MOM STORIES: Kanwal Anjum

NAME/CURRENT LOCATION

Kanwal Anjum / Karachi, Pakistan

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

I am a work-from-home mom. Being a photo-graphic designer gives me the leverage to work from home. I am a creative director at an advertising agency. So basically, I go for meetings but work from home.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY

We are an immediate family of four. And a close knit family of 7. I have two daughters. Zoey will be six next month inshaaAllah and Noor is 21 months old.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING A MOM / WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGING PARTS

My favorite part about being a mom is that I am constantly learning & evolving. First, I was learning how to love without spoiling, then I was learning how to divide the attention between two. Then I learnt how to not let one feel ignored while the other is being loved. I wish motherhood had a manual to follow! But Alhumdulillah its been a wonderfully challenging journey so far.

ANYTHING THAT YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR PARENTS THAT YOU WANT TO PASS ON TO YOUR KIDS? 

When I was growing up, I had promised myself I would never be a mom like my mom. Little did I know I would be chewing on my own words. And chewing hard. I want all that my parents taught me to be passed on to my kids. The courage that they encouraged to believe in my dreams, the faith they instilled in me to choose the right path, the scoldings that molded my personality, the confidence to walk the path I chose, the passion that ignites fire. I want to pour it all out for my kids to follow.

HOW DO YOU FIND TIME FOR YOURSELF, WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ‘ME-TIME’ ACTIVITIES? 

Between being a mother, a daughter, a wife, a sister and a friend, sometimes I forget about myself. And find it a struggle to take time out. But I believe time outs are important. My favorite me time activity would be writing and doing photography. Somehow both these activates always make me end up either writing about my kids. Or photographing them. Basically, I don’t have a life! Oh, and dreaming, day dreaming!

WHAT ROLE DOES YOUR FAITH PLAY IN YOUR PARENTING?

Faith, is a very important tool for me. If it was not for faith, I can easily vouch that I wouldn’t be here writing this. Faith has helped me move on in life and make decisions that would not have been possible otherwise. I think, what has also played an important role in our parenting is the fact that my husband has stronger faith than me. Which doesn’t necessarily mean that we are fanatics, but the belief system has to be a very very strong one. One needs to have something to believe in. Only then you can have hope.

WHAT ARE SOME FAVORITES ABOUT RAISING CHILDREN IN KARACHI? AND THE NOT SO FAVORITE PARTS?

Karachi is home. I love the fact that my kids are being brought up in the same city where I was. Showing them places where we grew up and sharing the smells that transport me back into time, is a pleasure. However, these are hard times for us, in Pakistan. Security is a constant threat. Explaining to them why there is a policeman in the school premises is not so easy. Neither is telling them why a certain student has 6 guards in his car. But we learn to live.

WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS FOR YOUR CHILDREN?

I dream for one girl to be a doctor and the other to be a pilot so almost all our old age issues are taken care off! Haha. But honestly, I just dream for them to be good people. We are here to guide them and direct them, but they need to choose their own paths not forgetting the values that they will hopefully grow up with..

ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER MOMS OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE.

Believe in yourself. And enjoy motherhood. These kids grow up way too quickly.

Thank you so much Kanwal for sharing a piece of your life with us. I have enjoyed reading your blog for a few years now and love your courage,honesty and specially your sense of humor. So glad to have you here today.

You can visit her website here and don’t forget to check out her blog too.

For previous posts in this series go here.

Thanks for reading and lots of love.