Separation

By now she knew that bags being packed and much rushing to and fro, lugging clothes around didn’t harbour pleasant tidings for her.
‘They’ were going to go off somewhere without ‘her’.
She knew it. But in her heart of hearts she hoped. And so, when the Acha asked her out for a late-night drive, she jumped joyfully, her tail wagging nineteen to the dozen.

Alas. The Acha was only dropping her off at the kennel. And this time the stay turned out to be for 10 loooong days.

10 days when she was quite the Lonely Lady. And 10 days in which the even the normally pretending-to-be-immune-to-her-charms Acha was forced to say, “if ‘she' were here, she’d be there”- looking at the vacant cushion by the bed.
Amma was of course missing her every second.
And Sonny boy was was heard often saying "If Trinity was here she'd be doing this" Or that. He was also heard regretting that she wasn’t there to eat his leftovers.

But all that’s changed. She’s back! And we’re together again.
And if there was a song Trinity could have been singing this morning when she gambolled like a deer- a druken one at that- through the doors of her home, and jettisoned herself on the waiting Acha, it would be

Apne hi bas mein nahin main
Dil hain kahin toh hoon kahin main...

... aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hain!

We lurrrve you too, my darling!

The new decade begins....

.. and I decide to
keep an account of my spending. No curtailing or whatever. Just know how much is going into what. I may still not be able to tell my mom exactly how much onions cost here, but at least I'll be able to tell her that my grocery bill was high/low.
Another reason is that I asked Sonny boy's tuition teacher whether her fees were 2x or 3x... and she looked dumbly at me and told me it was actually x. Sigh! I tell you I have absolutely no idea of where my money goes and how much either. Bad. Bad. BAD. And that is definitely going to change for the better this year. It better!

I am going to drink more water. Period. And get Sonny Boy also to drink more water. I drink maybe 3 glasses of water a day. This is including my cuppa coffee in the morning. Bad again. Well, I'm going to do something about it this year. And every year henceforth.

I'm going to have a beauty regime. hahaha. By that, I mean that I hope to at least wash my face with plain water, after I come back from work. I shamefacedly accept that somedays, I don't even do that. The only time my face sees some water is during the baths (I bathe daily, people!) and during the face-washing sessions at office, after a hot day in the sun.
All that is going to change. I'm going to actually cleanse my face, and remember to moisturise it before I drop off to sleep. I see the beginings of crows feet around my eyes. Maybe I crinkle my eyes too much. Maybe I laugh too much? I do NOT want to laugh less, but I COULD do with some lesser laugh lines.

This year, I'm going to focus on providing extras and not just the basics, to Sonny boy. Remember to laugh more with him. To listen to him. To take his side sometimes in fights/arguments. To not shout at him so much. LOL. Come to think of it, quite a bit of this could apply to the Acha as well. We've been having a rough couple of years, but through it all, I can still count my blessings. I hope thats a state of affairs that continues or takes a turn for the better. Amen.

Talking of God, Sonny boy has been going around asking the meanings of people's names. And he's totally stuck on being named after a God. His conversation these days runs like this.

Snuggling upto him, Acha, is your name the name of a God?
Why, Sonny boy?
IS it, Acha?
What if it is, Sonny boy?
Acha, does my name mean God??
No Sonny boy.
Acha!!! I WANT my name to be God's name!

I don't know where this is coming from. He hasn't been spending too much time with the grandies. But he MAY have been watching too much of Chota Bheem. hmmm...

That brings me to the last one before I end this post. I mean to blog more regularly. There have been so many Sonny boy laughs this last year. But I can't remember what they were all about. Well, hopefully this year, there'll be more of the same.

Puck and all that.

I'd been returning home from office, when on the stairs, I bumped into a kid A who looked like he'd be in the 4th standard, running to hide before his friends could seek him. Smilingly, I heard his friend call out his name and say that he'd been found. Kid A grimaced and brushed past me, grinning at being caught. And then a stream of profanities flew from his mouth.

B words and F words and A words and God-only-knows-what words! Words I wouldn't have anybody hear from even my mouth, and definitely not shouted out loud for ALL to hear. And this was a kid I knew by sight. Who thankfully was older than Sonny boy, but who was still friendly enough with him.
What zapped me even further was that no one who heard seemed to object or take the kid to task. I mean, if it was one of Sonny boy's friends who I'd caught doing that, I'd have scolded them and definitely made sure their parents knew. But then again, none of the other kids turned a hair either. Which means that they were used to it.

I was totally shocked and commented on the same to the husband. He shrugged his shoulders and told me that there really was nothing much that could be done about it. The school bus apparently was a source of more information and knowledge than the school itself.

Sigh! I swear it almost made me want to ditch Bangalore and get Sonny boy schooled at home, which might have been a small-town comparatively, but it was a place where kids were kids. Mischievous and naughty, with all the kiddish stuff, not adult stuff.



And so today, when I'd had to hound an upset Sonny boy away from his toys and get him to get into the bathroom for his bath, when I heard a loud "PUCK", I rushed in and glared at him.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" I demanded angrily.
Sonny boy knew that I was mad. Though he didn't know exactly what for.
He lowered his eyes and mumbled something "-uck".
"WHY did you say that??" I asked again, not really sure of how to react and take him to task.

"Because the scooter made that noise, Amma when I threwed it into the water."

And he proceeded to show me again how his toy scooter made a PUCK sound when he threw it into the bucket of water. Phew!

Of showers, and birds and bees...

Sat was a beautiful day. Made all the more so by the baby shower.
For which a group of women from far corners of B'lore got together and planned and schemed and organised and surprised and DELIVERED!
It was a tough thing suprising this Mamma2B, cos having been part of a couple of recent baby showers, she was naturally expecting us to give her one! But the shower got postponed because of M's trips abroad- we needed a fellow conspirator didn't we? And she almost thought we'd forgotten.

But finally it got underway and the planning express gathered momentum and the excitement built up to its zenith just before Abha was due to enter the house.

M had thoughtfully taken Abha and Cubby out for a romantic drive at 2.30.. LOL! (Kudos on managing her till 5.30, M!)
Usha reached first, and the security guys told her that the houseowners were out and she had to wait!!!
She called us - (DDMom, Monika, Preethi n me) and Monika smsed M and M smsed some others and finally, Usha and Starry managed to get in, somehow and all the rest of us too reached and gathered in the Jain home.
Frantic decorations and setting-up-the-place later, we rushed to hide so that we could SURPRISE!! her.
The door bell rang, all of us hurried to hide, and Rajamma (the maid, who was beside herself at seeing our excitement and preparations)scurried to answer the doorbell, only to find,
first Bangalore Mom!
and then Poppy!!
and then just before Abha was to come in , Art!!! Aaarghhhh!
It all but added to the fun and laughter and bonhomie.

Finally she reached and we screamed and SURPRISED and laughed and hugged and felt so good all around! and then it was time for the games!

For all the worrying in the morning, that the power supply was off, and she couldn't melt the chocolates, Preethi came up with some beautiful chocolate potty in diapers, for the expectant second timers to taste and guess. Ewwwwwwwwwww.....went Abha and ewwwwwww..... went the onlookers.
M duly shared in the diaper tasting and even got the taste correct. Way to go M!
And then , we played Dumb Charades, where we divided ourselves into M's and Abha's teams. We had to guess, of course, stuff related to the baby.
Pictionary followed, which was truly hilarious at times, for what had to be picturised was nursery rhymes. Only Monika knows what she wanted to draw for Wee Willy Winkie! ROFL!
But what makes it even better is that her team managed to guess it!!

we handed Abha the gifts-a lovely lovely booklet, printed with all good wishes from bloggy friends, a gift voucher from CWC, a cute onesie for 2B and also some books and CD's for Cubby.
D and Co had made some Playdoh trinkets for all the kiddies. Its still treasured by Sonny boy, tho' the colours have merged by now.
Usha had brought some beautiful flowers. I had gotten her a teeshirt, which was supposed to have some maternity lines on it, but which, owing to the time lag, was finally convertd to a Frens shirt.

Time for the cake. An awesome one, shaped like a baby rattle, which tasted even better than it looked. But for eats, we also had
DDmom's pasta. With a green sauce and a red sauce, both equally delicious.
Preethi's totally yummilicious muffins, that sadly, she'd made only for the kids. Two were leftover, which the adults shared even more greedily than the kids. Yummm, Preethi, you'll have me visiting quite often now.
Chips- there was an overload of, both Bangalore Mom and me having got them.
MM got the drinks, and there also were some Dharwad pedas, which we found only at the end.

It was also Poppy's B'day and we got out the second cake of the evening.

The assorted kids had a gala time, playing with Cub's toys, and generally having a good time.
Little big sisters (D) told littler big sisters (K) how to raise good younger sisters!
Some of them gathered to feel 2B kicking a greeting.
And all the kids had a lovely time while their mommas had a ball!

The 'official' shower over, no one felt like leaving, which says much for M and Abha's calibre as hosts. Besides, we all wanted to have a look at the booklet to which we had all contributed! And so we chatted and chatted....oooh'ed and aaah'ed
But it was getting late, and all of us had a long drive ahead of us.

And what a drive it was!
At the fag end of it, Sonny boy suddenly had a doubt.
"Amma, how do babies get inside the stomach?????"
Not satisfied with being airily told that when Acha and Amma had been in love with each other for some time, a baby would come into the stomach, he still wanted to know, "HOWWWW?????? "

LOL! This's the third baby shower he's been attending and Sonny boy is getting curiouser and curiouser. 2B's kicks were the ultimate for him!
It will be a pleasure to introduce 2B when he/she finally pops out, as the owner of those kicks.
Happy Delivering, Abha and M! Three cheers for Cubby n 2B!

Odds and ends

The other day, I brought my lunch back un-eaten from office.
While I was putting it away to give the hungriest member of the family (the dog, who else?)the husband saw me and frowned at my skipping lunch.

Before I could tell him that I'd had a late breakfast and other stuff from office, a pair of ears perked up and up piped the little preacher.

"Amma, you should not waste food."

"If you don't eat it, you will not grow up. You won't grow old and you won't die."

"And when I have children, my children won't have a grandmother. You will still be my mother only." *accusing look*


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These days Sonny boy drives us both up the wall with his dawdling and dreaming in front of his food. The once-upon-a-time-patient Acha has also lost it.

Yesterday was a particularly bad food-and-drink day. Where he had to be yelled at for every dratted sip of his milk and then later on for every darned bit of his idlis. The school bus was already on its way, and Sonny boy was still chewing as peacably as a cow. At the end of his tether, the Acha lost his temper and shouted extra loud at him.
An equally fed-up Sonny boy, mutinously: One day I will eat the whole house! And then I will stay out!


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His upper left tooth is also out. It came out after much hopping-on-toes-in-excitement, hugging-self-around-stomach-in-anticipation, face-splitting-grins-in- expectation and last but not least, grimaces. It made us both laugh to see his antics and to go over it all once again.


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No offence to dear Valmikiji. But why o whyyyy should schools have a holiday for Valmiki Jayanti?? And if schools have it, why o whyyyyy not offices??
Its just not fair!

Long time no see....

Have been away from the blog for quite a while, being caught up with work and holidays and conjunctivitis, not necessarily in that order.
Last week, I'd seen a post from Monika on FB, saying there was a contest on Womens' Web. On the heroine that you liked the most. And that took me back to something I'd written a few years back. After I wrote this, a whole host of other heroines crossed my life. But still Jennifer holds a special place in my heart.

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This was back in my teens- when it was the INnest thing to be reading a Sidney Sheldon...I just wanted to see what was so great about him and so started off with Rage of Angels which was my intro to Sheldon.
I just LOVED Jennifer.

Vulnerable, yet strong, stupid and naive to begin with, going on to heights of brilliance in her career as an attorney, Jennifer had all a lady needs- beauty, brains, power, men to love her and a man to love and have a child with...

The novel starts with a young Jennifer just out of law school, with dreams in her eyes, dreams that are shattered when just hours after her entry into a promising career in law, she is booted out on her backside after she becomes a victim of a trick.
But Jennifer evolves... from a young , gullible, naive fresher to a poised, sharp, extremely brilliant attorney, pitting her wits against the DA and winning all the way, almost...

In between exciting courtroom battles, Jennifer finds time to fall in love. With Adam, who loves her back, but who also, unfortunately, happens to be married. On the threshold of becoming a Senator, Adam has to choose between a bright career with a wife he does not love and Jennifer whom he loves more than anything. Jennifer makes the choice for him.

With the fading out of Adam, comes Michael into her life. Michael, whom she has to thank for the sabotage of her career and also, for the life of the most precious thing in her life- her son, Joshua. And thus begins a relationship born out of strife, but which endures and emerges a winner, until.. Adam comes back into prominence in Jennifer’s life.

From the right side of the law to the wrong, from Adam to Michael, the narrative goes without losing steam, building up to a climax where Jennifer has Adam and Michael and she again has to choose....

The novel is all about the choices Jennifer is forced to make, its about loss and gain, about pain and joy, about victory and defeat, about togetherness and sheer loneliness. You can laugh with her, love with her, celebrate with her and weep with her.

A mix of Grisham and Steele, with the best of both, the book is classic Sidney Sheldon with his motif of a strong, feminine WOMAN. Racy in its narrative, leading from one thing to another, it leaves you wanting to know more about what happened to one gutsy lady.

Getting started with the second R

Dear Daddy,

Are you watching and listening up above?
I’m sure you are. I so wish I could see you too tho’. See that smile again.

I got the mail today telling me that they’d liked me and my writing enough to consider offering me a job on contract.
Do you hear, Daddy?
I have not felt so much of a sense of achievement at signing up any of the corporate deals I have in my career so far. While all of that has been my effort too, and some of them have been particularly praiseworthy, that has been using my company’s (whichever I happened to be in at the time) products. This is ALL MY OWN.

So- I can actually write and make money. Not much. Actually peanuts, if you consider that I won’t have much time at my disposal to send them too many articles, but what the heck- it’s a start! And then, if I have enough peanuts, I can make peanut butter!

I feel like writing and writing and writing to you …as I used to do. But I shall stop here for if I get started on everything else, it would be difficult to stop.
I rang and told Mummy that I had some good news, and the contained excitement in my voice made her ask- have you got another job?? LOL. I told her its even better than that.

I just wanted to share this so with you, cos my love for the language is something that you inculcated in me. I wish you were still on this earth.....