Weddings, Cousins and Baby-Sitting

We seem to have found another source of childcare for the moment, a rather unexpected one alhamdulillah. One of my cousins has come here from Pakistan to study hotel management in Plymouth. Usually family and friends that come from abroad stay with us. I don’t mind as guests are a blessing and it brings excitement and interest. However, over the last few years hubby and I have noticed that the rest of the family are palming their guests off onto us. Again, this is fine, except for their attitude: “Oh F and S have space”, “Oh, obviously they’ll be staying at yours”. Excuse me, we won’t say no to anyone, but try asking first?

Anyway, I reckoned that this cousin would end up with us, but hubby decided to tell the family no, we don’t have space and see what happens. I backed him up on this because I knew he didn’t mean it, he wanted the cousin to actually appreciate staying with us when he eventually turned up here rather than assuming it was his right.

It took one week. One week at an Uncle’s house, everyone at work, house full of morose teenagers that wouldn’t talk to him (and BOY does he like to talk), admonitions for making a mess in the kitchen or leaving a mess in the bathroom. When my husband offered to have him over for a few days and work with him at the same time, he was over like a shot. He likes it here – he says people talk to each other, we eat together, the food is home-cooked, the kids are friendly (too friendly - I had to stop them from calling him by his name and encourage them to address him as uncle). Hubby has him in the kitchen trying to teach him to cook for when his semester starts at the end of this month and he will be living out in student halls (okra curry, without any chilli).

He is a help for us too. He watches the kids for an hour after school while hubby comes to pick me up from work. They are not very impressed:

“He won’t let us watch cartoons”
“He wouldn’t give us cake”
“We don’t like him!”

Perfect.

In the meantime, my hubby is on a mission to get him salah-trained, trying to drag him to the mosque, waking him up for fajr and giving Little Lady lectures over lunch about the virtues of prayer and the punishment for missing them which are clearly aimed elsewhere, much to everyone’s amusement. I am trying to get him to be gentle as the Cousin will only be here until semester starts.

At the same time, we have mum calling me asking where the baby is and why we haven’t been leaving him with her (d’you reckon she misses him?).

Mother-in-law is also keen to come back to has but has two weddings to arrange. Brother-in-law’s no. 3 (who lives with us) and no.5 have both gotten just engaged and should be getting married in the next month or two. Being my oh-so-organised in-laws, the date probably won’t be announced until two weeks before the big day(s) and then there will be panic (although the mother-in-law has given me a shopping list, bless her). Unfortunately we won‘t be able to fly out to Pakistan, but I look forward to celebrating when they come here with their wives insh’Allah….oh and there is my brother’s wedding in March…

…this is going to be a busy year I think alhamdulillah.

Oh and why does every single person who comes to this house from Pakistan manage to explode an egg in the microwave at least once?