Reflecting

31/12. Used to be a special day. It's still special but not cos it's the end of the year. But because I have the wonderful circle of family around.

 Last year it was only mummy who was with me. This time luckily I have papa too! The children have had their annual bout of severe cough, cold and fever. K was not spared either. He had a viral infection a month ago. Somehow his immunity was not upto the mark and he had another week of sickness. He was in fact so weak that one day he collapsed with a blackout. The Christmas holidays helped him recover. There was opportunity to rest which has enabled him to be spruced up for welcoming the new year. Mummy though not 100 percent, is on her way to recovery after her sickness too. 

Just a month ago we were all by ourselves. Making do with a rhythm. The kids are definitely grown up and are participating in a lot of activities. They are also much more compliant and adhere to instructions. Though the occasional meltdown occurs too :) That made K endure a 4 weeks of summer vacation with the kids. He is one who is terrified of the idea of managing both of them. But even he could sense a better fabric of discipline. It was much easier manoeuvre them at home and even outside. We made a trip to Lisbon which was our first Europe trip as a family and it was very fulfilling and fun filled . 

This year has been a year of growing. The children are growing as if evident in their bond for each other, in their awareness of the world around and in their enhanced knowledge and influence. It also brought in the 4th birthday of Pumpki which heralds her karate lessons and next stage in swimming. She is also going to school next year! Chiyaa also moved on to the next key stage at school which drove home the seriousness of studying. Growing is synonymous  to aging especially for us adults. I could definitely find a reduced metabolism, thinning hairline, the more prominent greys and other tell tale signs of approaching middle age. But it also helped K and I find a passion in running  and karate. As we are growing, so are our parents. And I can see them go down in an accelerated pace. They are loosing their health and stamina. Though they try to keep up and keep going, I can see their health taking a toll. 

As we stand on the threshold of a new year,I hope our parents have the health and agility for their stay on this planet. I hope we have passions and interests to keep us alive and we are ever connected with the younger generation - physically, emotionally and intellectually. I hope the new generation keeps enhancing their already heightened morality, intelligence and superior sense of duty. I hope the next year brings forth new challenges and accomplishments. Wishing everyone who passes by a very happy new year. 

Figured it out!

I do not promote myths, I do not burst bubbles either. So if anyone asks me 'Is Santa real' I will say 'Hmm... I don't think so.. But I am not sure ' ;) You get the flow? And by anyone her I mean my kids of course :) Since I am not one to promote myths I never take my kids to ' Santa's grottos' or the like. *rolls eyes* Also I am very miserly when it comes to spending money in such places. I rather eat something for the same buck.

Luckily for me my kids never posed the question. Chiyaa never bothered much with Santa in her nursery years. In her last year at nursery in fact she was scared of him! When there was a Santa event in school, I think in year 2, she came home and said 'Mr Reed is Santa!' I applauded her for figuring it out :D 

One time Chiyaa mentioned to Pumpki that there was no Santa and mummy buys the gifts. I am not sure whether Pumpki registered that comment. But when Santa came visiting to her nursery she was perplexed. She asked me' Is it Christmas today?' I had to confess that it wasn't. Then she went ballistic ' THEN WHY DID HE COME TODAY AND WHY DID HE GET ME THE WRONG GIFT OF A BOOK WHEN I WANTED A JUNGLE?' I mildly said that 'He comes to nursery early maybe, and let's hope he doesn't mess up your gift on real Christmas day '. She was pacified by it, but I think in her heart Santa lost his charm :D 

But I must give kudos to her clever deduction!On her birthday what better way to pay tribute to her than by writing about her logical mind. 

Not meant to be

Papa mummy landed on the 10^th of December. It was a carefully planned trip, one which was decided a year ago. Generally I feel we are unsure of what is going to happen the next day, and papa planned to come back in a year’s time. The winter months are treacherous. They are the season of sickness and flu and terrible mobility limiting cold. But mummy is always gung ho to come and support us in the winter months. And papa wanted to be a part of most events in the family. Chiyaa, Pumpki and I are winter born. K’s and my wedding anniversary is in January while papa, mummy’s wedding anniversary is in February making the winter packed with a load of celebration. The decision materialized and they made the trip.

My parents are quite confident and comfortable around the house. So K and I were quite ok with not taking a day off when they arrived. We also could not work from home, since the home broad band had gone out of order. I waited the morning for them to come in. As soon as they reached, I handed the keys, gave a brief refresher of gas switches, heaters, water etc and bolted out. I spent the entire day wondering how they were doing. I totally forgot to mention that we had a phone with a pre-paid connection ready for them. I finished work a bit early since I wanted to be with them ASAP. I reached home, envisioning mummy opening the door, offering me tea and sitting down for a chat. But when I reached a very different scene stood. Papa came crying and said, mummy is not well. I went and saw mummy lying on the bed holding her head. She kept saying she felt very ill. Her stomach and head hurt a lot. Her look took the breath out of me. She looked so ill and so unwell. I was not sure what to do. The medical facilities in the UK are supremely complicated. I was not certain what I should be doing. So I gave her some over the counter pain killers and asked her to get some sleep. It was very distressing seeing her in so much pain. Their travel is especially convoluted where they have to take a flight from Bhubaneswar to a major city, then spend close to 12 hours for their next international flight. Mummy did complain that she did not sleep a wink in her flight. This compounded with aircraft and airport food, would have a crippling effect on health, especially given their age. We hoped that pain killers and some antacids would help her recover. We gave one night for her to improve. 

Day2 Papa finally said that she needed medical attention.  She had not eaten a morsel of food. It was very unlike her who throws herself into action. The kids waited on her, coming to her bed and checking her. I am sure, she would have hurled herself at them and hugged them. But she was so severely unwell that she did not rouse herself. I made a lot of calls and found the best course of action to undertake. I managed to get a walk in appointment. Mummy was finally seen by a doctor after a wait of 1.5 hours. The doctor recommended medicines for an infection. It was my birthday, not a day I thought I would spend at the hospital. I had hoped for a big cake, dinner at a new place and long chats with mummy and papa. Things have a way of getting messed up. Atleast I was happy that mummy got the medical attention without the fuss we had anticipated.

The birthday celebrations were subdued. I got some cake for the kids. We decided to order some food, but the order got cancelled due to some technical glitch. It was as if things were not meant to be. In a days’ time, we were throwing a party for Pumpki’s 4^th birthday. We hoped that mummy would be ok to attend that. Friday she showed remarkable progress and started coming and helping. She had to be scolded by me to take things slow.

Mummy did attend Pumpki’s party and it was a lovely feeling to have them around. But her sickness made me feel how vulnerable my parents can be when it comes to health. I hope God always grants them the health to pursue whatever they want. Amen.

My Man III

This one has a back story. So there is an Indian lady who I am pals with. Her daughter is pals with Chiyaa. The lady is quite the gregarious kinds, who organizes get togethers and days out and what not – mostly with fellow Indian ladies or families. She is kind enough to always inform me and ask me if I would be game to join in. Being my typical unsocial self mostly responds with a no J

So she set up a movie night to watch the Frozen 2 movie. I was ambivalent. I am not into movies and especially not into the Frozen franchise. Also I did not want to spend one evening with people, forcing myself to socialize! I just told K of the event. Then he said he was happy to go for the movie with Chiyaa. We both knew that it would be moms centric gathering with a few fathers joining in. Keeping kids entertained is mostly mom’s job. But K said, he would accompany Chiyaa to the movie. I was amazed. I said he was being so “progressive”. To which his response was “She will have her friend for company. She likes Frozen and can watch the movie. I do not see what is progressive in this.” But I tell you, it is progressive. Most people would not have been able to think of it beyond a moms only gathering. That is all to be honest I saw in it. And I felt it would be odd if K went there as the only dad with a child. I know in this day and age, there is nothing wrong, but some norms are hard to break.

K may fight that progressive is too big a term and he was essentially doing whatever he was doing with least bit of premeditation. But I know him better. The girls are lucky to have a rocking dad like him! The world needs lots more Ks.