Friday, April 18, 2008

At Noon / à Midi

Tarte a La Confiture


I was born at noon. Warda was the name my nana gave me. She said she always wanted to give her daughter this name. She gave it to me. Warda. Flower. I was the second child, the second daughter; the second “floral” name in the family (my sister’s name is Yasmine, which means Jasmine).

I was born in a small clinic, in a small room. I was born on a warm spring day. My father still remembers the exact room where I was born. Every time we would go by the clinic he would show me the room and tell me these exact words: “Here! This is where you were born. You were a big baby and your face was so red that the nurse called you red mullet when handing you to your mother” I talked to him this morning, and he told me he is going to visit this exact room tomorrow. I smiled.

My parents were here when I gave birth to my daughter. My father walked me to the car and he didn’t want to let me go. He told me it was just yesterday that he was walking my mother to the clinic to bring me to the world, and now he was walking me to the car to have my first child. My mother smiled. I smiled. We both cried.

I was born into a loving home. I was born into a loving family. I was born into a family where my grandmother would make her memorable Jam Tart on birthdays.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

simply beautiful, the story and the tart.

one of the hardest thing about having lost both my parents is knowing that they won't be around when i finally have a child.

creampuff said...

I have tears in my eyes! The greatest gift is the love of your family ... if today is your birthday ... happy birthday! Enjoy the beautiful tart!

RecipeGirl said...

What a touching story!!

Absolute perfection in your picture too :)

Nabeela said...

Brought tears to my eyes just reading that....what a wonderful family you have!

Anonymous said...

Warda - what a truly lovely family you must have. A beautiful story, just beautiful.

biz -

Wendy said...

"My mother smiled. I smiled. We both cried."
And I cried too. :)

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

What a beautiful post! Is it your birthday?? If so, what a happy celebration!

Anonymous said...

I love your kitchen
I love your words
I love your photos
Tanks Rose-Warda, and happy shiny warm and delicate birthday

Gretchen Noelle said...

Is it your birthday dear Warda? What a touching, lovely post and a delicious jam tart to celebrate with!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Oh my how I have missed you!
What a lovely post to come back to!
Happy Day birthdays always, even the memories of!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for such a beautiful and touching post about your family. I enjoy your blog! junemoon

Shayne said...

Happy Birthday Warda. That was a beautiful Story, thank you for sharing it.

Shayne

browniegirl said...

Ahhh sweet Warda-Rose I love everything about you......what a warm, touching, full of love memoir, more than a story - it's your life and that is what I love about your blog. You give part of yourself, your life, your family and your country/culture to your readers and it's wonderful. I am assuming it is your birthday today??? Happy happy birthday, may you be surrounded by love, joy and peace and I pray for you abundant blessings in the year ahead. Your jam tart is just beautiful! Hugs from Colleen

mima said...

Quelle belle tarte,et quel recit tres emouvant!!C'est comme si j'y etais...
Garde bien tes souvenirs,pour les raconter a ton tour a ta fille.
Tant de moments tres forts,inoubliables et surtout pleins d'amour .
Nena etait surement a l'une des "fenetres"de ta tarte pour te feliciter et te souhaiter un heureux birthday!!!Biz.

Claude-Olivier Marti said...

que dire de plus...cela fait plaisir de lire ce genre de billet, merci pour ce partage! biz

Inne said...

Such a lovely story, Warda. My (and my brother's) birthday meant a family lunch with carbonnades, mussels and cake from the local bakery. The jam tart looks absolutely delicious.

Warda said...

- Michelle, I can barely imagine how hard it might be, but you will have this bundle of joy in your life and I am sure wherever they are right now, they can see you and they will be smiling at you.

- Ivonne, thank you very much, my dear.

- Recipegirl, thanks a lot!

- Nabeela, I am very lucky to have them.

- Christine, some day, who knows, you might meet them.

- Wendy, Hugs, my friend! :)

- Lydia, thank you very much! I had a wondeful birthday.

- Marion, merci beaucoup my sweet and dear friend. And I heart you, tout court.

- Gretchen, yes, it was my birthday. And the tart was exquisite.

- Tara, How I've missed you, too! Nice to see you again :) thank you very much for your sweet words!

- Junemoon, thank you very much1 It warms my heart to hear it.

- Shayne, Thank you my friend for your lovely card.

- Colleen, thank you for being such a wondrful person, thank you for being such a generous friend, thank you for your friendship, and thank you for your prayers and wishes. hugs and love, my friend.

- Mima, je suis sure que la ou elle est, elle a du voir que j'ai fait sa tarte de "fenetres" pour mon annivrsaire. Seulement je ne sais pas si elle a apprecie le fait que j'ai rajoute du miel a la pate...Je plaisante!! hihihi

- Claude, tout le plaisir est pour moi.

- Inne, such a wonderful tradition you have here. I should add mussels to our birthday traditions, as I can't get enough of them. And I am sure the next generation won't mind ;)

www.ifoods.tv said...

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La Tartine Gourmande said...

Just lovely to read Warda. If today is your birthday, then happy birthday!

Brilynn said...

I hope you had a wonderful birthday, the tart looks great!

Patricia Scarpin said...

your words are always so moving, Warda. And that is a beautiful story.

Warda said...

- Private Chef, glad you like my blog and thanks for sharing.

- Bea, thank you very much!

- Brilynn, I had a very nice birthday. Thanks a lot!

- Patricia, thank you very much, my dear friend.

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

So, so lovely. I adored every little detail.

Warda said...

- Thank you very much, my swett Maryam!

Sophie said...

This is a really sweet post. I love how pretty this tart/pie looks :). It's nice meeting you :).

Sophie
Flour Arrangements

Angel said...

That was a beautiful entry. It made me cry some. You are very blessed to have such a wonderful and loving family. I hope I can impress my love on my children as well as your father and mother obviously have on you!
Your name is very beautiful by the way. I love it.

Lyra said...

It is indeed a great thing to have a loving and warm family. Reading about yours makes me think about mine. We are lucky indeed.