Kuch Gup shup

Raul (to the OH): “Can you please come for my keyboard recital?”

OH: “Sorry Raul. I have a meeting this evening”

After much banter back and forth the OH found this yellow post-it sticky note on his laptop bag as he was leaving for work…

“Appa, I know you think I am the meanest son ever!”

————-

Sands (to Meg): “Can you please unload the dishwasher and empty the dishes from the drain rack?”

Meg: “Ok Amma!”

OH: “Yes, finally found someone to do a chore I hate!”

Sands: ?@#? (just for the record Appa is Mr. Dishwasher as has been noted here but Appa has not once unloaded the dishes. His patented line is “I can wash the dishes if you can empty the drain board!!”)

—————

Sands, Meg and Raul go on an evening bike ride. Sands realizes how completely out of shape she is after that one trip round the neighborhood and has to take a couple of breaks to catch her breath…

Raul (to Sands) : “Amma, I know this neighborhood real well. We are almost close to our home. You can do it Amma!

Sands: ?#$%? (wondering when this role reversal happened…)

—————-

The OH decided to spread cream cheese on Raul’s breakfast bagel because he was running late to school. Raul comes in to see his bagels ready to eat and when he realizes what the OH has done, says with a smile…

“You are a good spreader Appa”

Guilt is…

… coming home from an exhausting day at work and desperately wanting to get 15 minutes of quiet “me” time and instead be presented with two kids wanting to say a 1000 things and show 2000 things to you at the very same moment…

Happiness is…

…watching the total pleasure on your child’s face when you walk through the doors of the room that will stage his special performance and he/she sights you in the midst of the entire crowd.

Hope is wishing that there never come a day when you are forced to miss this happiness…

Another name for the OH…

… is my walking, talking, earning, sensitive, loving Dishwasher.

He works on those dirty dishes obsessively every time he walks by the kitchen sink and sees the contents. He ends his day with this chore and begins his day cleaning the stuff his kids piled in there after his round of cleaning from the night before.

Thanks to him that’s one chore I never have to worry about. My only challenge is getting all the dirty dishes in the sink before he finishes the last dish & washes his hand and needless to say I excel at that

Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi – Tag

When starry-eyed tagged me to do this one, I could hardly refuse because she is one I admire much, be it for her creativity or for the choices she has made that I wish I had the guts to make at some point in my life. So here is a fraction of the hazaron khwahish I have and would like to do before I “kick the bucket” followed by a list of things that bring a happy smile to my face  every time I think about them…

Here’s what I’m “dying” to do…

1. Run my own event planning/management company.
2. Learn to be a physical fitness trainer.
3. Not feel guilty about enlisting the services of a physical trainer for “one on one” session to help lose the flab and get into killer shape.
4. Be part of a humanitarian organization and actively participate in helping the not so privileged.
5. Travel to at least one city in each continent and not miss those wonderful ocean paradises that are out there while at it, some with the kids and some with just the OH
6. Take up a strenuous adventure activity as in hiking/rafting in the Grand Canyon or someplace similar.
7. Learn to dance and enthrall the audience.
8. Meet a few people I admire tremendously and envy them for their intelligence and charisma.
9. Find a way to fulfill the OH’s dream of being a chef and starting his own restaurant.
10. Last but not the least, live close to my siblings and watch my nieces and nephews grow and bond with their cousins. On the same note, live close to the parents so I can be there when they need me!

Here’s what I have done that makes me feel good about myself…

1. Chose to marry a guy I had never met in person prior but trusted him just from the honesty in his words and the warmth in his tone.
2. Opted to fund for my post graduate degree from my own income regardless of being married and then graduating with my maiden name.
3. Learning to swim.
4. Driving across countries all by myself to get my visa changed from a dependent visa to an independent student visa.
5. Completing a strenuous post graduate degree while juggling a full-time job and 2 little kids. I have the grandparents to thank for this feat.
6. Found our way from zero income as a student to where we are today solely based on our determination and frugal lifestyle.
7. Every little thing I have done that makes my parents proud of me
8. Ensured that I am part of every major milestone in the lives of my nieces and nephews, be it a religious occasion or a special moment in their life.
9. Made some of the best friends I could have ever wished for.
10. Finally, I have been able to grow and learn from my own mistakes. Not everything that I do is right to everyone else but being able to accept that fact and realize that at the end of the day if I can have a good night sleep with a clear conscience, I have done the best I could at that point of time.

Man of my dreams

Back in the age when dinosaurs were roaming the earth, grandma and grandpa started the process of finding the best person who would fill the life of their daughter with so much love and care that she would lead the life of a princess and queen then and for ever after. They approached their daughter and asked her to name a few traits that her partner to be should absolutely have for her to like and choose him as her partner in crime. Here are a few that topped her list then. Just as is the case in life, she got some and didn’t get a few others. In spite of it all they learned to live happily ever after…

1. Height: That he be really tall that even the tallest heels she wore wold still not be tall enough to match his height. She still loves the fact that she got one who towers over her not so small height and she is free to shop for shoes with heels that fancy her

2. Receding hairline: was a definite no-no. She wanted her man to have a mane that she could weave her hands through and get her fingers lost in. She was lucky yet again and though she knows that genetics can’t stop the receding hairline from happening one day, she is content with the fact that she has had the pleasure of many years on running her fingers through them

3. Mustache: Was then a very important requirement. On hindsight, this may have been because grandpa always sported one and so did the brother-in-law she looked up to, and thus was just a given. She had vivid memories of grandpa shaving the mustache once leaving her with nightmares about the dad who had morphed into a stranger. Now she is knows the inconveniences it comes with and can honestly do without it but the kids now have a memory of their appa that they don’t want changed.

4. Love for books: She would have loved to have her beau love books just as much as her, but that was not to be. A guy who can pour over those manuals and textbooks and research papers on chemistry has little or no fascination for the feel and touch of a well read book and the joy that comes from living the lives of the characters through the words of the author and through one’s own imagination. He instead gains his knowledge and trivia from spending endless hours on Discovery, National Geographic, CNN, History, Food network and HGTV on the idiot box.

5. Love for Romance: She would have loved to find a romantic at heart but instead she found herself a super practical dude. He is not one for mush and romance but can always find ways to pull a surprise. Surprise gifts and remembering dates his not his cuppa tea but once he is reminded he will stop at nothing to make your day ever so special.

No go ahead and tell me what were some of the traits you wished for the most in your significant other and how they matched with the one of your dreams, pretty please…

Exam frenzy

If you thought that education, entrance exams and college education was stressful in India, then go right ahead and read the following news bit from National Public Radio on South Korea and the college entrance exam there.

Here is an excerpt…

“The test, which is given once a year, largely determines a young person’s future. It is so important that aircraft are barred from flying near the test site, and the workday begins an hour late, to prevent traffic jams that might make students late….

At Jogyesa, the largest Buddhist temple in Seoul, monk Bon Gong performed a ceremony where parents prayed for high scores on their children’s college placement exams. Some had been praying for the past 100 days.

As parents and grandparents chanted, they knelt and bowed, facing three statues. Many concentrated on a thin prayer book with a photo of their child or children. Some had prayer beads, called yumju, circling the pictures…“

Full article

Apparently we are not alone in this.

New Milestone

Kids at home on their own with no grandparents/parents to watch & care for them

– Offer to pack their food was politely declined. The girl offered to make quesadillas for the two of them. She called me to comfort me that she had indeed turned the power of on the quesadilla maker!

– They emptied the dishwasher and soaked the dal midday for amma to come home and cook dinner

– The girl did her own laundry

– They both did their homework and read books (so I think!)

– Television was permitted only in the basement (so I hope!)

– Regular phone calls were made to keep amma posted

– They passed with flying colors. They are all grown up now

– On the bright side, given a choice, they still prefer having us around

At the end of the day, the kids got a day off from school, the dog got her day off from having to sit in her kennel and the parents spent the day stressing over the fact that the kids were alone at home!

 

RIP S Aunty

She often reminded me of my own mother. Right from her obsession with feeding people to her lively persona and energy level, she is one person I always loved. She never once let the sickness that bogged her slow her down. She always had a ready smile and the strength of mind to endure the pain she went through. She, like my mom spent a significant chunk of her life raising her grandchildren and cooking and caring for her daughter and son-in-law.  She would often joke to me that her daughter had given her a 3 week vacation to visit her home and relax. Once home she was only too eager to come back to her daughter and grandkids.

She finally gave up her fight this past weekend when she realized that the critters in her body were over powering her ability to fight them. It was indeed depressing & painful to watch her suffer those final moments when recognition and memory had parted company. I was told by my dear friend (her daughter) that she had waited for her son to arrive and for them all to finish eating their dinner before she decided to breathe her last. How befitting for a person who thrived on feeding everyone who visited her.

You will be much missed S aunty. I will always remember the joyful moments spent with you.

When he lifted her off her feet…

standing on one foot himself. Impressive huh? And the soon to be married watch closely for some lessons

At a close friend's bridal shower party for a game of which couple can dance/stand on the tiniest piece of paper