In Our Family: The Kahloons

 
How would it be if your parents came to stay for two months? Would it put a cramp in your style?
 
It benefits her children says Nina Kahloon.
 
Khalid and Nina Kahloon,
Ashley (19), Lilah (12), Rehan (8), Rahim (7)

Their childhoods:
Both Nina and Khalid Kahloon were born in Pakistan. Nina’s family moved to the United States when she was a young child. Her father was an education professor at the University of Louisville who raised his family in Jeffersontown.  Khalid grew up in Pakistan, attending college in Lahore and Islamabad and working as a journalist. In his twenties, he emigrated to the United States, where he attended law school in Michigan. 

The Joys of Extended Visits:
Though Nina’s parents live in the same city, they often stay with the Kahloons for months at a time, and when Khalid’s father visited, he stayed for two months.  Nina says this is a tremendous benefit for her children.  She explains, “My children are able to see their religion being practiced by their grandparents, and their grandmother cooks Pakistani food for them.” Khalid says when his father visited he brought materials with him to build a cot, so the family worked on this together.  Although there is a language barrier between the Kahloon children and their paternal grandfather, Khalid says, “Having my father around gives them an idea of where their father came from.”
 
From In Our Family:  Maintaining Family Connections Across the World and at Home
By Carrie Vittitoe

Read more about this family in the Feb-March issue of Today's Family magazine.