ZISHAN
I am you – a sometimes stressed, sometimes frustrated, sometimes depleted, sometimes ungrateful and feeling guilty for feeling this way, but on balance, a woman appreciative of my life and the times in which we live. I am in no particular order- a wife, a mother, now a blissful grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a psychiatrist, and more. I was a daughter until I lost both my parents, an ideal couple that made each other the best versions of themselves in many ways. They also gave me one of the most precious gifts they could-my co-author, my wise and beautiful sister, Farozan. It is to my parents, a writer (Ma, Rafia Manzurul Amin) and a poet (Baba, Manzurul Amin) that I dedicate this modest effort.
Baba would exhort me to write as the clock kept ticking and priorities kept shifting. With adult children and grands as inspiration, a husband as support, COVID as accelerator, retirement ahead, and behind me, a lifetime of serving my patients who, in living their lives with HIV/AIDS, taught me so much about dignity, resilience and acceptance, and the awareness of mortality as less of an abstract concept, I will get thoughts out of my head and into virtual space. Indeed, it is time to recognize that the clock will keep ticking long after I am gone, but while I am on this side of Eternity, it is time to reflect, share, discuss, hopefully to inspire and not bore.
FAROZAN
I am Farozan. Sibling to my very pleasant, intellectually blessed sister, Zishan. Also, offspring to two unique individuals- my mother Rafia, and father Manzur – sources of inspiration on many, many levels. They taught us above all to remain fair-minded, forward-looking, and always grateful for what life has blessed us with. Cliched yes, but true nonetheless, travel across continents helped us see the beauty in diversity through the people, cultures, and traditions we came across.
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I live in Canada. I enjoy writing, especially about children and for children. I love…..absolutely love nature and playing with its images on canvas. Cooking is a passion. Handcraft is another. Doodling is my go-to place for focus and new ideas.
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This blog. It all started with why-don’t-we put down life experiences, interests, opinions, ideas out there to be shared with the young and older, and to see how it evolves. We have worked with a sense of honest commitment, and a desire that anyone who visits this site should go back with the satisfaction that it was time well spent. We’ve started the journey. We’ll see where it takes us as the clock ticks.