.a gift and friendship.

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Tonight, after several hours of tutoring English to my lovely Arab family, I pulled out the sewing machine I brought from home. It had been sitting in the corner of my kitchen for ages. I wish I was more the avid seamstress, but I am not. Although I would like to be! Last week, I had asked the ladies what they enjoyed doing. One of the responses was sewing. When I heard that, I knew that my sewing machine was going to have a new home. We brought it out onto the kitchen table, and just as quickly as we had done that, the requests from the boys to fix over-sized t-shirts and such were being made. Umm and I went over the specs of the machine, figuring out how to change stitches, how to thread it and so forth. Then, off to work she went, sewing away like a pro! I couldn't help but feel so blessed sitting there beside her, watching how quickly she was able to fix her son's school shirt, watching as she played with the machine, figuring out how to do this and that. I sat there thinking to myself, this is what family and friendship is about. Sharing, learning and appreciating one another. It became more and more obvious to me that I was no longer an outsider. No longer were we strangers who could barely communicate with one another. I had become part of the family. Friendship. It is truly the greatest gift you could give to another, and to yourself.