Borrowed time

Sunday night I was sleeping next to Chiyaa (yeah we still co-sleep, generally its K with Chiyaa and I with Pumpki). Around 2330 ish she woke me up and said she was not able to go back to sleep. I turned the night light on and gave her a book (yeah I did that :D) and drifted off to sleep myself. I thought she would sleep off, but 30 mins later she was still reading. I asked her to hit the bed, since she had school the next day. She asked me for something to eat (obviously one would be hungry if one wakes up in the middle of the night). I warmed a cup of milk and gave her. Minutes of having it, she needed the toilet! Obviously again. After that she and I snuggled and slept. 2 hours later, she said she wasn’t getting sleep again. I asked her to read again. After sometime, (I am not sure whether she slept in the interim or not, cos I was sleeping J ) she said she felt sick. Hmm… now that was troubling. We went to the toilet and poor child had a big puke. Cleaned up, we tried to sleep. She was definitely feeling better now. (Must have been the restaurant food we had on Saturday, plus my chicken biriyani on Sunday would have added fuel to fire). She slept for a bit, but then complained about not being able to get back to sleep! I asked her what she wanted to do and she said play J Good for her, she has toys handy everywhere. She started playing. It was close to 0400.

By now I had decided that she would not be going to school on Monday.

I told her “You are not going to school tomorrow”

She blinked and said “Will I be all alone?”

I said “Yes, of course”

“But who will take care of me?”

I said “What take care?

Chiyaa replied “I cant cook”

I said “I will leave some cooked food, you just have to eat it”

Chiyaa took a few moments to digest this. I asked “ You will be ok?” She nodded.

She was so cute! (And yes I was mean by messing with her head) I gave her the tightest hug and let her play)

I rang in school on Monday morning. When asked what was wrong with her, I was unprepared for a lie. I replied, she was sick. “Oh that means she has to kept at home for 48 hours to rule out any infection” Darn it!! Now I had to take 2 days leave. Thankfully my company had a policy that allows upto 5 days leave in a year for family emergencies.

And was I glad! I caught up on some books. I played with Chiyaa. We took a 90 minute long walk. We practiced some karate since she has a tournament in 4 weeks’ time. I got to prepare food and be around the house pottering around. I realised just how much time we spend at work! When I came back on Wednesday I also realised how little we add to day to day. When I was at home, I felt a lot would be happening. But then everything seemed the same. It was very kind of everyone to ask about Chiyaa.

It wasn’t for the best of causes but the effect of the two days was very good - some more time with my little one J

Growing up and moving on - again

Note: The again in the title, cos the first post is here :) 

The thought ran through me the other day when I saw a woman carrying her baby in a baby carrier wrap. The child was a few months old and she had a purse and a nappy bag slung over her shoulder. A pretty lady, she looked like a travel system on two legs J and she was doing her job of maneuvering through the market and shops pretty deftly. (Not that I was stalking her or anything, I just noticed :D ) She reminded me of my days. You know how I am not the one for nostalgia and all for moving forward and future looking when things get better and easier. But once in a while I am a normal human who has a wave of reminisce. ;)

My days with Chiyaa, I remember well. I was by myself. She was the only child in the house. Every moment was etched. But Pumpki was different. I had mummy around after she was born, we travelled to India when she was 4 months old and stayed for 3 months. Amma managed to come back once she turned 1 and then did mummy. Our movement from Ipswich to Leeds ended up in her not having a nursery place and hence extended care from grandparents. Now grandparents’ care exists even when parents are home. I have always had someone shadowing me. So with her my memories are blurry. She is also one who changes in a flick. No gradual transition, which makes moments with her more like “blink and you miss it”. I do not remember her learning to walk. She used to “cruise” that is, hold on to sofa, tables and chairs and get up and walk a few steps. One hilarious thing she used to do is, hold on to a stool and put one leg on it (kind of like a stretch ballerinas do). I have umpteen videos of her holding that stretch for longer and longer, then gradually leaving one hand, then the other. And one fine day, after her stretch she put her legs down, and walked a few paces, un-aided. That’s it, from then on, she increased her steps and in a couple of days she was walking! With Chiyaa it was way more gradual – her first steps were noticeable. (I have a recording of it) But Pumpki, no she just walked.

Same was with her weaning. It seemed arduous and quite daunting, but 2 days into our attempt and she was weaned. But she got on to a bottle. She used to have milk at night as well. Sometimes more as a comfort feed when she woke up. Since she is going to turn 4 in December, we tried hard to think of ways to get her off it. Chiyaa was the same and it was quite a struggle to break the habit. We diluted milk with water, then transitioned to only water to have her stop. We were not sure with Pumpki. But 2 weeks ago, she developed a cough. When she woke at night, we insisted she have water. We kept saying “water will stop the cough” to encourage a few sips. After exactly two days of complaining, day 3, she stopped asking for milk. Just like that, the habit is gone. Same goes for her getting off diapers too! She was toilet trained but we put diapers as a precaution for nights. One night, she was fidgety. When I asked if she needed the toilet, she said yes and walked with me. Since then – no night time diapers for her. Same during swimming. She doesn’t need one then either. Same goes for her settling down in nursery. She used to cry and one day she stopped. She used to enjoy her day, but was the quiet one. Someone who did not talk much and the nursery staff had to really struggle to get words from her. They used to ask us to share home videos where they could see her communicate so that there weren’t concerns about her speaking. In fact I read an article on selective mutism and wondered if Pumpki had it. As with everything with her, one day, she started talking a bit more. First to her friends, when an adult was not watching, then to her key person who works most closely with her, then with friends even in and adult’s presence. Now a days I get regular feedback on her being “chatty” and sharing stories and the like! Huh – she is a regular chatterbox now!

She is growing up to be an independent person. She for sure seems to be slipping right out of my hands L

Every holiday is different

I am back. From a holiday. When the alarm went off this morning, my first thought was “Is it Monday already!?”. And Monday it was. Luckily Chiyaa’s school starts tomorrow, which gives us a day to gently “transition” into full on working days.

When the holiday started, I had no plans. We had a few days away in a nearby sea side town. The week leading to the break had the coldest, murkiest weather. Felt like October rather than August. Sea-sides can be notoriously cold. And cold climates do not agree with the kids. I did not want weeks with kids suffering from cough and cold. We were supposed to travel on the Friday. Thursday it was raining cats and dogs all day long. I packed tights, sweaters, boots and light shoes (in case the weather was warm). I was fully prepared for the worst holiday weather. Friday morn as if by magic it was a hot hot hot 24 degrees. The coast was warmer in fact at a tempting 28 degrees!! The sun was shining and though google maps predicted lot of holiday traffic in the motorway, the roads were not a nightmare! I had a wonderful drive for the first half. As we started making progress to the the rural roads, we missed an important turning. But as if God was watching over us, there was a road blockage a few minutes on. Since the traffic was stalled, we were able to quickly turn around and take the right route. We felt blessed, as if the holiday was destined to go well.

It started well. We had a lovely meal once we reached, and watched a few shows that were being performed in the venue. When we got around to wrapping the kids for the night, I realized that in my enthusiasm to pack warm clothes, I had over looked inner wear for Chiyaa. I had not packed a single piece for her!! Disaster! Anyways we planned to go out to a nearby store the next morning (which was not so nearby since we were put up in quite a remote resort). It would take some meaningful time away, but then what needs to be done needs to be done. Pumpki was "the have" with a surplus supply of knickers and the moment she knew of her "have-not" sister, she did not leave a chance to rub it on :D . She pretended to choose which one she was going to wear, and even had a day, evening and night one segregated. The audacity! While she went on with this exercise, much to the chagrin of Chiyaa, I noticed that one of the knickers looked big enough to fit Chiyaa. (Yes! I buy bigger size for the kids, so that I don’t need to run to the stores every 3 months) I asked Chiyaa to try it and it fit! This was Pumpki’s chance to get harassed :D since her stuff was being worn by didi. Karma ;)

We ended up washing and using the 2 and Chiyaa survived! (Thank the shining sun and tower driers again.) Knicker-gate resolved without a longggg trip to the markets. Boo-yah. The good weather held up too. Saturday was warmer than Friday and we spent hours on the private beach. It was idyllic. Sunday was slated to be even higher in temp. We looked forward to a day in the pool, followed by a stroll around the amusement rides and then back to the beach. Till another disaster struck at 0930. The electricity went off. And took water with it. K went to inquire and was informed that it was a town wide issue! Well….this was an issue of massive proportions. Everyone but me needed their bathroom business done ;) and we Indians need water. So with 5 people with pending bathroom business, we were in critical need for water. We started opening taps full throttle like crazy. Every drop was precious. Yes the speed was slow, but then there is always water lurking in the pipes isnt it? We could manage to get 2 bottles filled. K as usual had a light bulb idea. The beach was nearby. (Not really, but for argument’s sake) He recommended we take all available bottles and go to the beach, fill water and come back! You can NEVER take India out of an INDIAN! Spoke like a true bred Hindustani. People across the resort were contemplating their next move. We were smug with a back up plan. Apart from the fetching-water-from-the-beach idea,  K recommended that we make a trip back home sooner if the water/electricity situation did not improve. It was a Sunday and the next day was a holiday, chances that anyone would be around the fix and issue in a remote touristy place was bleak. Well, that was a valid point, though it would be an unceremonious end to the holiday :( 

But then!! Bijli aa gai! And we shouted hurrrraaayyy!! We clapped, we cheered. I was totally reminded of the days of past when the current would go in crucial junctures of cricket matches. In the sweltering heat, tempers would flare. Papa would barely contain expletives. We would pace up and down, and keep a look out for any signs of electricity. The sound of television or the sight of light if it was after evening. If we saw some lucky goon with it, we would fish out if was the generator or the power supply. God forbid if it was power supply - Papa would make frantic calls to electricity department or drive off to the local one - depending on his state of mind. And when the power was restored, the rotating fan, the tube light, the flicker of the television – heaven was right there in the living room. That day in the resort, I felt the same. Wow! Vacations follow a trend but these nuances – they make it.

With electricity back, we were able to get on our “business”. Colon cleansed, the family marched to enjoy a glorious day in the sunshine.

Once back in Leeds, the days with the kids were pure bliss. We went around the city, visited some local farms, played, watched a load of television, coloured a lot of pictures, nursed sore throats and cold congested chests (there is no avoiding them :( ) and essentially had summer vacation.

Tuesday as Chiyaa goes back to school, I hope for the summers again soon J