Blah. blah blah

We have been back and its been one thing after the other. The trip was so tiring that all we did on the first weekend was sleep sleep and then sleep some more. Then it was a week of illness. The BH got it first, bad cold and chest congestion. Mowgli followed it up with a hunger strike and fever and cold. I rounded up the series with a bad sinus attack. We have been resting and things are looking better.
Went to Daily dump and bought their compost bin. I am always thinking about the environment and how to better it and stuff, so this is a good time to start off on what I believe. Day one and two went fine. The waste is in it and its covered with paper. Can’t see any worms as of now. I just hope it is manageable and doesn’t stink!
Went for a birthday party last Saturday and got a culture shock. A 4 year old girl playing with her balloon, misses it and exclaims ‘Oh shit!’. There are other people around, but nobody seems to have noticed or is this the norm? A cousin’s wife tells me that her students’ in third and fourth standards regularly swear in class! ‘Shit’ is something ordinary. As long as they don’t use the F word, the teachers don’t reprimand them. My manager tells me about a conversation he overheard between two 6 year olds. ‘Don’t play with X, his dad has only a Zen!’
Are these the new generation? Brand conscious, materialistic, bad language; kids do not even behave like kids anymore. Any mall that I go to, I hardly see kids dressed like kids. The girls are mostly always in satin or tight dresses like those item dancers wear and high heels and matching accessories. Whatever happened to good old jeans/simple frocks or just normal clothes? I used to blame the parents, but now I realize that even the kids are very particular about what they wear etc. Hello, kindergarten kids suffer from peer pressure!
As of now, I do not want to expose Mowgli to TV. I want him to learn to read/paint or learn to occupy himself and not just mindlessly sit in front of the TV. NO branded stuff for him till he clears his tenth. You tell me, what’s the logic in getting a 13 year old Reebok shoes worth 3000/- which he’ll definitely outgrow in a year? I want him to go on walks, play outside, do other stuff rather than watch TV. As always parents propose and the child disposes. Time will tell how successful I am. But whatever it is this is one fight I am not letting go that easily!!!

It’s THE day!

After all the slogging and the tension that the BH had to endure he did achieve 105% of his target last year and therefore we are off to Canada today! ( every year the top 15 worldwide performersand their family get to spend a week in a resort all expenses paid) its something we have been looking forward from April and now we are finally there.
Clothes have been bought and attires decided. They have a formal dinner every night and a lot of activities planned for the group. Got Mowgli a suit (his first one!) to match his dad’s tuxedo (his first one!!!) I searched low and high for a dress that would look nice on my figure (or lack of!) and came away disappointed. So the sari it is for the formal awards night. The rest is all casual.
And as the grand finale, Mr.Mowgli has been coughing and throwing up since last night. Totally bad timing! We have been assured by the doctor that its all fine. Its just the phlegm coming out! To be on the safer side she has prescribed antibiotics.
Took cocoa to the boarding, coz theres nobody here to look after her when we are gone. The feeling was very similar to the first time we took mowgli to his day care! The place looks nice. There are a lot of dogs there.we have given that guy a whole lot of instructions. Have also told cocoa to behave and not to mingle with the rowdy rajapalayam and the snooty boxer and have reminded her that she is a girl and its better she keeps to herself! :-) Poor thing! Will she feel that we have abandoned her and gone away????
And that’s it! We are off!
Tata :-)

To the BH

For the memories and moments and happiness...

Perhaps Love - John Denver & Placido Domingo

Perhaps love is like a resting place
A shelter from the storm
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone
The memory of love will bring you home
Perhaps love is like a window
Perhaps an open door
It invites you to come closer
It wants to show you more
And even if you lose yourself
And don't know what to do
The memory of love will see you through
Oh, Love to some is like a cloud
To some as strong as steel
For some a way of living
For some a way to feel
And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
And some say love is everything
And some say they don't know
Perhaps love is like the ocean
Full of conflict, full of pain
Like a fire when it's cold outside
Thunder when it rains
If I should live forever
And all my dreams come true
My memories of love will be of you....

P.S. Go listen to this song!

Thou shalt not compare

Oooh? How old is he? Really? He looks so big . Slyly nudges the spouse and whispering- how can it be? Look at his legs and hands? So strong.
What do you feed him? Oh, only home made food? Does he eat well? Really? Meat/eggs?
And what about his hair? Do you use a special shampoo? Or natural shampoos? What about the oiling / combing? How often do you brush him?
Doctor? Which doctor do you take him to? Is he good?
Oh, no no nothing like that. He is such a cutie pie. Was just asking.
And then a long session in the car- what are we doing wrong. She is only half that size. And that one is three months younger also!! Maybe we should give some supplements? Shall we change the doctor? Did you see the colour of his hair? Such a rich tinge. What are we doing wrong? Why isn’t she like him?
There is a hint of remorse as to how could this have happened. Something went wrong somewhere…
We don’t do this with Mowgli.
Then WHY do we this with Cocoa? Compare her to every damn golden retriever we see!!!!

The chota bridegroom

Will he look as cute as this 24 years down the lane???

And we waste time just like that not knowing how much we have!

The fools that we are.

A college mate died today. Brain tumor. It was discovered quite late. He was not a friend, at least not a close one. We were together in an extracurricular group and had interacted quite frequently. Furthermore he had had a huge crush on one of my friends, so knew him that ways also.
He was my age. 29 years old. Is that an age to die? When your entire life is before you. He left behind a pregnant wife. I cannot even imagine how she would be feeling. How will his child grow up? I look at mowgli surrounded by so much love. From us. From our extended family, friends, relatives. He is totally pampered in that ways. What did that poor child do to deserve this fate?
It again reminds me of him.
Of life being unfair.
Of us whom life has decided to bless. How do we treat this gift? Do we treasure it and live life to its fullest? Or do we sit and waste it away? Only to regret it later!
Squabbling about petty things. Worrying about money and bank balances. Bothered about the opinions and verdicts that others have about us and our kids. Dreaming big and then filing away these dreams in a locked box where they’re never allowed to see the light of the day.
When will it get into our dumb heads that life will go on and we have to make the most of it today.
Now.

So whats the little man saying these days?

Nooooooooooo - For NO. Accompanied by persistent shaking of the head and a stern finger wagging No.
Mama,Dada - His slaves
Cocooo - Cocoa. He funnily does not know how to stop at one ‘o’. He has to drag it out ’ooooooo’
Ollollu - Water. Don’t ask me how it is related J
Goooooo - Go away and don’t disturb me
Baa - Come. Accompanied by a sole finger gesturing you to come near.
Taa - Give it to me right now
Ina - Here, take it and go.
Duddu – That elixir in the bottle. The one stop solution for everything
Meh – Any female other than me
Da – Any male other than his dad
Buaa – His bua and conspirator in crime
Paapa and Uma - His paternal grandparents His champions and fan club lifetime members. His paternal grandparents.
Baaba – Any child, older or younger than him
Bow bow – Dog
Kaat – for Cat
Amm – Food with a capital F.
Boh - Ball/bat/balloon
Deep Groan and pushing face – Either potty time or just wants to go play in the water. More the latter
Pua – Shall we go? Often said when he sees or senses any family member about to leave the house. He runs to the door with his shoes and waits there for the concerned person to take him and go out.
Tata, Bayeeee – tata bye bye. And please take me along with you.
And a whole lot of gibberish. Where he seems to be fighting with us, complaining about one to the other, getting irritated because we are so ignorant and not able to understand what he is saying.
I waited so eagerly for him to start walking and now he just doesn't stop! So having derived that experience I am in no hurry for him to start speaking coherently. This ngfugynmvu is cool enough :-)