I always knew he was a good man who did everything with conviction and enthusiasm — but he took it to another level when we became parents. — When we started dating, my husband threw himself into learning about my Pakistani background. He listened to Urdu audio lessons in the car to learn the language, and kept a handwritten notebook with common words he wanted to memorize. He figured out how to tear small pieces of naan to…

There are many costs of parenthood. For me, the biggest price I paid was sleep. — Before I had kids, I enjoyed a pleasant eight hours of sleep every night. I’d dream about the movies or TV shows I’d just watched or vacations I had recently been on. Each morning when I awoke, I felt well-rested, relaxed, and ready to take on the world. My, how…

I thought I was organized and productive before I had kids, but that version of me had no idea just how much I can fit into a day now. — On any given day, I play the role of doctor, chauffeur, chef, cleaning lady, and clown — and that’s just before 9 a.m. In addition to being a mother, I am also a writer, daughter, and friend. …

Our kids aren’t the only ones who need feeding. Mothers are hungry too — for peace, for venting, for sisterhood. — Most evenings, at 5 p.m., my daughters and I sit down to dinner at the kitchen table. These days, the sun is still high in the sky, and the light streams in through the tall kitchen windows. …

And it’s becoming an issue — When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I gritted my teeth through many conversations where people guessed what my baby would look like. Mind you, they weren’t curious about whose nose she would get or what shape her eyes would be. …

My girls know to greet one grandmother with “As-salamu alaykum, Nini” and the other with “Hi, Nana.” They seamlessly shift between asking for boti or keema at dinner. In the same breath they use both languages without consciously making the decision to. — My cultural identity has always felt like a bit of a question mark. As a child, I wasn’t entirely sure where I belonged or what was considered home. I was born in Pakistan, lived in Saudi Arabia until 10, and then spent the rest of my life in Canada. …