Mama Returns to the Desert!!!!!!

After 13 years, my mama, Mary Ellen Cochran, finally returns to the Kingdom! 

Though she was only able to stay for a week, it was by far the most energetic, fun, sleepless and happy week I've had in Saudi Arabia for a while! 

Every day the two of us would just wake up beaming, re-living our happy memories from years ago.  Sites and smells and faces would activate our memories and we would share our remembrances with one another fondly. 

I have honestly never seen my mother so happy. She was received like a celebrity the second she stepped foot on AIS-R's campus. Brian greeted her with a giant bouquet of flowers and a paper crown dubbing her the Queen of Hearts - a homage to her days as the elementary school counsellor. She and Brian could not stop smiling and laughing every second they were together. They have a genuine loving friendship marked by mutual admiration and respect for one another. Brian paraded my mother around the campus and I followed along sheepishly. She came to school twice and was able to sit in on me teaching and catch up with some of her old friends and colleagues. 

Every single day was filled with social gatherings. Dinners, lunches, parties.....I barely slept for the entire week that she was here. We were wined and dined by friends every evening. We barely left each other's sides except for when I had to go to school and she made the wise decision to just stay in my villa and relax. 

Now that she's gone back home to Brussels, I miss her terribly! I would love for her to come and stay with me next year for a month or two, its so nice to have a partner in crime here. My favorite day that she was here was when I took the day off work to go to the Gold Souks in Clock Tower (or "Chop Chop Square" as she fondly calls it) followed by one of the best lunches I have ever had in The Globe restaurant atop Faisaliah Tower. 

I feel so grateful to have such wonderful and supportive parents. They love me unconditionally - more than themselves and have always encouraged me to pursue anything of my heart's desire. They seldom told me "no" and always filled me with positive ideals about the world and myself. 

Thank you Mom for being the greatest mother in the world! 

I love you with all my soul. 

Mama in the gold souk......gold gold everywhere!

Had enough gold? How about some diamonds....

Mom by Masmak Fort just outside the souk

SMILE!!! 

Mom in her favorite place....chop chop square (she was convinced the guy in the background was washing away blood)

Hello from the Clocktower

View from the Globe (top of Faisaliah Tower)

Isn't she cute.....

Kingdom Tower in the background

Mom really liked these sparkly stairs...

Our table for two

Mom's delicious sea food plate. It tasted like the ocean!

My meal -- a deliciously succulent lamb steak on a bed of risotto and wild mushrooms

View of downtown Riyadh

Mom and I went out to the observation deck....we are reflected in the Globe

Reflective Mama relaxing after our meal.....

Dubai.....freedom and solitude

I needed a break.

From life, from work, from friends, from myself....

When it came time to pick a destination for my Spring break a lot of ideas came to mind....Belgium to be with my mom, London to see theater, Boston to be with my sister, Jeddah to go diving....

But in the end I realized that I just needed one thing....the beach. So I booked my flight and hotel in Dubai with the intention of spending my break completely at peace alone on the beach not "doing" anything and not planning a single thing.

It was just what my mind and body needed. 

Every morning I woke up at 8 am and went to a hot yoga class. It was so refreshing to be back in a yoga studio and be able to just surrender myself to my mat and breathe and take direction from a teacher. As much as I love teaching yoga, there is nothing I love more than just silently moving through a class listening to the guiding instructions of someone else, allowing me to just let go of control and feel truly free. 

The yoga studio was called Rawr Yoga and it is definitely worth a visit anytime one is in Dubai. It's in Dubai Media City on the 7th floor of Concord Towers. It was only a 10 minute taxi ride from Jumeriah Beach Resort, where I was staying. Not the nicest looking area, but the studio had a window that looked out over Dubai with the Burj Khalifa in the distance. 

After yoga I returned back to my hotel, slipped into my swim suit and sprinted down to the beach. The water was so blue and warm and refreshing. I spent the entire afternoon sun tanning and reading and listening to music. It was pure heaven. That's really all I need to be happy: a beach and a book. 

I felt positively elated. My hotel room overlooked the ocean and was up on the 31st floor. I woke up every morning feeling so grateful and high on life. My hotel room was absolutely stunning -- the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in and a spacious bathtub that I could sit in and still see the ocean. 

Sometimes I can hardly believe my life.....

It feels like a dream sometimes. I feel like I don't deserve this. Yes, I've worked hard my entire life and made numerous personal sacrifices in order to achieve success, but I still struggle to accept this joy and happiness. Maybe it's the Catholic in me. Whatever it is, it makes me an incredibly grateful person and inspires me to work harder and try and spread my joy and wealth around as much as I can. 

Desert Love

Photos from my trip to the Edge of the World. 

One of the most beautiful places on earth. I could hardly breathe in response to all the beauty around me. 

I feel so happy, calm and inspired in the desert. There is something so beautiful about it's barrenness that stimulates the mind's imagination and inspires thoughts of reflection and wonder. 

Words honestly cannot do this place justice. So I shall speak through my armature iPhone photography