Prologue

It is mid April 2024, and I ponder these questions as I watch a moth flail wildly againts the porch light. I'm alone outside. Hendra, my husband, is sleeping and he didn't stir when I slipped out of bed. It is late, midnight has come and gone. I'm wearing a heavy cotton robe, and though I imagined it would be thick enough to keep the chill at village. I notice that my hands are trembling before I bury them in my pockets.

Above me, the stars are specks of silver paint on a charchoal canvas. I see Orion and the Pleiades, Ursa Major and Corona Borealis, and think I should be inspires by the realization that I'm not only looking at the stars, but staring into the past as well.

This doesn't surprise me. I've never considered myself a sentimental woman, and if you asked my husband, I'm sure he would agree. In the course of my marriage, I've been selfish and stubborn. I believe that if I've done one thing right, it has been to love my husband throughout our years together. While this may srtike some as a feat not worth mentioning, you should know that there was a time when I was certain that my husband didn't feel the same way about me.

Of course, all marrriages go through ups and downs, and I believe this is the natural consequence of couple that choose to stay together over the long haul. Sure, there were days when we avoided eye contact. We have three children, so many experience of parenthood, the sleepless night and frequent trips to the hospital when they were infants left both of us exhausted and often over whelmed.

All of those events create their own stresses, and when two people live together, the stress flows both ways. This, I've come to believe, is blessing of marriage. It's a blessing because there's an outlet for the everyday strains of life.

Ackonowledgment

Thanking people is always fun,

And something that I like to do,

I'm no poet, I'll admit that first,

So forgive me if the rhymes go askew

I'd like to thank my lord first. Allah SWT

Thank you for every blessing You have bestowed upon me.

To my parents, Thank you for your eternal love.

To my husband, who made me the luckiest woman alive when you asked me to be your wife.

To my children, I love each and every one,

Fakhri, Umar, Tazkia. They make my love a source of fun.

There are others too, who make my days.

A grand and wonderful adventure,

So to all my friend and family I thank you,

Because of you, my life is a treasure.