The Viral Festival

We celebrated the viral festival at our home two weeks back. No, this has nothing to do with viral marketing, nor was it much of a celebration. All three of us came down with viral fever-that too a pretty decent bout. My son was the first to pick it up from God knows where. I have always insisted on him sharing things with others,be it toys or chocolates, and to his credit, he graciously shared the infection with both me and my husband.

When everyone in the house falls sick together, it is quiet a riot. Who will take care of whom was the big question. That mothers are blessed with superhuman strength is something I experienced during this phase. We had our share of fun too. We fought with each other for the thermometer, almost as vehemently as we used to fight for the remote. The poor little mercury bulb was mercilessly stuck into two mouths and one underarm one after the other. We compared readings and congratulated the one with the highest score. My son usually topped, followed by me, and then my husband. The hospital fellows had a great time dolling out one bill after the other for consultation, injections, medicines etc etc. Add to it the fun of midnight adventures. Thrice my son's temperature shot up to astronomical levels and refused to budge even with heavy doses of that magic potion named Crocin. So we had to rush him to the paediatric emergency. Now, outings are a big hit with my son. Even with 104+ fever, the word TATA is enough to rouse him. He just loved these midnight outings. He also made the most of the attention he received and there is not one nurse in the paediatric emergency ward with whom he did not flirt while we were worried to death about his illness. Often, the doctors had to pluck him from the arms of some sexy nurse to examine him. I also got to know that my son knows how to give flying kisses, early beginner that he is!

Anyways, all is well that ends well. All of us are back to normal now. My son is back in playschool. My husband is slogging away at work. And I am back to my heavily neglected blog. Memories of this 'viral festival' will stay with me for a long time to come. Now, I can talk about it with a touch of humor, but I shall never forget those 20 minutes when they took my son inside to insert the IV needle and I was asked to stand outside, completely helpless, just listening to him cry. 

Pearls of Wisdom

Thirty-three used to be a favourite number back in school. I used to be terrible in Maths and I loved such simple uncomplicated numbers in sums. Thirty-three is eleven times three-simple and humble. Easy to add, subtract, multiply and divide. So cool! But now that it stands for my age, I don't find it so cool. In fact, from the time I turned thirty, I am not so fond of birthdays.

But I guess I cannot run away from imminent old age for much longer. Half of my hair is already white. Children call me auntie and to top it even my maid calls me auntie. I cannot understand more than half of the commonly used chat lingo that my niece flaunts.  I strongly suspect that I am growing old. So let me do what oldies are supposed to do-offer pearls of wisdom that too free of cost! Jokes apart, I have been through enough experiences in life to warrant one blog post. Putting down what I have learnt so far will be the best tribute to my birthday.

Lesson no.1: Life is not fair and it is not meant to be either. You might put your heart and soul into something that takes you nowhere. And then happiness will be delivered to your door step from the most unexpected sources. So unless you are foolish enough to not answer the doorbell when this home delivery is being made, you will find that life is still beautiful, even if a bit unfair.

Lesson no 2: Friends are the best investments in life. Your life may be full- a good marriage, children, happening career, hobbies etc etc. But it is still incomplete without those special people whom you can ring up right after a fight with your bitter-half and let off some steam. They add colors to our mundane lives. You may not have time to connect with them like you used to when you were single and that is fair enough. But never let go of the connection completely.

Lesson no. 3: Save money. Be financially independent. I cannot stress more on this. I have heard a lot of crap about money not bringing happiness and I completely agree that money should not be the first priority in life or the basis of the choices you make in life. But being financially independent gives you the confidence to face a lot of unpleasant situations and people in life.

Lesson no 4: We all play different roles in life-son, daughter, husband, wife, employee, mother, father. But these are just roles you play and not the real you. Never let these roles take over your life. Take some time out for yourself-the real self. Once in a while, be selfish. Pamper yourself, do something you like. It will definitely help you recharge your batteries and feel good about yourself.

Lesson no 5: Take time to celebrate the little 'events' in life. Even if it is a mundane birthday that comes every year and reminds you that you are getting older. We are not movie stars or high profile businessmen. Our lives may not exactly have ground-breaking impact on the world. Still, these simple milestones call for something special. If we don't make ourselves feel special, who will?

Lesson no 6: Contribute to some social causes, irrespective of how less you earn or how little you can spare. Money need not be the only way you contribute-you can even share your time. You will be surprised at the difference this will bring to your life.  When things around you are going wrong, and nothing seems to work, and you are totally completely lost, do something for others and you will see how things change in your life.

I guess that is enough gyaan for my thirty-third birthday. Will save some thoughts for the next birthday! 

The "Jeeyu Mayu" Mystery

My two-year old's vocabulary is improving by leaps and bounds. First-time parents that we are, my husband and I cannot control our excitement as he makes rapid strides in the realm of communication. Each new word is greeted with a round of applause and proudly shared with anyone who cares to listen or is not in a position to run away. Even the building watchman is not spared, poor man.

My son seems to be a firm believer of the Continuity Theory. None of his words end abruptly. For example, oats is "oshee", juice is "juishee", ball is "ballee", sun is "sunny" and so on. All this is music to our ears. But occassionally, we are stumped by certain words he utters. Let me tell you about the "jeeyu mayu" mystery. One fine day, my son walks up to me and says "jeeyu mayu". I am naturally baffled as I can't think of any phrase in English, Hindi or Malayalam which sounds like this. I desperately think of an intelligent reply as my son looks earnestly at my face, hoping for some signs of comprehension. He repeats the phrase again hoping that this will help his mentally deficient mother who doesn't even know what "jeeyu mayu" means. I get panicky and end the conversation with a "Is it? OK". He walks away realising that this woman is hopeless while I pray that he doesn't repeat the word. However, "jeeyu mayu" continues to harass us for a week till I finally cracked the mystery. He was trying to say "See you tomorrow" which is what he tells his playschool teacher when he leaves at the end of a day!

My pride on solving this case was short-lived as he soon came up with the next puzzle. This time, it was "boto" which I soon discovered meant "water". My son continues to challenge our mental faculties and we hapless parents are bombarded with new brain teasers every other day. I just cracked one this morning-"ba ba bashki" means waste paper basket.

The Magic Begins

When you have to manage a hyper-active kid, a part-time job, a home, and a husband, there is one person you tend to ignore. This blog is my attempt to catch up with that very special someone-myself!

Becoming a mother has changed me and my life completely. Career aspirations have been carefully tucked away. Personal space has been replaced with hugs and cuddles. Sleeplessness has become a way of life. Meal times are incomplete without at least half a dozen interruptions. But no complaints-my little one has brought immense love and happiness to our lives and there is nothing in the world that can replace what he has given us.

At the same time, there is that urge to reclaim at least a part of my identity and be something more than just a mother or a wife or an employee. What better way to do this than penning down my thoughts- I am a true believer of the magic of words. Hence, this blog.

Looking forward to sharing my thoughts and hearing from you all as well. Good day!