Mateen and Niki

My niece Ziba and her two children have been here in Colorado for almost three weeks. Ziba and I are best friends and she is the closest person to me in my family. She has two sweet children that I love. Her son, Mateen, is eight and her daughter, Niki, is five. I have watched these two children grow and evolve since they were born.

Almost three weeks ago, Sunday night, they arrived at 9:30. The doorbell rang and I, excitedly, opened the door. As soon as I opened the door, I saw two bright eyed smiling faces looking at me expectantly. I hugged them both and showered them with kisses and kind words in a mixture of Persian and English.

Our family gatherings are very interesting. My mother and my sister who comes to visit from Iran from time to time speak very little English and the young kids in the family hardly speak any Persian. So there is a communication problem between the oldest generation and the youngest generation. Those of us who are fluent in both languages take on the responsibility of translating when necessary. So we have lively meals around the dinning room table, since that is when all of us gather together. The two people who complain the most about not understanding everything are my mom with the least amount of English and Niki with the least amount of Persian, the oldest and the youngest. They both get frustrated if they don’t understand what is going on for more than a few minutes. Having had two American ex-husbands, when we have Americans or non-Persians in our group, I’m always very careful to translate everything back and forth so no one is left out of the conversation. When we are not gathered around the dinning room table, we have little groups of Persian or English conversation going on in different parts of the house.

After Mateen and Niki arrived that Sunday night, for the next two hours, they followed me everywhere I went, talking to me at the same time competing for my attention telling me all about their trip and their life in Kuwait where they have been living since last June. Niki is just adorable. She talks in her little high-pitched voice and says a lot of funny and cute things. Mateen is very smart and really well read for his age. One of his favorite activities is to read. He talks to me like a grown up and I’m always amazed at how much he knows. They both speak a little Persian, which is American accented and really cute. I talk to them, mostly, in English with little interjections of Persian words. I really like them to be able to speak and understand a little bit of Persian. They call me “khaleh Soheila”. Khaleh means aunt in Persian and it is a word that they pronounce with a cute American accent. Being half Persian, half Mexican and having been raised here in the US and recently in Kuwait, they are very aware of all four cultures and quick to identify different characteristics of each culture.

Mateen is very sweet and gentle. He reads, makes really complicated structures with Legos and makes these really intricate and detailed drawings. He loves for me to sit next to him and listen to him read aloud. Before he went to school, I used to read to him. When he came to see me when he was in first grade, he brought a book to me and said “khaleh Soheila, I have a book that we can read together.” Now that he is in third grade and reads well he always says, “khaleh Soheila, I want you to sit next to me and let me read to you.” Last Sat. morning, he and Niki came to my bedroom as they always do when I’m at home. Mateen sat on my bed next to me. I read a magazine while he read his book and Niki sat on the floor painting and drawing. Niki likes to paint and do crafts as she cannot read yet. She and I have spent a lot of time making posters together. Niki, also, has this amazing fascination with my bedroom where I have all of my clothes, perfume, accessories, makeup, finger nail polish and sweet smelling skin lotion. She loves all of that. I have given her her own finger nail polish, perfume and a little collection of different color eye shadow and blush. Of course, she puts on the eye shadow and the blush just for play. She says that my bedroom is her favorite part of the house. She spends a good bit of time there beautifying herself to the extent that her mother allows her. A couple of days ago she told me when I grow up, I want to be just like you. I asked her why and she said because I want to put on finger nail polish, lipstick, perfume, makeup and have pretty clothes like you. I’m not entirely sure if I’m a good role model for her, but I was happy to hear what she said. She, excitedly, watches me get dressed and put on make up and gives me advice on what colors to use and how to accessorize.

Our visit has been so much fun. When I come home from work Mateen and Niki run to me and throw themselves in my arms. When I’m at home they follow me all over the house wanting to be near me. They curl up next to me while we watch movies together. They come to my bedroom in the mornings and get in bed with me. They always have so much to talk about especially Niki. When I go to work I miss them and can’t wait to get home to see them again. When I leave the house they always want to know how soon I’m coming back. When they come home, they look all over the house to find me and make their presence known to me. It feels so good to love them and be loved by them. Their pure and untainted love, which is manifested so perfectly and unhesitatingly is a balm for my wounded heart.

In two days they will leave and I won’t see them until the next summer and I wonder if the next time I see them I’ll still be their “most favorite person in the world”.