The Two AM Club: "Collecting Stories: A Discussioncast on Embracing Diverse Approaches to Raising Children Around the World.

"Father, Fear, and Forgiveness: The Untold Story of Middle Eastern Parenthood"

• Moeava and Svenja

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Step into the poignant world of fatherhood as we delve into an intimate and heartfelt conversation with our friend Mustafa. Originating from Egypt and journeying through Qatar before settling in Dubai, Mustafa shares his unique perspective on the profound joys of parenting, creating a tapestry of shared experiences that will undoubtedly stir the deepest emotions within.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to break through societal norms and courageously embrace the challenges of being a stay-at-home dad in the Middle East? Join us for a soul-stirring discussion where the universal connection of parenthood resonates through shared laughter, stories, and the occasional tear shed over the common fears and joys that accompany the journey of fatherhood.

As Mustafa unveils his personal odyssey, we explore the challenges and triumphs he encountered as a stay-at-home dad in Qatar and Dubai. Candidly sharing the hurdles, including the humorous struggles to infiltrate the elusive "Gucci Gangs," Mustafa's narrative is a captivating exploration of cultural shifts, parenting dynamics, and the resilience of the human spirit.

A heartfelt tribute unfolds as Mustafa reflects on the beautiful relationship with his father, a guiding force shaping the compassionate and dedicated parent he is today. Through Mustafa's lens, we witness the transformative impact of a father's love and the timeless lessons passed from one generation to the next.

In this emotional journey, we open up about common fears, the overwhelming anxiety that accompanies a child's first fall, and the universal worries that intensify with the profound responsibility of parenthood. We share profound insights into the significance of education, transcending cultural differences and parenting styles, highlighting the collective commitment to shaping our children's futures.

Amidst discussions of morning routines and reflections on the exquisite beauty of parenting, Mustafa shares a poignant discovery in his father's wallet—a picture of his grandfather and himself. Unearthed after his father's passing, this cherished photograph becomes a poignant link between generations, a tangible representation of enduring love and family legacy.

Together, we marvel at the unbreakable bond between parent and child, reaffirming the transformative power of love, authenticity, and the sheer joy derived from the tapestry of parenthood. Join us for a transformative journey that redefines the essence of fatherhood, exploring the intricate and profound world of parenting. Grab your favorite beverage, and let's immerse ourselves in the raw beauty of this soulful exchange. Get ready to be moved to tears of joy and love as we navigate the depths of fatherhood.

Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to our podcast. The 2am club.

Speaker 2:

The honey bunnies.

Speaker 1:

As you can hear, my honey bunny is back from her German trip and just here for the intro. It's really nice to have her back. I can feel it. Bye. We're on the second special episode where it's just us dads talking about being dads, being husbands, being individuals. I can see Mustafa Space already just rolling in the back and breathing 15 years, 15 years. So tell us all right. So let's just do a little bit introduction for our listeners out there who you are, where you're from, how many times married.

Speaker 2:

Marry four. I love to marry four. Technically, you are right. I think that's going to be recorded, right?

Speaker 1:

Yes, of course. Okay backward I, to be honest, I don't understand married having four wives. My God, that just sounds super exhaustive Idea.

Speaker 2:

You can't handle one. Do you think you'll handle?

Speaker 1:

it Exactly right. How can I know? That's too much for me. This is how last two.

Speaker 2:

It's bitter, it's enough. Still thinking about that one.

Speaker 1:

You started to women. You're like three years. No, no, no no no, I know my wife couldn't even take two husbands. I mean I was like two just sounds exhausted, so married one. That's more than enough.

Speaker 2:

That's more than enough. Okay, versus me start. My name is Mustafa. I'm originally from Egypt. I used to live in Qatar for many years. I live in Dubai now.

Speaker 2:

I am a qualified teacher and I stay at home dad and I do a lot of things with my kids. I love spending all the moment with them. I love to see the first reaction when things happen is excitement or sadness or anything happened. I love to be with them because I know when you grow up and they have their own life, all this gone, you wouldn't feel the same. But a different age, like I enjoy age being when to be like I'd lies, to be honest, the love like your boy. Now you are the angel, you are the queen, the king and whatever is. And then you moved to the second one. I have now the youngest one. Till like 10 years old, she is idolized and now we move to demonize. With my 14 years old, everything is wrong, I don't understand anything. She knows better than me, she knows English better than me and I don't know what to say. But okay, we have to follow.

Speaker 1:

It's funny you say about the fact that you want to have all those small moments and keep them the longest possible, right? Because yesterday I brought one. So me and Svenja we brought Muna Nui to school together, and she took Muna Nui out of the car seat and then she put him on the ground so that he can walk into the nursery by himself. And I grabbed him right away and I said no, no, no, no, no, no. I want to hold him in my arms and bring him to school as much as I can.

Speaker 2:

Yes, Sven Mora, sure is safe. Well, not that bad, I know I know, but the feeling is, because you used to it, you want to him, for the mommy want to more. You need to do this one because you're not going to keep holding him all the time.

Speaker 1:

I know, but for now I want to hold him as long as I can. Yeah, until the day he says I don't want you to carry me anymore into school, I can do it on my own.

Speaker 2:

The one next year, I will say that.

Speaker 1:

I know. So I'm going to try my hardest to keep that as much as possible right, because eventually it's kind of like you're, your, your older daughter now, where you don't know anything You're. Yeah, you know you were only good for you know, a certain amount of years to keep her.

Speaker 2:

I just said you like you, you are my buddy when she needs something, when you get for air, ok, you are my bestie After the done. I don't like you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I mean so for the listeners out there. I met Mustafa how long A couple months ago at mommy play date at that event, and he was the only dad you were with your oldest daughter at that time your eldest daughter. You guys were sitting having a coffee in the corner.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, she said she's my girlfriend.

Speaker 1:

And people thought you were that. I didn't, because you're obviously way older than she is. Thank you and and I just sat down next to you, got a coffee, and then we just started chit chatting, yeah, and then it kind of like blew up. From that point on it just clicked right. It was fresh and sexy, fresh and sexy, fresh and sexy from that point on, and then we were at mostly all the banding from this.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you were allowed to go.

Speaker 1:

And then, from that point on, we were at every single, almost every other event that was in Dubai, and then the friendship really, really blossomed from that point on. I mean the fact that you were a stay at home dad, which there's not a lot of them out there compared to, and then there's a lot of bonds that we can, that we can relate to. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't know, we're still young compared to your kids, so there's a lot of learning from me, from my side, from you, but it's really I am an expert, you are new.

Speaker 1:

I'm teaching you exactly.

Speaker 2:

You tell me what's going on. Oh, that's happened with me 15 years ago, 12, 10 years ago, like that Exactly. But the fact is the people here actually, especially in the Middle East, or the Arabic specialist, like he, doesn't like the idea of a stay at home dad. If you what? What do you have? What's wrong with you and why are stay at home dad? Why?

Speaker 1:

shouldn't you do that? I have to admit. When I tell people that one of my best friends here is a stay at home Egyptian dad, their eyes go really wide, especially the Arabic ones. Yeah, of course, because for them, like an Egyptian man is not a stay at home dad.

Speaker 2:

No, never, never done this one. How was it for you Like, oh, it was no from beginning was really hard. I don't. I don't like it, even the world till now. I don't like stay at home, dad.

Speaker 2:

It just made me like I'm a week I cannot work, but actually it's not. I will stay with was. I wasn't a stay for I was working, but I'm a stay at home dad. I make income, I'm still with my kids, but the fact to see this one to mention is stay at home dad, it just make the people the Arabic side is nuts and crazy.

Speaker 2:

And when, actually, when I work and it's a be teaching and back to school like full time job, full time work, and I find many that stay at home dad but he will never announce he is stay at home dad because the society and the people what they say about him, but the what, what's wrong with it, but he doesn't want it to be published.

Speaker 2:

Or now to the people, they are staying at home because you can keep talking, because actually the people here are just saying he doesn't like anything. Whatever you do, they will never like it. They will never like whatever you do. They always make it as, like you know, argue about something until you know that shouldn't be like this way. But you don't know my life, you don't know what I'm do, but you like to involve or telling you like, do you know better than what you do. From this one, I stop listening to the people, I stop listening to the whatever say or no, I do. I do everything I feel, what I'm comfortable with and what I like to do, and I do what make me happy, not what the people make them happy.

Speaker 1:

I mean that's the thing I think you and me were relatable in that. Another relatable fact we have together is we do have a self confidence that not a lot of other stay at home dads that I've met have. We're already confident in who we are as an individual and then as a partner on top of that, but then on the parent we're just very too confident person also. I think that also kind of helps us to not care about how people see us, perceive us, and you know, yeah, we need to put the people away away from what we be thinking or what we do.

Speaker 2:

You like it or not.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly. I mean, at the end of the day, it's your kids, it's your life and you're going to live it the way you want to live it. It doesn't matter how, anybody.

Speaker 2:

I really you can enjoy. The time was when I know he cannot announce the name. No, you will enjoy every moment. You have no idea is still there. He grew up and like he still he's a personality, like a person, like a guy. Now, yeah, you need to be in, depending on himself. He needs to do things like, like, like you see the video that was my kids. I love you, have a nice day and the like in Paris and and shine and what the hell is that is doing here. And like you know, but it's something actually you cannot remember. And like, okay, like, and, and they do exactly when you go old, when you're getting old and get married and have a shot. They can do the same what we do.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, of course they're going to repeat that, exactly because they're going to remember those. I think it's shy moments today, but when they grew up, we talked about this before the mic for a while. It was shy moments today, but it's moments that they will cherish and love later on, and they're lucky enough to live it now in a time where we can record everything and where we can actually share with them later on in life. I think that's also the funny.

Speaker 2:

The funny thing was and I'm back to school and I'm working is I listen to the kids talking to the other. The only thing you talk about the mom and dad, what they say, what the mom say, what the dad say. Analyze even the, even, even the old as a adult you have to mention. Tell me how many conversations we had together as a adult and we never mentioned your mom or your dad. Always there is something come up with and about education and how we raise up and how the different there's your nation now and the old generation and it's different always mentioned them. Yeah, of course. Yeah, because it's part of our life and what we actually, if what we need.

Speaker 2:

I used to this one actually, when they are young, when she gets sick or something happened, I call my mom what I should give it to her, because my mom is a doctor too. She's not a doctor, but he is. If these kids have this one, no, give her this stuff. If they have a, give her this stuff. If they have that, give her this stuff like that she have experience with style.

Speaker 1:

How many children in your parents have four, four children.

Speaker 2:

They have a lot of experience, a lot of experience and like we have me and my oldest she's one year different and then my youngest four years and the youngest one eight years. Okay, but the gap between me and my oldest was like only one year was was really not enough time to. It was a surprise, probably.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it wasn't planned. How many kids do they have all together? So how many grandkids does your mom?

Speaker 2:

know they have not much. Actually, like my sister, she doesn't want to have more kids. I have only one. She has one, yeah, and my other one doesn't have any kids yet. Okay, it's not the only. Have my old, my kids here, safia and Kinsey, and my sister, son Abdulrahman, and just not much, but always telling us what to do with it.

Speaker 1:

So both both of you guys are asking mom how.

Speaker 2:

I do, I do. I used to call her what I do. Is this situation now what I'm going to do? Like you know, she now give her this stuff. Actually she was like have, like she started teasing and like stomach pain and she started crying. He'll be like water, something she told me about name of the water you buy it like five dirham and the mommy is like when I give it to her she stopped crying. Like small thing, no medicine, no antibiotics, nothing like stuff. Small thing. Give it to the child and really work. It's like all the school. What we learned is all the school.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, talk about old school, do you think it's you okay? So you ask your mom for advice on if the kids are sick. But how was it? When did you? Did you talk to her about advice on how to parent, on how to be a parent? Did you also ask her that, or did you kind of no?

Speaker 2:

actually that's being a parent is make me I realize I'm a parents when, the first day I remember when she got to work and I have to stay with Safia alone, little tiny piece of meat can hold it in one hand and I'm here alone and I don't know what to do and how. You need to be careful, how to need to watch things, as if it's like what you can feed her, what if Something goes wrong, what you do, and there is what this is going on here.

Speaker 1:

It's scary, right that first day.

Speaker 2:

Yes, carry, and it's carry, when, when, when she delivers Safia, and I see like little tiny, like rabbit, the guys holding the doctor do like that and he started because I was there in the delivery when she had the Safia and they try like the doctor, hard in the back, easy, easy. Why are you doing this one? I start shaking. I start shaking like you know, like I didn't realize I think it's coming from or all of it. You know we're watching stuff to know how the kids and all of, but I, never you be in real.

Speaker 1:

That's life for mom, yeah yeah, I mean, oh my gosh social media. Yeah, yeah, I be inside in the labor.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, what the and the baby crying and I don't know what to do now and I love the fact that you told the doctor like, yeah, easy, easy and you look at me on a smile.

Speaker 1:

I mean the fact is, I wonder, how many kids that day alone that doctor had.

Speaker 2:

I have no idea Actually, but just like for me is like, oh my gosh, like you know, there we are, and then actually I realize how, how it is hard to be a parents mm-hmm how I appreciate and Couple of weeks going on.

Speaker 2:

I appreciate my mom and my dad. We was maintained. Is now we like? I remember, like my dad, resting bees. Listen, he's telling me Do you think you're coming up in this life like who you are now? Six foot, it was a baby and I feed you and he keep growing, growing years by year to become who you are now. That is true. Like it's difficult. No one teaching you the parents till you have a child. That's what my wife say. Yeah, one teach you what parents are, teach you what parents mean Till you have a child.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, what was your biggest fear? Did you have fears, did he have fears before the baby, or were the fears actually?

Speaker 2:

They manifested more when you were alone now with alone and I'm worried if something goes too wrong to this baby, what I'm gonna do why I've been if it's falling down, break something goes wrong and do you remember the first time she fell on your watch?

Speaker 1:

still today.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

How did it happen?

Speaker 2:

Really, that's really was bad one. That's actually was. I think we should almost like here on half this is the first time was the drop fall down in her head, oh, and like got conscious and Like you know, I Don't know what to do. We was in the I think was in a Christmas time Mm-hmm, and we was in the hotel and eating there and she was standing in the chair and playing, as I remember, wearing the white dress and Rubin her head and like she can't, she's is, and I said, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

I said the first time, like my heart pumping, like you never believe, and I Hold her and what I will do, I just keeping wrap here in the back, pump here in the back, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up till she's like, she's awake and like, if you're like, okay, you can't breathe again, but just lost a moment, I think for the whole of the day. Yeah, because you know what what's happening to them is like is something actually it's hurting you, if something goes wrong to your child Is really can affect you. Like you never believe, like what happening to her and I'm the one who responsible of that and something you will never forgive. Yeah, for all your life.

Speaker 2:

Yes there's a lot of thought coming in, but what I'm gonna do? I just throw this away. Why happen can happen? I stopped just it Because you come a lot of things coming your mind, even you. Even you is a new. Yeah, of course.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I still remember the first time he fell down bending. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're bending anyway. What I'm gonna tell to my wife, what if just some big mistake, major, and she will, nobody would forgive me, of course, and what I'm gonna do? I will lay my life, I can, I will be, continue to live like this, or what? And From this one is it okay. Why are good happenings can happen? It's okay.

Speaker 1:

It is. It is a scary being a parent I mean being afraid is is something that is a constant also, I Think, especially at the younger age. I mean, I know now you have other fears that come into your mind, like University, going far away from home, men, this is boyfriends, that's gonna come, not gonna happen. I'm not gonna happen.

Speaker 2:

They have, they have, they have. I told them the need. If you want to be like even one boyfriend, try to think about he needs to jump from the third floor and if he come up again, yeah, we can talk about Telling me he's gonna die. I said it's okay, that's a choice. I didn't tell him to do anything. He'd have to prove. But never can happen.

Speaker 1:

She's gonna have a guy that's gonna come on Hardy Davidson.

Speaker 2:

But lucky, it's fine, you have a boy.

Speaker 1:

No problem, but it really is. I mean the, the fear factor of being, of being the responsible parents. It's. It's, I mean just being a parent in general. It's just something on a daily basis.

Speaker 2:

You know, you don't, it is until now, it's just actually, is what we do is for them what, whatever, whatever happened, all probably we care about them. Why? How to make him happy this week, the moment you have your child, whatever plan about your life is gone. For me, all the care about all we think about this child.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, what's going on with him and what's gonna be in the future If we're good about yourself and you look about this child now List like we need, you think about a lot of things you do in 50% when the child came is become purity for him now, for us anymore. Do you think it was different in your parents time?

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Was by. Funny is like I use when I'm like in age and like all of them, like my dad was like really he's opening Mine little bit. Let me to go outside, be late. Never ask me why you're late. You're like if you wanna make me feel me like a man and I said why do you worry about me? Why do care about me? Why I'm okay, I'm not gonna do anything wrong and it's fine, I'm enjoying and when I got, I have Safi and and why she doing.

Speaker 2:

Now, what are you doing? I'm my friend with who I want to know, and what you doing is like become annoying me. And what you doing is like become annoying me and I find all that's called love care about you. Parents care what's Happened with you, what's going on, and I need to make sure you are okay For me. I wasn't why you care about me. I'm okay, I'm not gonna do anything. I'm enjoying. I'm not Do any stupid thing now you, if you want to do the, do the same you do. No, didn't do it because it's worry me. Is care she? Can I hurt them or not?

Speaker 1:

I know you had a beautiful relationship with your dad and I know he passed away few years ago, but your dad, he knew you as a I know you don't like the term stay at home father. Now, stay at home dad. Did you talk to him about being?

Speaker 2:

there, he, he baths, he gone before he was gone before. Yeah, because, I was in Qatar. I was working full-time there, and when I moved to Dubai, that's when you became yes okay, right.

Speaker 1:

So when he, when he, passed away, you were still in Qatar, and then you were, but you had a Safi at that time?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I was at. I was still working. I still get Bay and work for the company there. But when I moved to Qatar Because here a brutality to move here and I said, okay, I would like, because I want to move to Dubai because Qatar was not a lot of option for me, it's not like here. You work for me, you stay with me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah you don't have chance to leave or work was different. Company only if they have the Egyptian. I've Egyptian visa or you go home, you know. And some of them like the my sponsorship there. He said, no, you work for me or you go back home. Hmm, I don't have choice.

Speaker 2:

I Said, okay, here, more chance for me to move. And I wasn't like you know, I Want to move up because I am stuck in place. I cannot move, I cannot get to get like promoting, guarantee anything, but when I leave, the relies, how important and the one I need to work on, hire me and big position. I said you're so late, it was 10 years. Yeah, when I move here was like different, I'm not like I start all my career from beginning. I start like Use my degree I have. I wasn't use my degree when I'm back there, hmm, it's stuck. And I Dubai was more option for me, but I decided, of course, okay, I will stay in a while.

Speaker 2:

Was the kids and they like to find opportunity? I was still looking like you know, mm-hmm like to find is another. Come on my mind. I think it was the first two years and said, okay, the first year. And I said, okay, what about go back to teaching, why not? And I come, my man and I start to make Like what we call Business cards. No, no business card. Like and make like typing some paper to put the people.

Speaker 1:

I'm a teacher and I'm okay, I'm CV's and stuff like that like CV.

Speaker 2:

No, I clear like CV and I start, and I start like put it there in the Facebook and everybody. And I remember this year I have only one child.

Speaker 1:

For the whole year I was like I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to get a job here.

Speaker 2:

That kid got a lot of attention yeah, that's good, get a lot of attention, yeah, and this kid's now is in University. Now that's like years ago. And the second year I start, okay, saying okay, look at the older group in Facebook and I start put it there and it's like commercial mm-hmm. And I saw people call me and message me Arabic a or b, like it's like non-native speaking and native speaking and I most of them in English was good to talk to me in English and like teaching in Arabic. And I start from there and become like in this year I was full booked, like I don't have any space. Oh, wow, full. And I used to make more than I make from my school. Even when I go back to school and From here it start about it.

Speaker 2:

Still, I stay with the kids, I'm still working, I still make my own money, my everything, and I remember this. The end of the year I take him to South Africa. All of them we book and we go on Joanne for mayor. We start and I still continue teaching and I start, okay, I want to do like improve myself more and like BGCE Mm-hmm, it's cost me a lot of money by just like so the qualification from UK. And then I start. Okay, when I back to school I said no, I'm not gonna all like drama to school. All of it Of is all of observation, all of it, all of it. I said come on for getting Back again. Hey, back again, I'm still working, do my class. But I said I do my business, I do my own company and everybody think about it, people I'm still talking about I'm actually to make money.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's a.

Speaker 2:

Whatever you said, it's okay Do it.

Speaker 1:

I mean at the end of the day, yeah, doesn't really matter. Yeah but and your mom? How did she? How did she react?

Speaker 2:

Actually, my mom, she's this timbre it in bread, keep meeting bread. Inshallah, I will find the job. Inshallah, I, like you know, give motivation me. Uh-huh, I don't think if my dad will be accepted or not. To be honest, because he's the one who look forward to. My mom used to be working. Okay, I'm both of them. Provide for both of us, more of them sharing together and the care of us. My mother, I didn't think, will be accepted as well. Like you know, I feel, like you know, I Don't know, but my feeling is he wouldn't accept that okay.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, which is, which is fine. I mean, my dad doesn't accept it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, but to be honest, I'm making me on. I want to be alive Because these people on old side, like you know, it is issue. You are the man. You need to do that. You need to do that, you have to. Yeah, that's it.

Speaker 1:

So, as a teacher, when you look at how you, how you are as a parent, do you think you have the same teaching style with your kids, or is it totally different?

Speaker 2:

That's Totally different, totally different, totally different you know what would be your.

Speaker 1:

if you could like sum up your Parenting style, what would it be like?

Speaker 2:

Now if, if a prince, if me, a principal for school, principal of a school, and my kids think I don't have any, I'm not a good teacher, oh really, you never accept you as a qualified or a good teacher Because you are my dad. The teacher is different than you. At school. The teacher is tough and, like you know, strong. Of course I am your dad, I'm not gonna be tough with you. It's teaching you at the school, but my kid's not. He doesn't accept for me anything as a teacher. But the other is outside. Yes, of course All of them. All of the kids I teach, outstanding, and all of them in the top of the classes we work in. But my kids now, they never.

Speaker 1:

Never, never did. Were you like a rough parent, or like a kind of old school parent or more modern day style positive parenting, or I'm?

Speaker 2:

like boss of parenting. I don't like old school. Old school for how to raise them. If you don't listen to me, to you slippers.

Speaker 1:

Slippers were the best. I mean, that's a.

Speaker 2:

I swear slippers were the best. He never miss Whatever. If you are whatever, even in the bathroom. I have no idea how he come from.

Speaker 1:

London and it comes back into her hands because you brought it, because I had to bring it back.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I agree with that, but in certain age you need to be smack.

Speaker 1:

You need to understand this 100%, 100, 200% agree with that, but if you see this now, you'll be in jail.

Speaker 2:

How come you can see that? But is this I'm so sorry that that's true so many of my kids 150,.

Speaker 1:

I still remember one time I told my mom. Mom, if you hit me, I will call the police. And she said that's fine, that's okay. She took her watch off, she went to go, because it will take them 10 minutes to get here. In those 10 minutes, if I'm gonna go to jail, I'm gonna go for a good reason.

Speaker 2:

This is not gonna be lost, you know.

Speaker 1:

It's true, and still to today, one of the most feared woman in my life ever.

Speaker 2:

You know, the funny thing is my dad, I loved him. Yeah, my dad actually never like hit or smack me. Certainly I remember he never do that. Oh, okay, all right, my mom no, he'll know, Because I used to be like I make, like I feel my mom. She is not stronger like my dad, like you know. Okay, she is not stronger like him. You pushed her. Yeah, I pushed her.

Speaker 1:

And she was like wait a second. Oh, come on, she brought you into this world. Yeah, I'll take you back.

Speaker 2:

She can take you out. I'll take you back exactly.

Speaker 1:

That's a funny thing. It doesn't matter what region or how culturally different we are. No, it's not, and actually it's the same. It's all the same thing, right. And that's the crazy thing. The more of these podcasts I do, the more I see how we are all so alike. We're so similar. Even with the culture, religious, financial, all the differences we have today. We are still so similar in those things. All the flipper I really. For me, this would be the same with Muneunir. I have a collection of different slippers for different areas. I had the slipper, I had the belt. That was one of the extreme wooden spoon. We had this broom. You know the broom? It was made from the coconut leaves and there was a tie around it and this was, oh, this was. And the worst was, she tells you to go and get it. It was like go get the spoon.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my gosh, the flippers.

Speaker 1:

I didn't see the slippers. She always told me bring it back when she would throw that like a boomerang. But everything else she says, go get me this, go get me that. And my God, you started crying from the moment you started getting up and to go get that.

Speaker 2:

Why are you?

Speaker 1:

crying. I did not hate you yet Exactly I didn't hear you.

Speaker 2:

Why are you crying? I did not do anything yet, you know, just like the feeling of like to be start, like you know, I ain't never gonna be like.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, and you knew it, and you knew it. And actually today I was thinking, and now, to think back, I think at some points I would glance back and I could see smiles on my parents' face, knowing that, yeah, but I mean, I wouldn't listen, you know, I didn't learn and eventually, and it's just true, like if you don't listen, like you know, I have one, I'm high school like in like the last year of high school and like, okay, our high school was really different.

Speaker 2:

They make it in two years and this, after two years you can go to uni, and all two years the old mark should be come together Like it's pelleted, like, for example, from 500, they give you like 250 in this year and 250 this year.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

And the second year, like okay, the first year for me, I got actually like percentage talk about 48% Like there is no uni I can go or any like even like school to take me after or anything. And I remember my dad told me one thing. I said he told me look to me, listen to me, that's your life, not my life. If you wanna get your degree, and get your degree and don't work with it, it's fine. But you need to get something for you for the future. If you don't get it, it's okay, that's your life. That you will be see what's going on later on. And I said, okay, I promise you I will do my degree and I start the second year and I get like start back at 72%. I will never forget that as well. And he was come follow me at the school to get the result and I was. He was surprised. He didn't believe me. I said I got 72,. He didn't believe me because from the last year he went to school to get the result from the school. He wasn't believe me.

Speaker 2:

And I went like uni and become a teacher and I finished my degree and then I fly to Qatar. I never work as a teacher and I realized everywhere you go in the middle is you have to have a degree. And I did degree for my dad, not for me, you know. I did to make him proud, just to say to his friend, whatever, my dad, my son is a teacher, or like have qualified with my teacher or qualification of teaching. When I moved to Dubai, oh my gosh, I use my degree now. Even when I go to the school they make me like I'm qualified teacher, like a teacher in my ID. I said wow, and now I said like I pray for my dad this day and after 15 years, I'm not using my degree and I use it now, yeah, certain level of age, like when I'm 35 or 36 years, when I'm 36.

Speaker 1:

And oh my gosh, it's really important If I did something actually analyzed later on, you think it's one of those things that you will also tell your children.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I told the same my dad. Tell me I don't care what you do in your life, get your degree and do everything you want to do.

Speaker 1:

Was that one of the best parenting advice you ever got in your yeah Well?

Speaker 2:

actually, yes, I get my degree, I become something now and because of my degree I start working as what I wanted to be. So advise me, do whatever you want to in your life. Get your degree and say if you wanna be a cleaner, you wanna be in McDonald's. Do.

Speaker 1:

But just have something just in case you don't want to.

Speaker 2:

Yes, you will need it later. Trust me, you will need it later. It's really, it's crazy how Because my dad he didn't have uni, like, he didn't go like university, he didn't have a degree, he was half high school and work was high school. Because this time the people not many, yeah, it was different times, it was different like his friend who they work in as engineering, but he is assistant with him. He's really hard. That's why he feels something missing. But actually when you have, when you had, like your degree and you're not using it's fine, but you have something he called that's your weapon. Yeah, yeah, that's your weapon to fight whatever is to go.

Speaker 1:

It's your fallback. It's your fallback, it's what you have in your, just in case. You never know. You really never know. It is amazing how some things in the world, as fast as things change, or how we think things change, but some things they don't change at all. There are certain things in this world that are just truths, that are timeless. Yeah, right Now it's a degree, but back in the day it was a trade. Have a trade that you can fall back on, just in case something happens, you can do something else. Yeah, yeah, it is amazing.

Speaker 2:

I have two degree now, one from Egypt and one from UK. So you got the okay, so you got it yeah.

Speaker 1:

That was the one you said the yeah, bgc, the BGC.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's like two degrees, but it's something for me. I need it. I need to do it for my work, for my kids.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so what is it today, now, now that your kids are growing older, what is it that kind of keeps you up at night right now? What is the worries that you have going through your mind about your kids?

Speaker 2:

It's my worry now, it's the real life, not now they are. They have everything now, everything they have for them now. And do you wanna grow up so fast? Do you wanna? I wanna work, I wanna do this and telling them don't be rush, enjoy, because you have a lot of responsibility and a lot of mistakes up and down. A lot of things is kind of going broken heart, losing jobs, the care of family. I don't know what happiness can have divorce or not. You don't know these days, you don't know, like, what's going on. Problem is you wanna give him advice and he doesn't listen. You will never listen. But when, when you failed and you went like fall down, you realize, but whatever you said, you will never listen because we did the same thing.

Speaker 1:

I was just gonna say we did the same thing. We did the same thing and we remember it though. Yeah, of course, and your kid remembers it. The thing is right now, she just doesn't wanna tell you that you're cool and you know everything. That's what she goes against you and tells you.

Speaker 2:

I know, but I realize it's like when they understand later and but it just what worry me about actually did to face the fact, the real life. That's the big deal for them. That's my worry me about, because now you see what's going on with the world, I don't know what's gonna happen now, in 10 years. Yeah, it is. It is kind of scary. It is like that's your. You don't care about yourself, like you know, we, we, we wish all the best for them, but we don't know what's going on now. It doesn't getting bitter.

Speaker 2:

It doesn't getting bitter is getting like I don't understand what this we did.

Speaker 1:

We feel like we are 2023 now and it's still people, wars and all of it and, like you know, last, the last podcast I had with the dad, this question, this fear, came up. Exactly the same Was people. We don't know what the future is holding for our children. It is something that, even for me, it freaks me out. This is to be fair. This is one of the reasons why I never wanted to have kids, because I didn't know what kind of world he would be living in. It was very scary. It is a very the uncertainty of what's going to happen.

Speaker 2:

I got it, but as we see, god have them. What they can go up, it's not. It's not, it's nothing we need to do it. We can change for them. Yeah, as you have your child, at least when you grow up somebody will look after you, whatever it's, because we don't know we can be alone. We grow, they have their life, they have their kid, your child. What I feel, I say once a year on the holiday coming, or Eid or whatever is that's already something very good.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, think about it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you all. That's your mind now, because the 16, like 14, now two years more, and she's thinking like I want to go to you as funny as safe. She didn't understand. Trust me, try to finish uni from here, work here, the safe country in the world. Right now we don't know what's going on. You lucky, you have the passport. What's going to help you was like getting more salary, more money was good, but we will not. You see that. But nobody listen. Go. And when she go, and she, she have amazing life here, wake up her clothes clean, have an energy, care of her cook, do everything. But now she going there, she have to wash her clothes, she have to clean the house.

Speaker 1:

We talked about this last time, remember? We talked about the fact that over we over spoil our children, which is in some ways pretty bad, because there is a certain amount of reality that they're going to have to wake up to because we're the ones paying for that. But when they cannot, you know that is, there's a.

Speaker 2:

I'm actually also happy you grew up in this level. Why I grew up in not rich family. I don't have what they have, but I don't want. I prefer or I rather to have the amazing life their age when they go to work. You have an option to keep the same life they used to have or to struggle, and they have an issue with it. You can see the both and I see the both side.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I mean, that's kind of the thing also where you see a lot of people saying the fact that they had to struggle through childhood makes them fight for more stuff when they grow older, right. And then of course, you also have, yes, the maintenance this is, I think that's where, maybe where some parents are not teaching them. It's more like, okay, you like this lifestyle, fine, that's great, but you need to realize what it takes to have this kind of a lifestyle. It's not like it just comes, you know, it doesn't just fall from the sky.

Speaker 2:

They wouldn't do it till they start their own life, of course, and they have the first salary is how can I do? I need to be rent, do electricity, I need a new phone, what is this broken, what I have to deal with? But it's making me happy to grow in a beautiful environment in a safe country, rather than grow up in some difficulty, scare schools. You need to be like make sure where you're going you don't leave your stuff and he doesn't know that yet. Like when you go like US you need to make sure everything is like here in Olivia phone in the supermarket you can find them back and even like expensive phone, a lot of money, but there you cannot. But it's hard for them. I'm happy. I don't want to. I don't want to.

Speaker 2:

The childhood they grew up like a grow was like difficulty and like like I know I used after two years to wear the first jeans, which expensive and really we cannot afford it. I know exactly what you mean. Yeah, we, we cannot afford it, but I'm happy. I don't want my child to be. Why to have to be like grow up the same I grew up. Why to have a nice life for them All her life. When they're aged, getting 20, and they have a nice life, and they get difficult because, not, we didn't do anything wrong. You know you need to be back and wake up and do your life better than what we did. That's it. That's like wake up call for them.

Speaker 1:

Do you think you're? Do you have a different parenting style? If you look at with Safi and with Mackenzie, do you find that it's different, that you parent a different style with the two?

Speaker 2:

Are you maybe harder or easier on one or you see, like okay, no, actually there is one harder on me, you just have two harders on you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I true.

Speaker 2:

No, like it's both of them, yes, both of them. I love him to death. But one of them actually think annoying me when you talk to her about something and telling you I didn't do it. You know that's lie. I didn't do it, just admitted it. No, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not gonna admit it and I didn't do it, I didn't say it, I don't mean it. Like easy word, like okay, just listen to you and okay, tell you okay, that's what you actually call but argue with you and about something you are wrong about it. Like, for example, walking with Safi next to the house. We have like Ferrari car and Safi now crazy about Ferrari, bugatti, I mean she costs.

Speaker 1:

She is a Ferrari.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, she is a Ferrari. It would be fair if you look at the amount of money you spend on them.

Speaker 1:

Is a Ferrari more than Ferrari, actually Probably two Bugattis you have, absolutely Except for you can't sell them.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, oh my gosh, I wish.

Speaker 1:

The Bugatti. You can turn them off, leave them in the parking and go away, and it's stress free.

Speaker 2:

We book it and I tell, like, look at the car. I said, safi, this car is Ferrari. No, it's not, it's Bugatti. I said, safi, it is Ferrari, no, it's not. And this actually pissed me off and I have to do what. Okay, we go back again. The car was covered and I see, put, it Is Ferrari or not. Okay, like, just listen, I'm not lying to you, I'm not telling you anything wrong. It should be. I like to be like accept what I'm saying or like, okay, if she disagrees with me, she's just like like discuss with me about in the nice way, not telling me off, or it's wrong, because that's actually as a that piss me. But the youngest doesn't argue with you Yet. Yeah, no, not yet. But the personality that's Safi, all her life like that since she's young.

Speaker 2:

She's a personality. They cannot get changed. But Mackenzie, you know, mackenzie, always like, you know, we tell you something. Okay, she listen. Okay, when she start turning like her, I wake her up. Like she start being like little bit rude, I wake her up, wake up and don't do that because it's not nice. Okay, I'm sorry. And she understand quickly and got it quickly. Safi, oh my gosh, like Safi, I told her I'm gonna buy a new phone because my phone actually is gonna. I have like a phone 13. I don't wanna get the new one, 15, but in Save for me, yeah, and I wanna change it until, okay, bob, I can give it to me. Right? I said, okay, here we go. I'm kind of get it in March If you behave.

Speaker 1:

You get it in March next year.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I get it in March next year. I will see your expectation with your dad house, but I'm really good, I said we will wait till March then.

Speaker 1:

It's like a goal and somewhat what do, you do. What you, and the worst thing is, you know you're gonna give it to her in March. I know that she's good or bad. Yeah, I know that that's the worst thing right now. If I could, just you're just like oh yeah, shit, I still yeah, whatever, she doesn't know that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I will give it 30, to be honest here. But they have to, like you know, they have to like to change attitude, Like you know how much his phone is.

Speaker 1:

Of course, super.

Speaker 2:

You know how much of his phone is Okay, I know and I know she have it.

Speaker 1:

It's he man, it's a, it is, it is I mean, I'm lucky, right now I'm not at that point, but oh it's, I can see it, I can just yeah but it's part of parenting.

Speaker 2:

you know it's a part. Yeah, at the moment, when you go up to sleep and you look at both of them, they may sleep like an angel.

Speaker 1:

Hmm, that's a for me. It's my favorite time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, like you know, when you feel someone sick and you really really like, you feel bad, like break your heart.

Speaker 1:

Like you know, I don't know what to do.

Speaker 2:

Like I'm. Actually I'm experienced now when you get sick, like Kinsey, when she gets sick from her cough, and like, okay, like happened last week, and I told the Briton, okay, you know what, don't send Kinsey today, she have throat infection. I'll book the doctor and I will go. How do you know? I said I know, Hmm, and I booked the doctor and the doctor said she have throat infection. I said that's called parenting. For 15 years was a child. I know what's going on, I know what you're doing. And it was true. I'm like, okay, don't go, because I know if she goes to school she can call me, and then you're gonna have to come and pick her up.

Speaker 2:

And I can interrupt my gym.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's funny, that's. That's a reality of parenting right there. It's just, you're going to interrupt my shit. I'm going to be in the middle of my coffee, enjoying my quiet time, or I'm going to be at the gym and I'm going to be pumped with my music and I'm going to be really in my zone, and then that fucking phone call is going to come and I'm going to be like God damn it, I knew I shouldn't have brought him to school.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I know how that feels.

Speaker 1:

Exactly how that feels.

Speaker 2:

But you still. I know that they are all day enough now it's fine, yeah, but because I know and I see that how the way she coughing and really she is not feeling well, but not the point to go to the nurse and nurse calling you and come to pick you up, exactly, it's like I'm not going to read for a year. Okay, come, we'll sit, relax.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, pick the doctor, doctor, give you some medication and stuff and you would be okay what you better close Exactly. So much for that. I just love the fact he said it's going to cut into my gym. But that's your quiet time, that's your you time. That's the time where you can center yourself and really get into. It's my relaxation.

Speaker 2:

To be honest, it's your relaxation Morning. Go down and have a coffee and then I'll go to the gym Because I'm not taking the kids to school. You know, our friend take them to drop them in the morning. I pick up all the other kids with my kids and drop them home because they live next to us. If I was like I shouldn't be actually wake up in the morning, but I have, I have to. I have to everybody wake up, walk next to me.

Speaker 1:

You also have to lead by example. Right, you also have to. You can't tell your kids to get up and then you just stand bed for the whole day, absolutely. Yeah, you wish you could, but you can't.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I go and I have my time or whatever you have to do by, like in the house. You need things, you done. It, of course, start your work after three o'clock.

Speaker 1:

And then yeah, and then it's three o'clock and then next thing you know, you have to go pick up the kid.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you go pick up the kids and come back to do your work till like eight o'clock and then you are free Watch something and then go back to sleep up Exactly by, I think, like nine.

Speaker 1:

That's pretty much.

Speaker 2:

You have to sleep at nine, nine.

Speaker 1:

You have to, of course.

Speaker 2:

I'm tired, you're tired. No, you're not tired. Let's call You're bullshit. You have to. Why are you outside? What are you doing here? I'm watching movie, or no? No, no, no, no. Come back to sleep, come on, and you have to wake up because I have to go to school.

Speaker 1:

I need to get up before everybody else gets up so. I can have my coffee in peace. This is also very important.

Speaker 2:

I like that, yeah, because I go down, I woke up, I do my coffee. I bought like American machine there Like and I actually have the coffee, like for like 15 minutes, quietly, quiet, everyone Sleeping. How do you still? No, they are like changing, wearing, and I'm, I have my own, like nobody there, but it's the same for me.

Speaker 1:

This is what I call if heaven exists. This is what heaven is like. It's that 15 minutes of silence.

Speaker 2:

no one bothers you 15 minutes and 24 hours a day.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, but it's the best 15 minutes you ever had in your life.

Speaker 2:

You're waiting every day, like I love to eat eggs in the morning. That's my base, everybody's in me. Are you kidding Bored? I said no, I love eggs. I mean, just like, is my timing okay? Having fun enjoying.

Speaker 1:

Just coffee in the morning, just hearing the Nespresso machine turn on putting the capsule in it's still a little bit dark outside it's just the greatest feeling ever.

Speaker 2:

The view from here is just like oh, amazing.

Speaker 1:

The view is definitely really nice with that coffee. I don't care without the view whatever. If it was dark room it would be a light. Just the fact I can hear that coffee machine, I see the dripping of coffee and just like sweet, heavenly Jesus, that is a great sight. I cannot wait to put that coffee into my mouth and get that first. But the funny thing is now, when I knew he sees when I make the coffee, he runs to me coffee, coffee and he'll take a cup and he'll sip it and then he'll go, ah like you, the same like me.

Speaker 1:

When I look at him, I was like, oh, wow, okay, that's really how I look when I'm drinking the coffee and I look at him and I was like I think I'll have another one. Of course you have to wake up.

Speaker 2:

You have to wake up, Alright.

Speaker 1:

so on the last question, I'd love to ask if your kids were in front of you right now, what would you like to say to them?

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's a nice question. Actually, I would love to say to them like be yourself, always love each other, no matter what's happening, always forgive and be happy. That's what I can say to my kids.

Speaker 1:

I think be happy is one of the most beautiful things that many parents.

Speaker 2:

Be happy. Do you see that? Be happy away from my dad?

Speaker 1:

For now. For now, yeah, for now, but that's the time where they'll be happy to come back to us, be happy. I always look at the relationship my wife has with her parents and other parents that I really respect and love, and I heard this quote one day real success is when your children want to spend holidays with you and I think, just wanting your children to be happy and just I think that's they like to come back to you, they like to come back to you. They might not like it now, but they like to come back to you.

Speaker 2:

They always, like you know, like I always tell to my children, guys, because I lost my dad and I was talking to him in the morning and he went to the hospital and he wasn't my dad, it was like healthy guy, sport guy, and he told me in the hospital we was talking together. I was like I was my friend, my dad, we was talking about Viagra and stuff like this. Buy him from here because he is stronger than in Egypt. I hope nobody see me, it's fine, it's okay.

Speaker 2:

No, no, just to be honest. And after none they called me and they said bus away. Are you kidding me? What do you mean? And I struggled to go back because my time was, my fees are in you on Qatar and I need my passport and my sponsorship wasn't there. It took me like one day and I fly after the bury him and I go there. I did not feel he's gone because I did not see him. Maybe he's somewhere, I coming back and he stalked me Six months to realize he's gone and like you feel by you crying, by you feel your back getting half, no matter how old are you If it is something wrong.

Speaker 2:

So I tell my child, like I'm not gonna hear forever, you can add a great little thing, as you did to me. I'm not telling you to do something bad. That's happened with me was my dad. I trying to give you my dad. He happened to hear her dad exactly, but he didn't tell me that. Or maybe he told me, but I didn't realize this one, because you would never realize that he's gone and you missed it and you lost it and it was a big deal. I'm gonna tell him. No, don't say that. I said it's gonna happen.

Speaker 2:

But don't waste the time you know you should be. You can I miss all of this moment? You're lucky. I have like only picture and video just with me there. You find that in the Instagram or anything. But you need to understand.

Speaker 2:

I know the age things is, but when you grow up I don't know when they can be realized. Like they come to me and like I need my daddy, I need this, I need this, but it is gonna happen and it's really hard, really hard to rose one of your parents, like you know. And what I'm doing now, I'm trying to do everything with my mom because I don't want to screw up, because I try to bring my dad to Qatar but I couldn't get the visa for him. I trying to give him something back, like you know, get him a big cars, take him some places, university before, and it doesn't happen. But I did this with my mom and that's trying to like I have like a thousand picture me and her everywhere we go. We did this, we did this. Try to give back, like you know, give attention or love or anything, because I know it's gonna happen. I can hear the phone call and someone tell me is gone.

Speaker 1:

But you know, the beauty of what you're saying right now is how your father was such a great dad that you wanted to spend so much time with him. Yeah, that's the beautiful part, and you're doing exactly the same with your kids, and that's going to be that's, you know you know, I just I when I was there and I look at his stuff, the feeling was like really bad.

Speaker 2:

When you go there and you have to get that stuff we need because we are brother and sister, everybody need to take like his, like right or whatever is, like you know, like cars, you sell the car, which one take the money, and house or whatever is money in the bank, really hard to go to take. This stuff is my dad stuff and I take it, sell it and take the money to keep everybody of us. And I look at his wallet and I never I never actually look at his wallet. And I look at his wallet and look at everything in his ID and I open I find like his dad wallet, wow, and since now I have a picture of him here. That's crazy, take it away. Since this, now I have it here, I never move it or never take it away. It's really hard things.

Speaker 1:

But it just goes to prove that your dad had a great dad.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I had a relationship he's with his favorite thing is how you reproduce it yourself. Yeah.

Speaker 1:

But your dad never told you, never showed you the picture that he had in his wallet.

Speaker 2:

That's crazy that he all the years See, that's one old and this one I never take it away, wow.

Speaker 1:

That's crazy and I hope your kids do that for you. That's really beautiful.

Speaker 2:

It's really. It's really. It's really hard and tough. Like you will, you will. Nobody will feel it till. Actually it's happened to you.

Speaker 1:

It's it's. It's hard because sometimes, as a dad, a lot of people forget how I think a lot of dads they stay kind of quiet about being a parent.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

That's really beautiful, and the fact that your dad never showed you this goes to show how men, how fathers, can really stay quiet, even though I think maybe your father would have liked to told you that is something like that, but it really goes to show that you find by luck.

Speaker 2:

My life it by looking here wallet and his dad like did you know your grandfather? No, I was one year on my boss.

Speaker 1:

I know my grandmother, yeah, but this is something that is maybe, maybe 50 years from now or 100 years from now. You'll look down, you know, if you I know you're religious person I'm not religious, but your, your lineage, let's say your other children, might actually be doing the same thing as you would love Like I keep telling them like when we go.

Speaker 2:

We need somebody to blessing, praying for us because it's a gift, and coming to us. And I always dream with my dad like I always do something for him every month, but I don't have to mention it, but I do always something for him, like I want to go to Saudi Arabia to do Omrah for him. There's something you need like in the Quran mentioned. He said in the Quran what this means is a boy, a good boy, can pray for him or blessing him or mention him all the time because he sent him a gift. It is something really.

Speaker 1:

But a good boy is brought by a good father. Yeah. I wish my child can do the same for me when I'm gone For sure, because of all the effort you put in today, because you could see the effort and you can see, because your father was a good father and your grandfather was a great father, you could see that the fact is that that was passed on. That was passed on.

Speaker 2:

It was like. I remember I was mad at him one time. He was taking me like one month, like till now. I regret this one. I wasn't talking to him. He always messaged me. I answered only, but it was rude message and all of it. It's happening. Just remember it was Safi, what she do with me sometime, but it's like this time it's bad.

Speaker 2:

I did something good, like when I get married, and I said to him okay, I'm going to Egypt, bring my wife with me and blah, blah, blah, we need a car. And he said you have my car, you have an old car. I said no, can you sell it and we get a new one and I will be the rest of it? It's like around 25,000 or something. I will be for it, are you sure? It took three days. He didn't believe me. I said you have my money, take the money from the bank and buy the car. I'm serious, I'm not joking. You control my everything there. And he didn't believe me for three days. I said, seriously, go get the car till we coming. I said I will take the car. We go ever is. I don't have to like rent or anything.

Speaker 2:

And he wasn't believe he was having a new car with EC was everything like in this same model he have this year and like when I like the bad thing when I go, I have to sell it. When I go back and I have to sell it, I would want to keep it but I can't keep it. I'm not there, I'm everywhere and there and there, but I can't keep it. But it's like I think he's still close to me. Like you know, I still like think about him always in my mind. It's just, it's not gone, of course.

Speaker 1:

That's the beauty, right? It's the fact that it is all about that person, that those your parents were so good to you and they're still there.

Speaker 2:

even if they're not there, your mom is still here, but your dad the funny thing is, after my dad I said I shouldn't be love much because he can lose the person you love. His kind of go and is get it more. Worse was my mom. Now the relationship I built up more and more and more Like I don't know how can I do when she gone once the time. But I know, but I try to be. It's reality, it's happening. I'm going to go and everybody can go. I understand this. I believe in that. Nobody will live till the end. We all die and I all like. I make my phone. I make like Egypt for free. I took my mom three, four hours every day. I mean Jim. Anywhere I go, she knows exactly what I'm doing, what I'm the bathroom, what I'm eating. She knows everything about me.

Speaker 1:

Bless you.

Speaker 2:

For this is going to be hard. I don't know what's like. She's here. Best day like was yesterday. She's happy birthday, mama. I'm going to go to her in 70. But she doesn't know. I'm planning for next year, yeah, yeah, to surprise her talking in the phone and blah, blah, blah and she opened the door. But I am worried to have a lot of that.

Speaker 1:

That was. That was at the dinner party. Brittany was saying that the worst thing I see that's a heart attack. Right?

Speaker 2:

at that moment it's actually scared of me.

Speaker 1:

You better tell your brothers and sisters to be there, and so it's not the super man.

Speaker 1:

But the beauty is that you know, you know what you missed with your dad, right?

Speaker 1:

The fact that that there were some moments that you're like, fuck, if I could do it over, I would do it over again.

Speaker 1:

And the great thing is you have that chance with your dog, with your mom, right now, and I also see with your kids how much you love them. And, yes, even if you're embarrassing them, picking them up at school and dropping them off which, by the way, next time I need to come and we need to wear like little dinosaur costumes or something like that but I think the beauty of it is that, yes, we know we're going to lose them, but the fact that we put in the effort to have all the memories of those, that's a beautiful part, and that's how much of great parents they were. Because you're doing it, you're willing to do all of that Just to say thank you and to make sure that you maximize that amount of time. True, right, and that's kind of like what parenting is almost all about. It's just making your kids happy and making them want to spend so much time with you, whether on a phone or one check or whatever, spend the most amount of time until you're gone.

Speaker 2:

The good relationship between you and your child. It's the important. No matter like, if you show love and the love, love of stay, yeah, like you don't the build honest with your child and come to you when they need you. Not like stop them. No, don't do that. Don't do that. I'm not doing this often. But stuff I don't like it and like really is not right. I'm stop it. But the race are always like fun, love Because thing.

Speaker 2:

Remember, like the youngest one I used to do like date with my kids, but now the oldest doesn't want to come with me because the last one tell me it is your sister. I said, oh damn it, good man, thank you, it's better. Better than your girlfriend, but she doesn't want to go with me or anything in any dates anymore. But I love to date my child. I love to go just dressing up, like wearing suit, like a business, and she dressing both of them and actually look on my Instagram arababa, that's me and he can look like a lot of videos. My kids like repair, like get open the car for her, take care of with me and we're doing some special place and I have the done.

Speaker 2:

Ask, my McKinsey's thing is one do you remember the last, when the first one we go for date, you and me, and she remember I forgot and she tell me exactly where we go and what she eat and what I was where and I actually forgot. I remember I said the other one when we go, like when she really dress up, and no, no, we didn't this one and Safi was in her friend birthday and you take me in this place and we eat and have fun For easy. Is all the memory in there, do you remember it? I wanted to be the dad who I wanted to be the first love.

Speaker 1:

But we are the first loves.

Speaker 2:

We are the first love. I wanted the first love and you would never love anybody, even her husband, over. He's the one. My dad is the first love, the one dad who I need. One like my dad, that's what I want.

Speaker 1:

But that's beautiful now.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I know, I don't know, it's gonna happen.

Speaker 1:

I think it is gonna happen. I think right now she's just on a grace period where she's trying to assert herself as a teenager and trying to find who she is, what she wants to do.

Speaker 2:

Mascara and makeup.

Speaker 1:

Exactly all the stuff that we went through. We went through the same stuff as teenagers and eventually we all came back.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely it is. I call circle of life, exactly it's a circle. It's turning, turning and come back to the same. We become a little child, weak, stronger, older, weak and become a child. We become a child when you get the age and you have dimension, and you become a child. You need someone look after you. Exactly that is it's called circle of life and it's gonna happen.

Speaker 1:

Exactly.

Speaker 2:

Whatever we do, let him experience experience of the life and continue loving them.

Speaker 1:

That's all what it is Of course it's just love and happiness.

Speaker 2:

Whenever it changes the love of them, never it changes. Oh, what matter they do, what matter it's happened, it's your child.

Speaker 1:

Forever. Yeah, it's really true.

Speaker 2:

Wait for monoloïa when he grew up. Oh yeah, it's fine, you don't worry about it, you can share it.

Speaker 1:

Oh, thank you so much for the great talk. My buddy.

Speaker 2:

It was lovely to talk to you actually. I actually I love this because I actually is all about honest and you open your heart and you talk from it.

Speaker 1:

Exactly, because that's all what life is about, I think life is. Life is about making friendships through honesty and just sharing your experience with others and being vulnerable, because everybody just wants to be loved at the end of the day. True, that's all what it's about To be happy and to be happy Exactly. Thank you so much, my friend. You're welcome. It was really a pleasure. Thank you, guys for listening in and thank you, you're welcome.