Chai, Cousins, and Childhood Memories
Nina and Neil Nakkash with their Jiddou, Ramzi Khadour.
Sleepovers at Bebe and Jiddou’s
By Jenna Abroo
One of the most sentimental parts of childhood is the memories we make with our grandparents. They are often some of the first people to teach us about the fun and whimsical parts of life. One cherished memory that many people share is spending the night at their grandparents’ house.
Speaking from my own experience, some of my favorite childhood memories are of spending the night at my Bebe and Jiddou’s house with all my cousins. We would spend our evenings huddled on the couch with bowls of ice cream and popcorn, watching a movie and hoping to stay up all hours of the night.
Knowing how much our culture values quality time with family, I knew I couldn’t be the only one with these experiences. I reached out to friends and peers in our community to see how their beloved grandparents’ sleepovers compared with my own.
Jiddou’s Sweet Surprise
Nina Nakkash, 28, of Bloomfield Hills, spent many nights with her grandparents growing up. Her maternal family lives in Sweden, so when visiting overseas, they would stay with her Jiddou rather than book a hotel. One of the first things that made their visits special was a sweet surprise from her Jiddou.
“My favorite candy from Sweden is KEX, and Jiddou always had some waiting for us at his house,” she said.
In “true Iraqi fashion,” Nakkash recalls, the family would drink chai while the adults talked and gossiped, and the younger cousins watched TV and movies together. She also fondly remembers sharing meals as a family, especially the breakfasts her Jiddou prepared.
“He would make a nice breakfast of eggs, sliced cucumbers, tomato, pickled parsley, bread, cheese, and of course, simsimia (sesame brittle), and more chai,” she said.
Some of her favorite memories include teasing and playing around with her Jiddou alongside her brothers and spending time with her cousins at his house. The cousins also loved going out together to get MAX Burgers and hang around town.
“Without these experiences of staying with my Jiddou and cousins, we wouldn’t have been as close to one another, especially living in different parts of the world,” Nakkash said. “It creates a safe and sacred space where we can see all the other parts of our family and feel seen too.”
When her Jiddou visits the United States, he always stays at their house, which feels like a sleepover in its own way and is one of the reasons they remain so close to him.
Making Memories
Justin Hakim, 26, of Sterling Heights, also recalls cherished childhood memories with his grandparents. When he was little, they lived in an apartment complex near I-75 and Nine Mile Road in Hazel Park. He remembers his grandma taking him on walks to a nearby park.
“I was excited to go on the bridge that overlooks I-75. I enjoyed sitting on their balcony, too. My grandpa would also take me on walks to the elderly Chaldean barbershop nearby,” he said.
Beyond their neighborhood walks, Hakim remembers one particularly special outing when his grandma took him to watch a parade in the city center.
“There were so many people, and the crowd was blocking my view. My grandpa’s friend carried me and placed me on top of a brick monument sign. This gave me the clearest view of the parade, where I could see hundreds of people marching and riding floats, waving and throwing candy. It’s a great memory I have with them.”
Grandparents are a Treasure
Lara Kseri, 25, of Troy, describes the sleepovers she shared with her cousins at her grandmother’s house as a “treasure.” As children, they would play tag and hide-and-seek and choreograph dances together. At night, they watched cartoons and movies, with “Aladdin” being a favorite they all enjoyed together. These movie nights came with a plethora of snacks prepared by her grandma, along with Kseri’s favorite, chai haleeb. They would also play Konkan and paint on canvases together.
Some of Kseri’s favorite memories, however, came the following morning, when they gathered for a big family breakfast.
“We would have extravagant breakfasts made for us and were able to help when we were old enough. Although we loved the enormous spread of breakfast food, we loved the preparation process even more. With music playing on a speaker, the smell of coffee brewing, and all my favorite people, there was genuinely no place I’d rather be,” she said.
Kseri believes culture plays a key role in how families view and maintain their relationships.
“Our heritage is a huge factor in familial dynamics, especially our relationship with our grandparents and cousins. It’s common in our culture to have strong family values. My family is no different, and I believe that strong bond derives from the multiple generations of separation.”
Although being separated from family is something many in the community have experienced, Kseri believes those distances can bring families even closer emotionally. “The sleepovers I had with my cousins at my grandma’s house have been such a big part of my life, and have been some of my most beautiful memories,” she said.
There’s something magical about the memories we make with our grandparents, especially those childhood sleepovers that seemed to make even the simplest moments feel special. Many people in our community are lucky enough to grow up with these memories, a reflection of the strong family values woven into our culture.
One thing remained true in all of these stories, including my own: it wasn’t extravagant meals, expensive activities or larger-than-life toys that made these sleepovers so special, but the quality time spent with our grandparents. These memories are a reminder that spending time with a cherished loved one, like a Bebe or Jiddou, is one of life’s greatest blessings. The memories we make with them stay with us as we grow from children into adults, and somehow, they never quite seem to lose their magic.