You wake up thinking it’s going to be a chill Friday. Maybe sleep in, maybe brunch. At most, you’ll pass by your teta’s for tea. But your dad has other plans — and you’ll only find out what they are one errand at a time.

It starts small. “Just come with me real quick,” he says. Next thing you know, you’re knee-deep in a side quest involving hardware stores, gas tank refills, checking on someone’s car battery, and picking up obscure groceries from the back of a market in Sweileh. You ask where you’re going next, and he says, “Just one stop.” He lies.

There’s no such thing as a simple Friday for a Jordanian father. Somehow, weekends turn into a military-grade operation. You’re not even allowed to sit in the car and wait — you’re going in, you’re carrying things, you’re talking to strangers you don’t know, and by the end of it, you’ve helped two uncles fix their plumbing and delivered a package to a cousin you’ve never met.

And it’s never just about the task — it’s the principle. Your dad has something to prove. To whom? Nobody knows. But the streets will know he got things done today. With or without your complaints.

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By the time you get home, it’s already sunset. You’re tired, a little dusty, and confused about how you ended up installing a water heater and buying lettuce from a gas station.

But deep down… this chaos is what you’d miss if it ever stopped.