A day with friends

This Monday was an exceptional day, because I had the chance to spend it with all three of my friends, although on separate intervals because these friends have little in common. In the morning, I met Amira for a private matter, and we had the chance to talk for about half an hour or so. Amira is the only one I can talk with about my ambitions and find a listening mind, because we shared those ambitions and still think about them. She's also one of the lucky few who had an equal share of happiness and sadness in their lives, not the monotonic satisfaction or depression, but true sadness and true happiness. I told her how I feel about the subject we were meeting to deal with, and I discovered that I lost faith in lots of good things in life. I preferred to find safety in avoidance than taking chances, because I took so many chances and they brought nothing but brief contentment and enduring pain. She's blissfully happy with her life, although she criticizes her performance in the practical field of her life, which was her ultimate ambition. But that shows you how some unexpected things can bring you ultimate happiness because they carry with them a beautiful sharing and companionship, even though we presume that our happiness is bound to our own mental image and plans.

In the afternoon I met Walaa, and I will admit that lately our meetings have grown more scarce, because of my unwillingness to come to Mansoura and the gloomy tone that took over our conversations. But this day she was on a moderate tone because she was bringing some excitement to her life again, and I told her what was new news for me, and we had a nice time talking about how stupid some people are. I was urging her to free herself of the restrictions her family imposed on her, not because I want her to be totally free, but because I find that placing such harsh restrictions on a woman who's beginning her thirties is ridiculous! She can't buy her own clothes for God's Sake! I seriously thought that was a major part of her unhappiness; the suffocating rules and norms she has to endure, and I told her so, but she has no rebellion in her guts. I pray that she has any sort of breakthrough in her life so that she can find the peace of mind she deserves.

I went home to find my friend Omneya calling me to tell me to come over, I was so tired and sleep-deprived, but I never wasted the chance to meet her because those were few chances due to her married life of domestic and social commitments. We spent the time playing with her two beautiful kids, and talking in between breaks. Sometimes our talks take a flat line because of her exhaustion and her kids' demands, but we always manage to talk about something deep. I can see a live example of marital and domestic life with all its pros and cons in front of me, and she manages to remind me that my situation isn't all that awful, and there are advantages to being free of social ties. I began to agree lately, because when I talked with mother once about something a man said to me in a marriage meeting "You seem to be a very strong woman!" She said: Why not? Men don't like strong women, and women should play it right and act the demure type men seem to prefer. I said: I will never act anything for a man, and I couldn't find a man who deserved toning down my strength. I don't want a man who's afraid of my strength, although I can call it more accurately "my passion about my convictions." I want a man who CAN conquer this strength with his confidence that it's a good thing. He then can depend on me if need call for it. She laughed at my stupidness, and I bet in her mind she said "You'll never find that!" But that conversation made me appreciate what my friend told me about my freedom and how it's precious now that I have it.