<!--StartFragment--> My life is pretty simple. I love my family. I think you’d love them too, or at least you’d enjoy reading about them. How could you not want to know about the parents from Egypt who moved to America yet couldn’t drop their former way of life in a third world country for the “Land of the Free?” It’s like my mother says, “Under this roof, we are in Egypt.” She’s right, it is Egypt. If you ever wanted to visit Egypt, I’m sure my mother would love to have you over. She would feed you into and then out of a food coma. You’d have great conversations about other peoples families, religion, sexual orientation, and how Egyptians are the greatest race that ever lived. You’d see naked “voluptuous” statues in our back yard, as well as glass windows surrounding the house with St. George engraved on every single one of them. If you could only imagine the fun my brothers and I had with a backyard full of statues. My mother is sad that my two older brothers, Mathiou, 33 (my parents tried to spell Matthew the way it sounded and ended up with Mathiou), Andy, 29 (named after the Andy Griffin show), and myself, Monique, 24 (named after a nurse), grew up in America where we thoroughly enjoy living. Both of my brothers are married. And I, unfortunately to my mother, am not. My family is pretty comparable to the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” but on crack. My oldest brother Mathiou married his high school sweetheart, Amber. It was rough with my parents when the time came to get married because Amber was [whispering]… white. Mathiou pretty much paved the way for most Coptic Orthodox Egyptians (Christian Egyptians...who knew we existed?) out there in the world to marry who they love regardless of race. I love him for that and I love him for standing up for what he wanted despite the cost. Mathiou and Amber now have a Daughter named Marley who is 2 years old. Andy married a half Japanese, half white girl named Kimberly a few years later with much more ease (even if the ease wasn’t there, Andy would have done the same thing as Mathiou; they are both the most driven men I know). If I had to describe Kim to you in two words I’d say; “introverted nurse.” Kim has become one of my best friends and will be a huge part of most of the stories I have lined up to tell. My Father is the smartest man I know. He has just retired from being a doctor (specializing in trauma) for 35 years. He hardly took a day off in his entire workaholic career. He dug our family out of the poor and into the amazing stability we have now. Ever since he has retired he has had the “I don’t give a shit” type of attitude and I love it. He lies around all day and listens to Church music in my old abandoned room. If I come home, I know exactly where my father will be in the house. If for some reason he isn’t home, he is out riding his new discovery: the bicycle. My pops is up to the latest on technology. He has a desktop Mac as well as a new iPod and iPhone. My mother was a tad bit upset (understatement) about the fact that my dad was given all of those new and exciting things to play with. Needless to say, she has now had them for over a year and is still struggling with how to turn them on. My mother is a retired Accountant. She on the other hand hates being home with nothing to do. She is into fashion, art, and hanging out with her friends. You can see how that might clash with my father’s newfound way of life. They are complete opposites, but are in love anyway. My parents are hilarious and don’t even try to be. What separates them from other people is the way they say things with their hardcore Arabic accents as well as the unnecessary hand/face expressions they add to dramatize their sentences. It makes everything a million times more enjoyable to hear and watch. And me… Well, I think you’ll learn a lot about me throughout these blogs.
[caption id="attachment_39" align="aligncenter" width="655" caption="For Your Viewing Pleasure."]
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