Celebrating Shi: To a Loving Wife and an Adored Mother

There are many good people in this world. Only a few of them, however, are truly one-of-a-kind.

Shahebina Walji is one of them. Her devotion to her family, her positive spirit, and her weird sense of humour have all shaped her to the wonderful person she is today.

Today, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Shahebina’s 25th birthday. Today, we celebrate a special person who gives so much of herself; a person whose contagious positivity creates wealth of spirit around her; a person who embodies goodness. Today, we celebrate Shi.

Shahebina was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on May 10, 1974. She moved to Calgary, Alberta, with her parents and two younger brothers when she was 12 years old.

One thing that stood out about her was her amazing work ethic in school. Her ambition, her dedication, and her amazing color-coded study notes drove her all the way through medical school to follow in her father’s footsteps in becoming a family physician.

Shahebina married her high school friend, Karim, who still argues with her about which of them had a crush on the other first. Shahebina is a Taurus and Karim is a Cancer. According to instyle.com, “These two signs make for one of the sweetest, most organically compatible pairings of the zodiac.” This could not be a more accurate description of the one of a kind love and connection between Shahebina and Karim.

Shahebina and Karim have two wonderful teenage children, a daughter Alayna and a son Aiden. Alayna says, “She always teaches me the lessons I need to learn even though I don’t necessarily want to hear them at the time. I really appreciate everything she does for me. She’s my inspiration.”

Aiden follows that up by saying this about his mother: “She’s luh GOAT.” Well said.

Shahebina puts her heart and soul into everything she does. During the stressful COVID-19 shutdown period, she had herself, her husband and her children write in gratitude journals every night to remain focused on being grateful and positive despite the constant stressors and pressures of managing life on lockdown. She built a plastic hug station so other family members could hug one another, allowing them to experience that sensation of love through touch, when it was otherwise unsafe to do so.

“She truly has everyone’s heart in mind,” says Karim, “…which is why everyone loves her.”

Even on this 25th anniversary of her 25th birthday, Shahebina will act like it’s the first anniversary of her 25th birthday. She can still be caught dancing and rapping exuberantly to ‘90s songs like Shoop by Salt-N-Pepa, or Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer.

“She always makes us smile and laugh with these random acts of craziness”, Karim says.

Shahebina’s light shines out to everyone. She is a tremendous mother, an amazing partner, and a genuine soul.

“We love her dearly, and are so grateful for her.” – Karim, Alayna, Aiden