A Tribute to Mamaash

I remember growing up back in the motherland where my mom's office was a part of our apartment. Aside from learning lessons in medicine from eavesdropping behind the closed doors, my sister and I also became friends with her secretaries. I remember there was one secretary, Roya, who would help my sister style her hair or teach me dancing lessons! I also remember another one, Neda, who had a giant cat, affectionately named Mamaash. Mamaash ate a lot, and Neda was always looking for ways to get her more food. I remember she would draw cartoons of the angry and hungry Mamash on the desk calendars to remind herself to get food. Above is a picture of what Mamaash's cartoons looked like.

A few days ago, I went outside to help my neighbor fix his water sprinkler. Little did I know that I had left the door ajar despite Shahrzad's repeated pleas that the door must remain closed at all times. I came back to see Shahrzad at the door of our bedroom, speechless, pointing to the guest bedroom. I could tell from her expression that something had gone terribly wrong. She finally went on to say, "There is a cat under the bed over there!" Sure enough, nightmares of angry Mamaash came back to me in a rush. I recruited the help of our neighbor and Shahrzad, and a broomstick, and led the cat out of the house uneventfully!

On an unrelated note, here is a family picture from our visit to Khaleh Nahid's home in Maryland a few months ago: