When I think of community, I am reminded of my maternal grandparents. They lived in a small town in the northern region of Iran. My grandfather was a dentist and a pillar of the community. Some of his patients were poor villagers from nearby rural areas who could only afford to pay with chickens or eggs from their farms. The thing I remember the most was that my grandparents sometimes hosted these patients for lunch with delicious meals that my grandmother painstakingly prepared. Despite the extra work, they were always welcomed and invited to share the meal with my grandparents and their family. That was then, in what seems another…

I am writing this blog as we approach Valentine’s Day, so the idea of love and connection is at the forefront of my mind. I am not talking about the notion of romantic love, but that of universal love that connects humanity.  One of the moments in my life that exemplifies this universal love was when my grandmother came to the United States in the 1990s for a visit and met my mother-in-law for the first time. My Iranian grandmother spoke no English, had eight kids, and was from a more traditional background as a homemaker, and caregiver. My mother-in-law, who is African-American, a lawyer, and a single mom to…