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**The Day I Finally Met My In Laws**

Finally the day had come, the day I had been waiting for so eagerly since I married the man of my dreams. I was going to meet the amazing parents who raised my husband and made him into the man I love so deeply. So much was going through my mind. I never thought this day would actually come. After living in Germany for almost five years, I had patiently waited for the moment when I could hug my mother in law and thank her for raising such an incredible man. I had waited so long to tell her my thoughts and feelings. Now it was finally going to happen. I had so many emotions running through me that I actually made myself sick. The morning we woke up to travel to the United Arab Emirates is a morning I will never forget. I kept telling myself everything would be okay. I had to calm myself down or I would end up getting sick. I was very quiet on the flight. My husband kept comforting me and assuring me that everything would be great. He told me they already loved me and that they would love me even more when they met me. I smiled, but my mind was racing. My life was about to change so much. I kept asking myself, will they like me? Even though I had spoken to them on the phone many times over the years and they had already accepted me with love, I still felt nervous. I kept reminding myself to have faith in God. Before I knew it, we arrived in Dubai. My husband wanted to surprise everyone, so we grabbed our luggage and headed straight to our destination. Here we come. There was no turning back now. I remember looking out the window with wide eyes, amazed that I was really in the United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East. I was honestly shocked. My culture shock had begun. I had never imagined that a Middle Eastern country could look and feel as advanced as the UAE. I guess that was my own ignorance. I had seen pictures, but pictures can never capture what it feels like to see it all in person. Dubai was as busy as New York City, maybe even busier. We rented a car and drove toward the home where my husband grew up. The family I would love for the rest of my life. Then we turned onto the street where he grew up. The house was only seconds away. My stomach was turning and my heart was racing. I joked with my husband and told him to just drop me off at a hotel and I would call him when I was ready to meet everyone. He laughed and said he would carry me into his parents' house if he had to. I was so nervous I almost wanted to run the other way. But it was over one hundred degrees outside, and I also had no idea where I was going. So that plan was definitely out of the question. Finally I saw the house where we would be living. The villa right next door belonged to my in laws, and I could see my brothers in law looking out their bedroom windows. We quickly went into our villa. My husband carried the luggage upstairs while my daughter and I rushed ahead of him. I was already sweating from nerves. He showed me around the house. It felt nostalgic seeing the place where my husband had grown up and knowing that this villa had once belonged to my in laws before we moved in. For some reason I suddenly sat down and started crying. My daughter quickly asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?” I looked up and said, “I don’t know.” I think I was overwhelmed. Nervous. Emotional. Crying was the only outlet I had in that moment. My husband had gone to greet his parents next door. I told him I needed a moment because I couldn’t go meet everyone looking like I had just run a marathon. When he came back and saw me crying, he became worried. But he comforted me and told me that everyone was excited to meet me. By that time I had gone into our bedroom, which my in laws had prepared for us. We had shipped our bedroom set from the United States, and seeing something familiar made me feel a little more at home. I still needed time to process everything. I remember thinking, this is the country where I will spend the rest of my life. I am really in the Middle East now. Then there was a knock at the door. I looked through the peephole and saw a woman wearing a hijab carrying something large. I opened the door and she handed it to me. My husband came out and lifted the lid. His mother had sent us biryani with meat. Even though it smelled wonderful, I couldn’t eat. My nerves were still too strong. I took a shower and got ready to finally meet my in laws. Everyone was there. My heart was still racing. When we walked to their villa, it was only a short distance away. As we approached the front gate, I realized I was literally shaking. Because the men and women sit separately, the maid led me to the women’s majlis. When I walked in, everyone was there. And then my mother in law came toward me. She hugged me tightly and kissed me on the cheek. It was the warmest hug. I could have stayed in her arms forever. I wanted to cry again because her embrace felt just like my own mother’s. In that moment I felt at home. My sisters in law and the other women in the family welcomed me with so much kindness. All the fear and worry I had carried for years disappeared in that room. Looking back now, those first days in the UAE feel like a dream. I thank God every day for that blessing. My in laws have never stopped amazing me, and I love them with all my heart. May God bless them and grant them goodness in this life and in the hereafter. Ameen.

Final whisper: Right there, in my mother in law’s arms, I knew I was finally home.