mad. The person who is giving him this work is mad.

His work is this. He has a small brush broom. He is doing sweeping of the road. Of the sand on the road. If you are not living in Dubai you do not understand why this is so mad. This is so mad because Dubai is sand. Everywhere you are looking there is sand. If you sweep it there is more sand. How can this man sweep the road? It is not possible. Even if you have very big vacum you are not able to remove all this sand in Dubai.

I am full time thinking of this orange man and the sand. He is not mad. but he will become mad if he have to do this job in this hot weather.

This orange man is reminding me of a something. In Dubai you can buy this sand bottle. I have put a picture on my facebook page if you want to see what it looks like. It is a bottle with sand design in it. Different colour sand to make all design. Like design of camel. Design of desert. design of Dubai. They can even write your name in the sand. It is so pretty. But when I look at this sand camel inside this bottle it is like the camel is trap. inside the bottle. Like it can never escape.

The orange man is also trap. He cannot break contract because he will go to jail. He is trap inside his contract like the camel is trap inside the bottle. He is not able to stop sweeping the sand even if he knows he can never make the road clean.

The only way for the camel to come out of the bottle is to break the bottle. But when the bottle is broken the camel and the sand will be all mixed up. The beautiful design in the bottle will be a big mess of sand.

That is why the orange man has no choice. He has to keep sweeping the sand on the road. Even though he can never make it clean. He cannot break the bottle. He has to remain trap inside this bottle. So the design of his life is not mess up.

Mothers Day

Last week it was mothers day. Rayan and Sara wake up early and make breakfast for maam. I help them. They make toast and cheese. Maam is so happy. She say best breakfast ever. They make cards for maam. Maam say best card ever. They buy flowers for maam. Maam say best flowers ever. In the night maam say Sara and Rayan that was the best mothers day ever. Last year she say the same thing. Everyone is happy. 

Even I am mother. No one is wish me for mothers day. I am looking after Sara and Rayan. but I am not their mother. No one is even remembering that I am also a mother. because my child is so far from me. No one buy me flowers or make for me breakfast. No one make for me a card. It is not best mothers day ever for me.

Last month I am reading in paper that there is this lady in Sharjah who is throwing her baby in the garbage chute. Because she is not married. Same story we are reading so many times. Because if you are having baby here without being marry you are going to jail. And deport. The baby is living thanks to God. This lady is become a mother now because she has a baby. But she is a bad mother. Actually I think she is not a mother. Because a mother will not throw away her baby.

I am not a bad mother. I am leaving my child far away. But I am not like this Sharjah lady. I am not throwing my child. I am leaving him with his father. Because I have to work. So I can look after my child. But even if I am far away from him I will always be his mother. Even if I am not there when he sleeps I can help him have his dreams.

Maam say it is the best mothers day ever. It is not best mothers day ever for me. For me the best mothers day ever was the day I become a mother. Happy Mothers day to all mothers in the world.