Saturday, May 30, 2026

Sweet nothings

 Another term holiday comes to an end tomorrow. It has definitely put me back in the groove after the unmatchable April trip to India. 


It was a public holiday on Monday, which means all of us were at home. It was a lucky hot day as well. We enjoyed the heat with some homemade food and the traditional pakhala, which is the ultimate must-have for every Odia. When I went to bed that night, I was filled with a lovely satiated feeling. It was the feeling of finding immense joy in the simplest of things. 

I have been toying with the idea of planting vegetables this year. I started them as they prescribe, first with seedlings in the house and then transferring them outside. It has been labourious and a proper test of my patience. But there is a small degree of thrill in it as well. A part of me is enjoying the small plants slowly finding their footing. While there is another part of me who is very anxious and wants to see the result soon. But it is definitely a very exciting journey. Keeping my fingers crossed every step of the way.

The girls had their holiday, and as always, it was super awesome to wake up late. I know it's a small pleasure, but I am not saying no to it. It always reminds me of the days when they were easy-going younger and I had to wake up super early to look after them. I was so used to missing having a lazy weekend. But it has been fabulous now that they are older and can look after themselves. Just affirms my belief that everything gets easier with time.

Work has been super manic. The challenges are very fulfilling but tiring. Can't have it all, I guess. But with the slow passage of time, I have only to thank God.


Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Waiting

 It has been over a month since our return from India. It has taken long to get used to the routine back here. I kept looking for ways to distract myself. But some things are healed by time. It took weeks of routine and IPL  to finally get into the flow. 

But the flow doesn't come without interruptions. My sister was informed of redundancy cycle in her organisation. This threw a lot of plans into jeopardy. We have so much of our future tied up to how things are in the present. We plan holidays and meet ups and events and so much more. Things are in a tizz for quite a while because of these developments. But then as usual time has lent its healing patch. Through the stages, we all finally reached acceptance. We are lucky to have the ability and the aspiration to go ahead. And go ahead we shall. As we wait for the results of the discussions to come forth, we try our best to continue as normal.

With this news in the background came her 40th birthday. Some people herald the age quietly some with a lot of fanfare. For her it was the former. The passage of time gives maturity to relish things without making a hue and cry of it. And that's exactly what we did. We made cake at home, we crafted gifts at home and we went for a quiet lunch. 

On my work side, I had a good rapport and camaraderie with a team mate. And I got the news of his leaving the organisation. I was quite sad because I do not share the same informal equation with anyone else. The current team is quite big and most of the people have been here too long. So much so they forget to make a new person feel at ease. In the midst of this there was this one team member who was always there answering my questions and being ever so patient. With him moving away there will be a huge lacuna in my work life. I have to put on a brave front and bear through the tough project. Again time will come with its healing salve and make everything ok. With my current colleague moving out, I have plans to catch up some old colleagues, because the few I have have been quite supportive for a long time. 

Things move on and time pacifies, time sorts, time heals and time helps.