Dive In

Alright, y'all....here goes nothing. I'm holding my nose and diving in..........to the online dating pool. Y'all better pray I don't drown. I'm not a strong swimmer. Yeah, okay we're done with the swimming bit for now.

My mother has been on me about perusing other matrimonial avenues. Now, I'm not big on the whole online thing. It kind of sketches me out. That being said, I do know people this has worked for. And, as my dear mother pointed out, it's not like I'm having the best of luck with other avenues. "You wouldn't want to get to old to have children." Wow. I had no idea I was so close to becoming a pathetic spinster. I think my cousins wedding set her off. Her and my aunts have been on me and my cousin (the groom's sister) like white on rice since then. They want more weddings and grandbabies. Apparently, we're getting on in years. I can't even be mad because it's kind of funny and kind of true. We aren't as young as we used to be and there are expectations.

Of course, I do want to get married, sooner rather than later so it makes sense to try something new. After all, there aren't that many opportunities to meet Muslims of the opposite sex once you're out of college. Also, I haven't tried anything new in a while and I did make a resolution to try new things. If any of y'all have recommendations for websites, let me know. InshaAllah, I'll be making my final decision over the weekend.

Alright, here I go. 1, 2, 3...............JUMP!

So much for my happy ending

The marine and I are dunzo. We ended it before I went away for the weekend. I'm a little sad about it but it was the right thing to do. There were quite a few things we disagreed on, he's got a bit of a temper, he rarely thinks he's wrong, and there's the whole mother thing. After our fight, we talked.......a lot. I prayed on it and I decided to end it. I mean, he doesn't think he has anything to apologize for. As far as he's concerned, he hasn't done or said anything wrong. His attitude is it was a fight and fights aren't pleasant. It just hit me; I can't spend the rest of my life with that kind of attitude. I'm actually glad we had that fight because the gloves came off. We stopped being nice and polite and that was good. The truth came out. And the truth is he thinks I'm spoiled and my family (that he hasn't even met) is pretentious. I think he can be a jerk, his mother is incredibly ill-bred, and he's a bit of a mama's boy. Obviously, this was doomed from the start. We just didn't know it.

Oh, well; you win some, you lose some. InshaAllah, I'll have better luck next time. Who knows, maybe I'll meet someone at the ICNA convention. Lord knows that's what my mother's hoping for.

Meet the Parents.......Part I (The Aftermath)

Alright y'all, he called me today. He was giving me time to "calm down." I'm sure that was for the best. Anyway, he called to apologize for her and her behavior. What follows is a transcript of our conversation.

Marine: I just wanted to apologize to you for my mom's behavior.
Me: Oh, that's fine. It's not your fault. I was just a little, I don't know, shocked I guess. I've never really been treated like that in someone's house before.
Marine: Well, she was out of line but you have to understand where she's coming from.
Me (only in my head): No I don't. She needs to get some manners.
Marine: She's always had a different type of girl in mind for me.
Me: A different type of girl?
Marine: I mean, I don't know, someone a little more modest and traditional.
Me: I see. And does she have a particular modest, traditional girl in mind.
Marine: I really don't see how that's relevant. (What?! How is that not relevant? I'll just take that as a yes.)
Me: That's not really an answer.
Marine: That's all the answer you're going to get.
Dead silence
Marine: ::heavy sigh:: Try not to take it too personally. You just represent the kind of woman she doesn't like and doesn't want for me.
Me: I beg your pardon?
Marine: See? That. You say things in this society girl tone and my mom just doesn't deal well with that. Because of how she grew up she hates society girls. With the finishing school and the sorority and they way you dress, you just represent that. She's never been part of the white glove and pearls set and she just doesn't have any use for it.
Me: I didn't throw that stuff in her face. I would never have said anything about it if she hadn't mentioned it. You told her all of that, not me.
Marine: It came up in conversation.
Me: How does that just "come up in conversation?"
Marine: She asked about you and I told her. Do you want a play by play of the conversation?
Me: You know what? The sarcasm isn't necessary. My mother didn't verbally attack you for not being a good Muslim and being a snob. Oh, I'm sorry, "high siddity."
Marine (in a tone that could freeze boiling water): Alright, you know what? It's over; I've apologized and explained her behavior. You're a big girl and you're old enough to know that not everyone has to or is going to like you. You're going to have to move past it because as far as I'm concerned, it's over and we're done discussing it.
Me (in an equally cold tone): Is that right? Well, then I guess there's nothing left to say.
Marine: Guess not.
::click::

Oh, no he did not even try to get an attitude with me. Telling me when a discussion is over. What? Who does he think he is? Oh, I am so mad right now. And what was that tone? Please, I am not scared of him. He does not want me to have to get ugly.
Y'all, I have just seen the future and it is not pretty. If we ever speak to each other again, we will have quite a bit to discuss. And don't even get me started on the other girl that's waiting in the wings. Such total crap. I'm so disgusted right now.

Meet the Parents.......Part I (Recap)

Okay so dinner was a bit of a disaster. His mother hated me on sight. She turned her mouth all up like she was sucking lemons. And she seemed to be insinuating that I was a questionable Muslim. I'll start at the beginning.

I arrived right on time bearing homemade chocolate cake and a pretty bouquet. I wore a very pretty navy blue dress and pearls (oooh, I also wore the cutest spectator pumps in ivory and navy). Pretty, tasteful, classic. It was very Ann Taylor. We'll call this mistake number one. The Marine let me in, complimented me, and took my stuff. So far so good. He tells me the men are downstairs and the ladies are in the kitchen. Cool beans. We go into the kitchen to meet his mom and sisters (I've already met one of them). His mom takes one look at me, turns her mouth up, and says, "Sweetie, you never told me she didn't cover." COW! Where does she get her nerve? There is dead silence for a minute and he just says, "Mom" with this slight tone. I just smile politely and say, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you, ma'am." She cuts me this look and he says, "She brought dessert." It was kind of random but he was trying to move past the hijab incident (she wears jilbab). One of his sister’s pops up with, "oooh, that's so nice. What did you make?" I tell her a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. I confirm that it was indeed made from scratch and we start talking about baking. His eyes start to glaze over (standard male reaction) and his mom tells him to go on. After he leaves (abandons me), she turns to me and says, "I never would have guessed a girl like you could cook." I lightly laugh and ask, "A girl like me?" You know what her response is? "A high siddity little debutante." WTH? Do people still say "high siddity?" One of his sisters is like "Momma!" This heifer is not even remotely shamed. She says, "What, this is my house and I can speak my mind." I started to give her ill bred behind a piece of my mind but, unlike her, I have self-control.

She proceeds to tell me that her son has told her all about me and she is not impressed by my "high flown" manners or over-priced clothes. What impresses her is a modest Muslimah with a pure heart and knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Really? Did she take it there with someone she doesn't even know? I told her (preceding with "please don't that this the wrong way) she didn't know me and therefore couldn't possible know anything about my heart or my knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah. I also told her that she also didn't know me well enough to judge my manners and that she need not concern herself with the price of my clothes. Then I neatly changed the subject and asked her if she'd like my help with dinner. Unsurprisingly, she declined.

Sometime after that, while I was coming back from the bathroom, I overheard two of his sisters talking about me. One of his Muslim sisters talking to his non-Muslim sister and telling her that she didn't know what (other than my looks) her brother saw in me. She said, "I mean she's nice enough but what's he doing to do with some prissy little sorority girl from the city?" ::sigh:: These people. At least his non-Muslim sister likes me. She told her to grow up and get over it. I'm not sure what she meant but she went on to tell her that I was a perfectly nice girl and they should all give me a break.

Things continued to be tense during dinner. His father was friendly and polite, asking me about my life and goals for the future. That's when The Marine's mother chimes in with how her son told her I was trying to break into event planning. She says, "That doesn't strike you as a little frivolous?" His father told her that there was nothing wrong with a young lady being a little frivolous. She then says that she considers it shameful that I have no higher goals than "throwing over priced parties for a living" but I'm not interested in staying home with my children. Oh, no she didn't. Y'all can't begin to imagine how shocked I was that he told her that but I kept a polite expression on my (very red) face. I told her I couldn't imagine how that was her concern and I didn't plan on discussing it with her. And on it went. She asked a million questions about my family and upbringing, all the while making little comments or noises. We made it to dessert without any bloodshed and everyone loved my cake. His mom even unbent enough to tell me it "wasn't bad."

Like I said earlier, total disaster. My sole consolation is that they enjoyed the cake. I can honestly say that never seeing his mother again would be too soon. She was a total witch and she has the manners of a troll. I don't care what her issues are; her behavior was completely uncalled for. At least she had the decency to wash my cake plate and give it back. Otherwise I would have had to explain to my mother why she could forget about it.

Naturally, I'm not too sure where this leaves us (the Marine and I) but I'm not really expecting to hear from him tomorrow and it doesn't bother me. I'm not crazy about the fact that he's (in my opinion) over shared with her, just a touch. Whatever. I'm tired so I'm going to bed.

Meet the Parents.......Part I

OMG, OMG, OMG! I'm meeting his parents this weekend! Oh, my goodness. I'm pretty nervous. I hope they like me. They probably will, most parents do. Anyway, the invitation totally came out of the blue. There I was, trying to cajole him into coming to this art thing and all of a sudden he invites me to his parents place. Apparently, the entire family has dinner together once a month. This month, I'm invited. Now I've just got to figure out what I'm wearing. Obviously, I'm wearing a dress. The question is, which one?

Alright, y'all, wish me luck!

This could have been ugly

Me, the Marine, his sister (the non-Muslim one), and her boyfriend spent the day at the park. We were all off from work and she called and invited me. Nice of her, don't you think? Anyway, this particular park has a riding trail which we were able to take full advantage of thanks to her boyfriend. His family owns a ranch. We pair off into couples and before long, the sister and her boyfriend have gotten kind of far ahead of us. I am not what you would call an accomplished rider so we hung back. It was nice........until the horse threw me. Yep, I was thrown to the ground by a stupid animal. Something must have startled her because one minute the Marine and I were chatting/flirting and the next, the horse was rearing back. He's an excellent rider so he grabbed the reins and tried to stop the horse but it was too late. I'm not that good of a rider and I couldn't hold on. I hit the ground hard. In like two seconds he was off of his horse, containing mine, and checking on me. He made sure nothing was broken and fussed over me while I sniffled and tried not to cry (it hurt). Y'all know he carries a handkerchief. Naturally, it's of the crisp, white variety.

Anyway, there was no help to be had so he had to maneuver poor bruised and battered me and both horses. He did really well. He asked me if I thought I could sit my horse alone and I was like, "I don't know." Climbing onto the horse was definitely out of the question so he lifted me onto his, gathered my horse’s reins, swung up behind me and led us out of there.

I'm pretty bruised and sore but other than that, I'm good to go. The Marine was really sweet, he even called tonight to see how I was feeling. His sister called too, she told me that her boyfriend felt bad because it was his horse. Apparently she's usually very tame but she's never left the ranch before. Great.

The Kentucky Derby Test

As y'all may or may not know, the Kentucky Derby was this weekend. While, obviously, I didn't go; one of the Marine's CO's (commanding officer) had a Derby party at his house (gorgeous estate home) and we went. It was a test, plain and simple. The same test men always give; can you fit into my life? Please. Honey, I'm a Southern almost-Debutante, I can fit in anywhere. I showed up at the party looking like a million dollars. I wore a pink dress with a little cardigan over it, cute shoes, and the coup de grace; a fantastic hat (pink wide brim with feathers). And, yes, I wore my hijab. I tied it in a chignon at the nape of my neck. I looked fabulous.

Not only did the Marine have compliment after compliment for me, but everyone else did too. His CO's wife told me how much she loved my hat and I was a "darling' little thing." I danced with her husband twice. He's actually pretty charming. He thought I was the "prettiest little thing." Another wife commented on how good I was with the crowd. She said this was obviously my thing and that she wished she was better at it. I told her all she's got to do is fake it till she makes it. Then I started taking her around introducing her to people.

I'm sure most of them were expecting some mealy mouthed, socially inept, walking ten paces behind her man, stereotype of a Muslim woman. Never going to happen. I didn't hang on the Marine; he actually had to seek me out a couple of times for introductions. I was all things charming, polite, and gracious. I don't think there was anyone I didn't speak to at least once. Of course, I love all things social so I was in my element. As a result, I passed my test with flying colors. He says to me, "You were great tonight. I think you charmed everyone." I asked if I charmed him and he said "since the day we met." He wasn't sure I would enjoy myself because I didn't know anyone and it was mostly Marines and their significant others. Silly man. I just smiled and told him I love meeting new people, besides, after an hour together you're no longer strangers. He laughed but there was definitely relief in his eyes. It's basically like, can she handle this or is she going to make things difficult? I can handle it and now he knows so if we don't work out, it won't be because I can't fit into his life.

To Date or Not to Date

There has been quite a bit of fuss over the whole dating/non-dating, halal/haram issue here. I'm not a scholar (not even close) so I won't presume to know everything but I don't really remember reading the words "dating is forbidden." Men and women can't be alone together and we weren't alone together. I don't plan on being alone with him. However, I do feel that you need to know a person, at least somewhat, prior to getting married or even engaged. It's very difficult to do that with nosy elders or siblings hovering around you. Everyone is so busy trying to be on there best "parent" behavior that you aren't really getting to know the real them. Then you're engaged, because there's no reason not to be, only to have to break it off a couple of months down the line. I know Muslims that have been engaged more than three times. They have to keep breaking them off after a few months because they didn't know enough about that person. I'm trying my best not to be one of those people. At the same time, I'm trying not to do any real sinning. This is the result. I'm sure some of our dates will be chaperoned. Some of them won't need to be. This weekend we were in a crowded park so chaperones weren't necessary. I don't know about y'all but I would never be, to put it delicately, overly affectionate with anyone in public. I think it's tacky.

My own mother has concerns about this whole scenario, up to and including him being a Marine. She's not crazy about men in the military to begin with (dated some back in the day) and she's really not crazy about Muslims in the military. My brother wanted to go to the Air Force Academy and be a fighter pilot and she completely freaked. She feels it's a conflict of interest. She said he could fight for a Muslim country, which freaked me and my sister out. Our baby brother fighting for some third world country (most likely the enemy of our country), heck no! I mean, it's nothing personal, we're American and don't like the idea of our little brother fighting for another country. Anyway, she's got a bigger issue with pseudo dating. She doesn't believe that Muslims should date but, at the same time, she doesn't want us marrying or getting engaged to someone we haven't taken some time to get to know. I'm like, "and how will we get to know him if we don't spend time with him?" She says that's not dating but my sisters and I (being sane) disagree. At the end of the day, dating is spending time getting to know someone that you're romantically interesting in. Chaperoned or not, it's still pretty much dating. You can call it "talking", "hanging out", or whatever else; it's all the same. The only difference is that there's a right way and a wrong way of doing it. I won't say halal and haram because I don't like labeling things like that.

A man and a woman in a car, house, condo, apartment, or whatever alone together is wrong. We're clear on that. Meeting up for lunch, all good in the hood. An unchaperoned dinner in a dimly lit, romantic restaurant is asking for trouble. A Sunday brunch at a place filled with old ladies and society matrons, good times. Anything in a public venue, and by public I mean enough people around to discourage any type of canoodling, is pretty much okay. Hanging out at your families home with people drifting in an out (quasi-privacy) is also okay. Really, what are you going to do when a family member could pop in at any second?

I understand the importance of doing the right thing but at the same time, we (as Muslims) do have to adapt to modern times. Things are not like they were way back in the Prophet's (PBUH) time. And while I'm sure there are plenty of people that take issue with the whole "halal dating" scenario, I take issue with multiple engagements and/or marriages.

They say you never really know a person until you've lived with them and I suppose that's true. However, there's nothing wrong with trying to learn as much as you can prior to that point. I just don't really think it's possible to do that with a few IMs, phone calls, and family meetings. It works for some people, and that's fantastic, but we shouldn't pass judgement on those it doesn't work for.

Barefoot In The Park

Oh my goodness! I had such a great time! I haven't stopped smiling. Not only did we have a great time yesterday, we met for brunch today. That's right. But let's rewind.

We met up (no riding in cars with boys) at one of those street festivals. You know the kind; food, arts, crafts, music, etc. Anyway, we walked around for a while just talking and having a good time. After a while he asked if I was ready to eat. I said, I don't know, I kind of want to stay for the concert. He gets this look and is all "we could do both". I said, "Oh, I don't really want anymore of this junk food." He says he's got a plan and tells me to "wait right here." When he comes back, he's got a picnic basket. I was all, "OMG, a picnic, this is awesome!" And it was. He packed chicken salad, assorted crackers, a French baguette with butter, one of those mini cakes from Whole Foods (the strawberry one with butter cream frosting), and sparkling white grape juice. Y'all, he even remembered a blanket. I was so impressed. I was all giggly, and I said, "well, Lieutenant, you sure know how to impress a girl." He leaned in and said, "Darlin' I'm a firm believer in giving your best." Insert breathless giggle here. I know but it's all I could manage at the time. Anyway, after he served both of us and poured the sparkling, I asked how he managed to keep everything cold. Y'all know what he said? "A good Marine is resourceful." What kind of explanation is that? Which is exactly what I asked. He told me the information was "highly classified." Cute. I'll give him that.

Meanwhile, we had great conversations the entire day. We talked about everything (slight exaggeration). He's great. I can't believe I almost wrote him off just because he's in the military. Speaking of which, we talked about that too. He owes them two more years of service. He's not sure if he's going to continue after that or just be a regular working guy. With his education and experience, he knows it'll be easy to find a job but he can't really see himself doing anything else. At the same time, like so many others, he's not 100% thrilled with the military right now. It's something he'll have to work out for himself and I, obviously, won't be interfering in any way.

Anyway, he was a total gentleman the entire time. Nothing inappropriate. We decided to meet up so we wouldn't be alone in the car together. And since he wasn't driving me home, he followed me home to make sure I got there safely. Gotta love it. And brunch was just as perfect.

Talk about a sign!

Guess who I had breakfast with yesterday? That's right, the Marine. Probably couldn't have asked for a bigger sign than him showing up right behind me at Panera Bread. I was waiting for them to double toast my bagel and heard "hey gorgeous." Naturally, I looked up and there he was. We started making small talk until our food was ready. Then he's all "have breakfast with me." I smiled, rolled my eyes a little and said (slightly sarcastically), "well, since you asked so nicely." So he laughs and says, "just shut up and have breakfast with me. You know you want to." I started laughing. I was like, "you're so bossy!" We ate and when we were done he goes (all cocky like he knows the answer), "should I take this as permission granted?" I said, depends on what you want. He was all, "you know what I want." Of course, I said yes. And he tells me not to make any plans for next weekend. I'm like what if I already have plans? He goes, "cancel them." I said, "you're pretty sure of yourself." He said, " I know what I want and I'm not afraid to take it." Ladies, that's hot. I was just a teensy bit breathless when I told him I was free next weekend. He just winked and said, "good." Then he walked me to my car.

Oh boy. He's a cocky you-know-what but it's pretty sexy. He gives me butterflies and it's definitely been a long time since I had any of those. Anyway, I've now gone from writing him off to looking forward to getting to know him. How quickly things change.

The Muslimah and the Marine

Sounds like the title of a romance novel, right? Yeah, it's not gonna happen. As much as I love a man in uniform, I'm not cut out to be a military wife. Confused? Sorry. I'll start at the beginning.

One of my regular customers was raised a Muslim. She no longer practices but her family does, including her brother whom she thought I would be perfect for. She chats him up and I agree to basically a blind date. We met for coffee.....and it was AWESOME. He was great. I mean, really good looking, tall, charming, so well mannered, fun, and really good to talk to. There's just one problem: He's a MARINE, y'all! I would be a terrible military wife. I would absolutely not be able to handle it. I mean, I love a man in uniform but it would never work. Plus, I would HATE living on base. Shoot, if I had known he was in the service I never would have agreed to meet him.

Of course, we had a great time and he asked if he could call me and I was like, I'd like that but I don't think it would work. And he knew right off the bat. He was like, it's the military thing right? I said, I just don't think I can do it. He was all teasingly "never say never" "you don't know unless you give it a shot". I told him that usually that's my attitude but I just don't think it'll work. He said he wasn't going to beg (I most certainly wasn't expecting him to) and gave me his contact info if I changed my mind.

Hmm, what to do, what to do? If he wasn't in the military I wouldn't hesitate to contact him but he is. It's very sexy but I'm not cut out for it. He seems like great guy but I'm pretty positive it wouldn't work. So why am I debating this?