Since I am really bad at keeping the suspense let me let out the secret. Its amma :)
Post our visa extensions, we were looking forward to mil making a trip here. It would be a double whammy - we would get to see her and she would get to savour a change of weather. We pulled our socks up and got everything sorted real quickly. Her passport did take forever to come back from the British consulate, thanks to a whole lot of bank holidays which crept up in between. But then one fine day after what seemed like an eternity, the passport stamped with the visa arrived. Woohoo! She had everything ready, savouries packed for her dear son, some ready to eats set aside for colleagues here and her usual stuff.
Though I was looking forward to her coming here, I had my own set of apprehensions. Our apartment is not small - its minuscule. Two of us keep coming in each others way, and I had my worries if three would be able to fit into this match box. Well err... who wants to queue in the morning for the wash basin ;) I also had my reservations, as to how would she find her life here. She leads a pretty active life back home, with long hours everyday dedicated to services in temples. She has her family close by and she has the time and opportunity to visit my sister in law too. But here, it would be preposterous to even think about these. I wondered how she would fare having a restricted social life. And my last worry was, how would it change us. Being just the two of us for close to 10 months now, I had forgotten how was it before that :D
When she finally reached here, I realised what a waste had all the thinking been. We all just fitted together perfectly like the pieces of a puzzle. Even in this small house, there was no loss of any privacy for anyone. We have carved our own spaces. And mil hugely helped me in feeling at ease by venturing out on her own. She was a real sport to go out walking and shopping entirely on her own from Day 3!!! Her confidence awes me and impresses me hugely. Its a fact - she is miles smarter and bolder than me too! Kudos to her.
Now the vessels get done sooner, there is more variety on the dining table, and I got company for my evening teas. She speaks to her family daily- something that she did not get time to do at Chennai. She gets to see sis in law and my niece most of the days through the web - again something that never happened before. Its like she is more connected with everyone in spite of being so far. Ironic but true.
So the long and short of it - things are still the same, though they have changed :D
