Friday March 29th, 2024
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She Maid Me Mad

At 24 Yousra might be well-travelled with a great degree under her belt and a great career to boot. But that doesn’t mean her mother is satisfied…

Staff Writer

I’m not yet 25 and already my mother has tried endlessly to make me feel like a spinster with her constant demands for a husband and babies. Over time I have succeeded in numbing myself to the pressure. BUT, the other day a new line was crossed. My mother found out that our maid is my age. Neigh, she is an entire year younger than me. This little piece of information was soon used against me, an unforseen weapon in her ever-expanding artillery.

Mum: Salma (the maid) is apparently younger than you.

Me: …*clueless look*

Mum: *gesturing the number 4 with her hands (not intended to represent Rab3a in any way)* “And she has 4 kids.”

Me: … “And?”

Mum: *gesturing with her hands in a kind of weird, cycling whatever-the-hell-it-is motion* “You better hurry.”

I won’t lie, this frustrated me. I was totally ready to pick an argument with her where I go off on a long rant explaining why she can’t, JUST CANNOT, simply compare me to Salma the maid. This girl probably got married off to some guy from her village whom she didn’t know or had even seen before her wedding night at the age of 15. That’s most likely why she had all this time to have four bloody kids. How can Salma be reasonably compared with a girl who has grown up abroad, has a university degree, and has already made a career change before you could say "I just graduated"? COME ON, MOTHER.

Ok. Deep down I know my mum knows better, and I’m sure she knows she shouldn’t compare my status to the maid’s, but her attempt at making me feel inadequate because I haven’t been married or had babies yet just ticked me off. And I thought I’d let you all know about it. Why? Because I know there are countless girls out there who can relate.

I feel ya, girls. And I’m sorry you have to go through this almost on a daily basis just like I do. But hey, don’t let it get you down or frustrate you more than it should, because at the end of the day it’s good to be different.

Now, I’m not encouraging girls to stay single their whole lives and be all anti-making a family or whatever (although if that’s what you truly want, go for it), all I’m simply saying is be true to yourself and don’t make any drastic changes in your life just because your parents or anyone else is pressuring you to. Get your life and your goals set straight first and then decide what your next step will be, even if it takes you longer than what your mum thinks it should. After all, I always say if you’re not satisfied with YOUR life first, you will not be satisfied when you share it with someone else. Just remind me to not be home next time a young maid comes over.