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surayamo

@surayamo

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The #Gold100 celebrates leaders shaping global culture, selected by a coalition of top Asian Pacific organizations and cultural icons.

We’re thrilled to see NPR Music’s Executive Director Sonali Mehta and Executive Producer Suraya Mohamed recognized this year! Their drive and dedication help make public media a true home for cultural discovery and connection. Congratulations, Sonali and Suraya!

#Gold100 #GoldExcellence @nprmusic by @surayamo

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5 months ago

When the kids were young we used to go to church on Easter mornings. In the afternoons, we went up the street to my mother-in-law's house. While most of us ran around the yard for the Easter egg hunt, all of us enjoyed Annie C's delicious, southern, home cooked meals. 2013 was the last time our immediate family spent the holiday together. One or more children have been away at college since then so for years now, the holiday hasn't been the same. But today was the weirdest Easter ever, not only for me but for the entire world. Joyce Meyer wrote on her blog, "...if we are determined to rely on God in every situation, all the time, we can experience the power of His resurrection and rise above the challenges we face." What a good reminder that His light will get us through any situation and perhaps this is the best way to end the series, on an encouraging and hopeful note. The tree's petals are falling now so my work is done. Thank you for reading. Much love. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

April 11th, 24 years ago, was my mother's very last day. It was a Friday. She hadn't been feeling well for a long time because the breast cancer had metastasized to her brain. There was nothing good about the situation except for the fact that she hung on long enough to see her granddaughter who had arrived 5 weeks earlier. I'd bring infant Elana to the house a lot and put her on the bed next to mom. I have no idea what that must have felt like, lying in the bed, helpless and sick, watching the most beautiful baby girl sleep. But anyway, on her final day, she was in really bad shape. My dad, brother and I called her oncologist and tried to figure out if we should put her in hospice or a hospital. But Mom didn't want to go anywhere. Darien picked yellow chrysanthemums from the backyard and gave them to her. Elana slept on the bed. When I kissed her goodbye that night, I kind of knew. On the drive home, I saw a shooting star and I think mom was riding it on her way to heaven. Dad called at 12:30 a.m. to say she was gone. I threw my clothes on, put Elana in her carseat and drove 70 miles an hour to get to the house for Dad. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

The pink petals on the tree are so beautiful now. Once they reach their peak, they will fall to the ground, get tracked into the house, turn brown and become a thick mushy substance that sticks to the driveway and sidewalk like mud. Most years I scrape up the remains with a shovel. Before I end the tree bloom-now living as an adult in my childhood home therapy series - there are a few more short stories to tell. Today is my nephew's birthday. Happy Birthday Justin! He just turned 12 and used to live here in this neighborhood until his parents, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, decided to move to another beautiful but newer and more modern neighborhood. I don't blame them for leaving. Most houses here in 'The Gate' were built in the 60s and 70s and while they could be considered classic and almost contemporary, the architecture and style here is definitely not progressive. Justin's family lived on the same street as my cousin who has also lived here in 'The Gate' since she was a little girl or almost forever, like me. She too bought her childhood home after her father, my Uncle Mo, died, and still lives there today with her husband and mom. Other family living within a mile of our home include my dear father-in-law, just up the street, and my dad's brother, Uncle Faz, and his wife, Aunt Willa. My sister-in-law lived one street over, but recently downsized and moved now that her children, my niece and nephew are grown and living well on their own. We've been blessed to have lots and lots of family, very close, for many years. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

The jackhammer started demolishing our back patio at 8:15 this morning. This project is years overdue. The cement is cracked in several places, the steps are chipped and the surface slopes towards the house and channels water straight to the foundation. As the Bobcat raised big slabs of concrete off the ground, I saw another patio underneath the current one. I remember now, it was there when we first moved to this house in the 70s. There's some other stuff in the backyard that needs to go like the sturdy wood frame made of 6x6 timbers, firmly embedded in the ground to keep the mulch around the swing set that was removed years ago. There are not 1 but 2 log piles of rotted wood, one out back and one in the side yard. The ugly chain link fence that borders the neighbor's house right behind us still reminds me of the cranky neighbor lady who used to live there with her loud Schnauzers that barked all the time. She used to yell at me and my brother when we rode our bikes too close to the fence. I want to take it down because she built a wooden fence on the inside of the chain link fence which no longer has a purpose and looks really janky. The one area in the backyard that I love is our vegetable garden, organic and pesticide free for about 15 years now. Spring planting will start soon. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

On this week's All Songs Considered episode, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien said his core constituents are family, music and food. The same goes for me but the music part took some time. When I was 4 years old, I started taking violin lessons only because my mother wanted me to. I never remember asking and certainly don't remember liking the violin. As I've written before, I hated practicing, probably because it sounded so bad. When I turned 16, I swapped my violin for a viola. The larger instrument sounded better, generated lower and more sonorous notes, and was more pleasing to my ear. After the switch, I also got a bunch of chamber music gigs because there was more demand for violists and I liked playing music more when I got paid. A couple of years later, it was time to make a college choice and I ended up at a music conservatory, in part because I didn't have any other good options. All my life, I wanted to be a surgeon but then changed my mind in 11th grade because I didn't want to be in school for 12 years. That left me without a passion or direction for my future. But at least my mom was thrilled. She knew what was best for me because over the years, I've grown to love the art form and am so grateful to work full time in the business. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

I face north to take this photo. If I walk past the familiar tree, go 6 houses up the street and make the first left, Rod’s childhood home is the 3rd house on the right. I didn’t know it at the time but when I was 9 years old, my then-future-husband moved to the neighborhood. Because I didn’t know many people in The Gate, we didn’t meet until 7 years later. I was 16 and he was 19 when our mutual friend, who played in a Go-Go band with me, stopped by the house to pick up a keyboard and Rod was with him. I remember our meeting in the driveway but don’t recall ever getting to know him. It seemed like from that day on, he was already my best friend. We’ve been married now for 26 years and together for 34. Even as we spend hours, days and now weeks sequestered at home, we still laugh a lot and have a good time together. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

This morning I passed Stonegate Elementary School and Stonegate Pool on my 3 mile run through The Gate, the nickname for our neighborhood. But growing up, I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy either one. I attended a private school from 1st through 8th grade. I liked it there but I really wanted to go to public school. My brother and I could have walked but instead mom drove us to and from school every day and I always got carsick. But the real reason I wanted to go to Stonegate was to meet and have friends in the neighborhood. I knew kids my age who lived a few houses away but I could count them on one hand and none of them were really good friends. We rarely had "playdates" with our private school friends maybe because they lived too far away. But the pool, glorious Stonegate pool, oh how my brother and I wished we could join. We loved to swim and loved the water but Mom didn't like pools, especially big ones, and a community pool meant hanging out with unfamiliar people. She was happy keeping to herself at home, with her small circle of friends and a large family for socialization outside of our immediate family. Many years later when our children were babies, we joined Stonegate pool for our very first summer here in this house. It was so much fun. Such good times. We spent every summer and many days hanging out there with our friends and neighbors. Lots of times, I wanted to go to the pool even more than the children. I was probably still making up for lost time, having the same feelings I had as a young girl, longing to go to the special place I knew I belonged. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

Today Rod and I replanted an azalea bush for like the 3rd or 4th time. This plant has been in the yard for more than 48 years and it’s never died even when we’ve tried to kill it. A big yard surrounds this house and it takes hours every week in the spring, summer and fall to keep it looking good. In the early years, Mom trimmed the hedges to perfection and Dad mowed the lawn till I got old enough to do it...way more than my brother who didn’t care if he missed spots or created crooked lines in the grass. There used to be a white picket fence in the front yard and it was full of termites when we took it down. There is always much to do around here and while every homeowner has the same problem, there are things I’ve wanted to fix or redo or remodel for decades. Not years. Baby steps, I know, that’s how it works. We’ll get stuff done in due time. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

On a meeting yesterday, someone told me that they saw an IG snapshot of a CNN headline that said something like: Violas Cure Coronavirus. He told me that the frequencies the instrument generates have healing properties. I hope it’s true and will definitely look into this but conversely I know firsthand that Violins Break Toes. Not long after we moved into this house, my parents ordered new carpet to be installed in the downstairs bedroom - my dad’s office and where I practiced my violin - something I really hated to do. One Saturday Mom ordered me to practice while my cousins were here visiting. How could she? So mean! All I wanted to do was play with them and I was mad. I stormed into the office and tried to slam the door. But, because the carpet was coming, the door was off the hinges and when I pulled the doorknob the door crashes down and broke the middle toe on my left foot. The bloodstains from the injury remain on the tile floor even today though it’s covered with a newer carpet now. The toenail didn’t grow back properly so whenever I look down at my bare foot, I always remember that day. by @surayamo

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7 years ago

Besides documenting this tree’s bloom, I’m not exactly sure why I’m writing these posts every day. It might have something to do with the love / hate feelings I’ve had for this house over the years. When Rod and I bought it almost 22 years ago, I wasn’t excited. It was a hasty move, not well thought out but complicated too. Our old house, a smaller 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath colonial in downtown Silver Spring, was our dream home. We bought it right before we got married and planned to grow old there. Then Mom died and that nasty lady came back into Dad’s life - see post #1 - and here we are today. The upside is our beautiful family grew up in this home and our experiences were embellished with family, friends, dinners, parties, music, the pool, Gunnar and lots of love. Great memories were made here and are still formed each day. It’s a good thing that I finally like living here, maybe even love living here, now that the pandemic has locked me in. (Thanks to Abby for suggesting I change the shot; the one I’ve been using was really boring.) by @surayamo

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7 years ago

This morning I stood at the kitchen window and pulled the blinds all the way up. As Rod drove away to go to work, I waved and then noticed several birds popping in and out of a couple of dead spots on this tree. This really might be it's last spring. I'm just now remembering that birds were a thing in this house. Mom and Dad never let us get a dog so my brother and I had canaries instead. I don't how many we had, none of them were memorable and I can't even remember any of their names. But, there was a special bird, Dad's pet, Mukesh, a black and yellow finch he brought back from Guyana. We loved that little guy. He even had a personality and seemed to frown a lot. Mom couldn't take his screeching song, a fast sequence of super close frequencies that generated a loud, harsh beating sound, so she exiled him to the basement most of the time. He lived a long life for a bird but after he died, we buried him in the backyard. Now I know why I've been listening obsessively to the - Live Birds In 4K! Cornell Lab FeederWatch Cam at Sapsucker Woods - YouTube video these past few days. It's a calming presence for this exceptional time. by @surayamo

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7 years ago