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 I had a lot of friends but the core of my social life was my cousins. Growing up with my cousins around me helped shape who I was and gave me a great sense of identity. Our parents all spoke Arabic, we were taught a lot of the same morals and values and of course we shared a love of the best foods on earth. I knew who I was, where I came from and where I belonged. I am now the mother of a gorgeous and smart S month old girl...Samia Najimy Finnerty and of my many wishes for her...one of the strongest is that she find the same pride that I did in her ancestry...she is Irish and she is Arabic and I am going to love introducing her to her very colorful heritage. I have a friend, a wonderful black actress friend who recently returned from a trip to Egypt. She told me that the most overwhelming part of the trip was that she expected to learn a lot but did not expect that she would find out exactly who she was from. She said "Kathy if I could take every kid who is out on the streets or in trouble and show them where they are from...l could prove to them they are all from Kings and Queens. Then they would have a sense of identity...of pride and of purpose. I am fortunate .1 knew from the moment I was born that I was from Kings and Queens. In fact I'm sure I aged my poor mom when I insisted
for a good part of my life that I was indeed a princess and should be treated so. My mom Samia was born in Beirut and hued there until she was 18. My father has passed away ...both of his parents.. my Tita and Jiddy were born in Lebanon. My Jiddy taught me how to be stubborn and how to smoke an argeely (of course we called it an Opium pipe) and my Tita taught me how to make Arabic bread in her basement. She actually taught me a lot. There have been many strong Lebanese women in my life. My mom who speaks Arabic, English and four other languages has told me stories of growing up in Lebanon...how beautiful and warm it was.. and how she would wake up every morning and have apricots and Lebni and my Auntie Alices' fresh made bread. My Auntie Alice ....who taught me about unconditional love and kindness, And about the amazing cedars..in fact there is not a person I have met who has been there who doesn't say that the middle East is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. My Tita Margaret who taught me I must "Pin my hair back away from my face so she could see it!"....oh...and Then there is my crazy Aunt Lillian. Aunt Lillian gave me my "LOOK at me" genetics.
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