18 Things Every Lebanese Kid Will Remember

Do you remember?

1. Your mom dressed you and your siblings in matching outfits and thought it was adorable. It wasn’t.

2. Your parents would get into heated arguments about how much olive oil and zaatar you needed to buy for the year.

3. You have one mysterious room in your house reserved for guests and/or royalty.

4. Your grandparents would sneakily hand you a crisp 50,000 L.L bill from time to time.

5. Your freezer was constantly stocked with homemade shish barak and kibbeh, ready to go. Along with enough meat to last you through the next cold war.

6. You knew better than to talk to your dad when it was 7:50 PM (time for the news).

7. You had to invite all the cousins to your birthday parties.

8. And you got served that classic forêt noire cake with canned gelatinous fruits on top.

9. Your mom would lose her mind at the idea of throwing away a jar, that can be used as precious sumac or zaatar storage!

10. When your parents don’t feel like cooking, mjadara was the answer.

11. You couldn’t wait until your parents dinner guests left so you could run to the kitchen and gorge yourself on fatayer and warak 3inab.

12. Your mother was the scariest and most terrifying person, while simultaneously being the sweetest.

13. You experienced the strange rivalry between your mom and her sisters in law, and your dad and his brothers in law.

14. As a kid, you hated shopping for Eid/Christmas clothes – now you’d love for someone to act like your personal shopper.

15. If you have older siblings, you’re never treated to new clothes (even if they’re a different gender).

16. If you’re a girl, your hairstyle was dependent on your moms moods mainly that side ponytail or the bowl cut.

17. Growing up, your dad never “trusted” banks.

18. On roadtrips, you were treated to the entire discography of Wadih Safi and/or Fairuz.