A life torn asunder...

I found this engagement announcement years ago after my mother passed away. I had inherited the “trunk” with all of the family heirlooms and photos. When I first saw the fragile news clipping, I thought nothing of it really. I assumed it had gotten torn somehow and my mom had saved it nonetheless.

Years later, while going through the trunk, I saw a different fragile news clipping. It was a reflection of a broken heart, a broken woman, and the life she had imagined torn asunder. She most likely carefully and deliberately tore the piece right down the middle and replaced it in a box of photos.

No accident here. It was a message. A statement. Perhaps a legacy.

Strength in Numbers

Anyone familiar with the Shaheen family knows that it is a male dominated clan. My dad is one of five brothers. My parents had five sons. I have three sons.  Four of my brothers all have at least one or two sons. One of my brothers married a man! Gee whiz!

Females are a rarity.  And we stick together.

We are not the perfect family by any stretch of the imagination. We’ve been through some tough things and have come out on the other side, strong in the broken places.  Each of us has a story to tell about the Shaheen men we have lived with, supported, nurtured and loved unconditionally.