Children's Shield

I've always heard my mother say, "yeh maujein maa baap k sar pe hoti hein"

Because we live in a nuclear family, our interaction with our relatives is limited to dinners/get togethers/mangi/shadi/funerals/eid etc. and we have never lived at other people's houses (not even sleepovers) to experience anything minutely related to how people treat other person's children. But my mum also says: "waqt humesha aik sa nahi rehta, chahay acha ho ya bura". - Time changes, either good or bad. 

One of my khala is a divorcee, and she never remarried. She has her reasons, two little children are just happen to top the reason list. A few days before coming to Canada, I happened to come across her letters which she wrote to my mum. She was divorced in 1995. She wrote letters to my mum about how difficult her life was and how she wanted nothing but for the misery to end. I asked my mum what she wrote back, her answer: "Mene sabarr karne ko bola tha" - I told her to stay patient! 

And then my mum told me how she wanted her sister to stay patient because she had two kids, and how hard life will be for them if she took the socially forbidden step of divorce. Long story cut short she ended up being divorced and has lived on her since. But I've seen how everybody treats those little cousins of mine. Don't even try to argue with me about how times have changed and how our generation has better minds and open hearts, because no nothing has changed, might have worsened but I've seen no good improvements. I've seen my khala's son sit dejected in a room full of happy faces, but smiles faded as soon as their eyes flickered across his face. I've seen my khala's daughter being made fun of because she had to wait for the new month to get the new shoes unlike everybody else. I've seen the pain on my khala's face. I've seen it all.

I'm only trying to bring you to the actual point of this post. Parents no matter how rich and comfortable they are or even poor and misers they are, they are children's shields'. They are our umbrella from this harsh reality we call life. It would now be a lie if I said, "I've not seen the horrific eyes of people or the ugly faces they hide behind the smiles."

I've seen enough now. I will omit what my story regarding these two-faced people is, but I just hope the world starts accepting single parents/orphans other majboor humans who can't even say what their sorry-story is and starts behaving themselves. 

Parents are proof that God loves us.