After my marriage I started teaching in Greenfield College owned by Dr. Marwan Hanna. I started my teaching career as a full-timer which means I had to stay in school from 7:30 in the morning till 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon. That was in addition to raising my 4 children without any help since I had no relatives and my parents were dead and since I have only one sister she was also working and suffering as well. The most awful thing during that period was the murder of my lovely mother by a bomb that hit our house during the civil war that began in 1975 and extended till 1992. 

As we can see all my children were born during the war which didn’t keep us safe and which kept us alert all the time. 

My journey in my career wasn’t easy. I worked so hard in many schools and my results in the official exams demonstrated my hard work. However my work wasn’t appreciated by the employers who considered that was my job. I actually consider teaching a profession and not a job. And this was so obvious for my students. 
By the way, one of my students once asked me “Are you an alien? “and when I asked her about the reason of saying so, her answer was “she had never seen a teacher who teaches in that honest way.” 

Employers usually discriminate between teachers and they pay more for those who nag and ask for raise indecently. On the other hand I was not considering money so much, except to cover our needs. 

This situation remained as such until I became a principal where finally the owner of the school gave me a good salary. I mean better than I earned previously. But unfortunately, there was a lot of envy coming from some employees. And they started to do so many unpleasant things to me which forced me to quit my career. Now I am trying to find myself again.

Her daily routine includes new customers coming to see her as an exotic animal among the other boring (so she thinks) domestic animals like dogs, hens, cats, horses etc. 

Therefore she is in the cattle range with some sheep accompanying her. She has the feeling of soft soil and dry hay under her tidy cloven hooves. Once in awhile she stumbles upon the stones inside the higher tuffets. And of course all the visitors are around her, staring at her and trying to touch her. Fortunately they have some bread with them as the alpaca can smell from a long distance. The latter is the only reason she tolerates those animals with two feet.

It started when she was 12. She was just a child like any other. Playful and full of energy. It doesn’t matter what’s going on outside in the world. She owns her private world in her mind. Ann had her regular routine. Her family was small. The mother played the role of father. The grandmother played the role of mother. That was part of her world.

“How about your dad?” People would often ask. She didn't know. And for some reason, she didn't ask either. Her mom Liza had so little time to spend with her. Why ask such a thing?

Ann was a brave girl. Climbing trees, playing with bugs, exploring new places by bike. But now she was afraid. She felt so distant from her mom, as if they were in two different worlds.

Liza used to work extra hours every day. The provider of the family. Everybody loved her at work and she had amazing friends. The best weekends were when they got together. Who doesn't like to have fun?

These last days have been different, though. The bitter feeling of losing the job. The agony of the unexpected. Which decision should Liza make? She was 100% unsure. Soon enough, her choice would define the family’s fate.

Ann was almost a teenager, she was so busy trying to define her own identity. She didn't care much about Liza’s problems. They were her mother’s only. To her mind, Liza would not be unemployed for too long. Deep in her heart, she knew her mother's courage, and she understood her personality. Liza was not as lazy as she was. Ann could not understand where all that laziness had come from. Why can't life be just all about fun? The difficult things, like math and adult issues, shouldn't be part of her world. But they were.

Life is tough without communication. Her mother would say she was too slow to finish her homework and would ask her many questions she was never able to answer. That was the kind of “productive” conversations they used to have. Why was it so hard to talk? They avoided it as much as they could.

ADHD. Not surprisingly, years later Ann found out the reason for all that “inconvenient behaviour” of hers. Her mother still believed she was as normal as everyone else. Or maybe she was encouraging Ann to believe in herself? Liza and Ann still didn't understand each other very much, but they were supportive and able to follow a similar path even living in their own distinct worlds.