20 Questions with Momming While Muslim
.When we started this Day in the Life series, a mentor of ours gave us the good advice to find parents from all over the country to get not just situationally diverse parenting perspectives, but location-based too. Well, tomorrow’s take over does that in a one-two punch as our takeover parents Zaiba Hasan and Uzma Jafri host the Mommying While Muslim podcast together from different states.
Zaiba Hasan, based in the DC-metro area, is an American Muslim mother of four who grew up biracial and bicultural (Pakistani/Irish). Outside her family life, her days are filled with podcasting, public speaking, fostering the interfaith community and working with her clients at Z Event Consulting.
Uzma Jafri tapes the show from her home in Phoenix, AZ, where she lives with her husband and four children. During the day Uzma works as a physician running her own practice, and also serves as the medical director of an assisted living and hospice agency, AND as a volunteer at a free clinic.
But before their takeover of our Instagram stories tomorrow (Friday, April 9th) - which is also their filming day (!) - we're letting you get to know a bit about them with 20 Questions.
1. What’s your favorite place in the entire world?
Zaiba: Anywhere my children are
Uzma: My favorite place in the entire world is my bed with a book and a cup of coffee on my bedside table getting the just right bit of lukewarm.
2. What’s the best parenting advice you’ve ever received?
Zaiba: That the days are long but the years are short is what I want to say but the BEST advice is-sleep-train your babies!!
Uzma: Don’t yell. It tears down trust between child and parent.
3. Do you have any pets?
Zaiba: Loki our quarantine kitty, Russian Blue
Uzma: I tell my children that they are my pets and we have no room for any four legged ones in our home.
4. What is something you are grateful for today?
Zaiba: My 2nd cup of coffee!
Uzma: I’m really grateful for all the help I have in raising my family and working at the same time.
5. First thing you do in the morning?
Zaiba: Pray and meditate
Uzma: I have to empty my bladder.
6. What is your biggest goal right now?
Zaiba: I had my children on the younger side and didn’t have the opportunity to finish my schooling. Happy to say will be done with my Masters in Divinity by the end of this year.
Uzma: My current goal is to query a book I’ve written while I’m hurriedly editing it.
7. Last person you hugged?
Zaiba: My younger boys as I left the house.
Uzma: My hugger is my baby at 6 years old. He likes to get his “warmness” from me multiple times a day.
8. What did you want to be when you were a kid?
Zaiba: An actress...and my stage name was Tallulah Banks.
Uzma: I always wanted to be a doctor and a mom. Also a biker babe but that hasn’t worked out yet.
9. What is your claim to fame?
Zaiba: That I LOVE to clean and organize.
Uzma: We live in a multigenerational family so take “Everybody Loves Raymond” and multiply the level of shenanigans by 1000.
10. What are you saving money for right now?
Zaiba: My kids’ colleges. My oldest is starting his application process this summer-YIKES.
Uzma: I’m saving money to get my backyard landscaped because home improvement is my self imposed torture.
11. What’s your favorite brunch item?
Zaiba: Aloo Bhujia (a savory Indian dish you eat with fried bread)
Uzma: I love lox and salmon with all the fixings.
12. Who has been the most influential person in your life?
Zaiba: I know it is cheesy but my husband. We have been together for 23 years and he is still my go-to person.
Uzma: It’s a toss up between Princess Di whose wedding I actually watched, and Mrs. Young, my 5th grade ELA teacher who taught me how to write.
13. What’s your biggest day-to-day challenge?
Zaiba: Time management. There are too many things to accomplish in a day that I run out of time.
Uzma: My biggest challenge is my temper and it’s a constant struggle to keep it in check when I have 4 little people and 4 adults in my house flipping all my switches.
14. When have you given up on something?
Zaiba: Sugar and gluten recently
Uzma: I learned a few years ago to give up on a bad book I started reading. It was against everything in my being to not finish a book once I started. But I realized that my time is too valuable to invest in bad anything--company, projects, or books.
15. What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday?
Zaiba: Baseball/basketball games of my kids during the day and dinner and movie with the hubby.
Uzma: I love hanging out with my kids and friends at a park picnic or a casual get together at home.
16. How did you meet your best friends?
Zaiba: Family friends and a few decades later still friends.
Uzma: I met my best friend in weekend faith school and my closest friends through my parents as a child. My current momcrew has been cultivated through our faith community as well.
17. Do you think you could live in another country?
Zaiba: I would like to think I am someone who could do that but the reality is I don’t think I can.
Uzma: I absolutely want to live in a foreign country! We are currently planning to spend 3 months abroad every year once the pandemic resolves and our kids can get vaccinated as well.
18. What gift have you received that you will always treasure?
Zaiba: I know it may be cliche but truthfully speaking the gift of being a mom is the one I treasure the most.
Uzma: A fellow mom confirmed that there really IS no manual for motherhood. I thought the secrets were locked away in some text I didn’t have access to, or a club I wasn’t invited to, but it turned out everything I did was just right for my kids. That knowledge was and is the greatest gift imparted to me and I do my best to share it widely with new moms so they don’t question themselves at every turn like I did.
19. Night owl or morning person?
Zaiba: I am a morning person hands down!
Uzma: 100% night owl
20. Favorite music genre?
Zaiba: Gangster rap. 90’s especially.
Uzma: I’m not big on music, but I turn on pop music stations when I sit in the car per kids’ request. I don’t hate it.
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