Anecdotes from life #4

I am here, yet again after a big gap from my previous post. Don’t ask me why there is always so much gap between posts - I really have no idea. But I convince myself every time with the fact that I show up, even if irregularly. Hehehehe. So, here it is …. Another blog post :) This time too, like earlier times, a few stories from every day life.

Over the last year, I have needed a fair bit of physiotherapy for my back and neck. I have been very diligent about it. So I have been at the clinic almost thrice and sometimes even 5 times a week. Now you already know that I have made friends here, right :) I have realised that many a times, I force my friendship on unsuspecting people, who don’t know they are being befriended. My goodness, that almost sounds like I’m in some unsavoury, fraudulent business of conning people. But anyway, so, I have made friends there. 

My friends there include the physiotherapist herself, who, by the way, is a very spunky and amazing person. Her various assistants are my friends. Her patients are my friends. Of which, one old aunty, who comes every day at the same time, is my favourite. She comes to the clinic everyday clutching a small dabba with some snack for the physiotherapist. She makes most of these items herself and will always get one small portion for the clinic. She quietly does her exercise routine with a little help sometimes from the asst, but mostly on her own. The physio magnanimously shares this dabba with everyone and all of us get a chance to be a bit fortunate to take a small bite of life like this! :) This makes aunty very happy, especially our loud praises for her. She will giggle and offer a tip or two about how she made the dish extra special. Her eyes light up every time like a beaming flashlight at such an instance. Aunty’s passion for cooking is so intense that even when she’s exercising she’s thinking and discussing what her next item should be and what unique twist she would give it, to make it extra awesome :). It makes you realise that passion for anything in life can fire you up, no matter at what age, time, life stage or place you are in :)

Over the last year, I have also taken part in lot of volunteering activities in my son’s school. I absolutely and thoroughly enjoy it. I enjoy being with the kids and teachers and helping with activities. I enjoyed one such activity a bit more than others this year. It was an ophthalmology camp for preprimary kids. Everyone had to line up, cover one eye at a time and read the alphabets in different sizes. It was smooth. Not ;) It was hilarious. The rules had to be told to each child multiple times and yet the child would do something different. It was hilariously cute. 

One kid was terribly smart - he stood in the queue patiently and memorised all the alphabets. But the doc was seasoned, he knew to identify such extra smart little cuties and changed the order of identifying the alphabets - all hell broke loose and heavy tears followed. Then there was this sweet little girl who said she doesn’t talk to strangers and went ahead and identified all the alphabets in her Teacher’s ears only. It was a very fun camp. Most kids covered both their eyes at the same time and said they couldn’t see at all :) The sheer innocence and honesty of these kids made all of us feel very warm and fuzzy :) One of the kids was extremely happy to get his eyes checked - he clapped and did a little dance too. Inspired by him, many kids who followed also clapped and were shaking hands and sharing high fives! :) Such encounters with kids make you realise that you need very little to be genuinely joyful and happy in life na! :)

Over the last year, I have of course also visited a lot of restaurants in and around Mumbai. At one particular fast-food restaurant that I have frequented a lot more than others, is a middle-aged gentleman who does both things - taking food orders as well as serving. I have noticed him slog throughout the time he’s there. I have visited this restaurant enough times to safely conclude that he’s their star employee. He listens to his customers intently, offers genuinely helpful suggestions, is prompt and attentive and wears a smile throughout. He’s also quite jovial and friendly with the other staff. 

Many times, they all encounter rude, entitled customers, but this gentleman deals with them softly yet sternly. There have been errant kids dropping glassware, old uncles and aunties who have dropped numerous spoons and cutleries, youngsters ordering too much and then asking for takeaways amidst crowded tables, etc etc. He’s always on top of everything, managing and taking along his colleagues too. He’s honest with accidental extra monies and lavish tips as well. And it all boils down to him being a kind, genuine and hardworking person. Over many small chats, I have figured that he has a very big family back in an Indian village and he is the sole earning member; and that he is doing his best in the city. You and I, both, know how difficult it is to make ends meet in a city like Mumbai. Despite all the struggles, he hasn’t let go off his kindness and honesty. He has even managed to send one of his children to an engineering college for post grad studies. Such people make you realise that hardwork, patience and kindness are pillars of a society doing well and thriving, isn’t it!

As I wind up this almost preachy, LinkedIn-type post, I hope I have been able to share my learning about how sometimes, mundane every day instances hide cherished stories with big lessons of life. 

If yes, then yayyyy! If no, then wait till I befriend you without your knowledge and force such lessons upon you ;) Haha :)

Anecdotes from life #3

Hello I am back :)

Yet again, like many times earlier, I did try writing a few things, but it didn’t flow, seemed forced and wound up being a jarring read. Hehehe.

Trying again this time – let’s see if this one flows effortlessly or makes you mumble “kitna boring hai” :)

On this rainy rainy day, let me tell you about a hot summer afternoon, when I was out for a celebratory lunch at a restaurant with my parents and son.

My parents didn’t like this idea and the restaurant from the moment we decided to go ahead. They were already grumbling about how it was going to be a very boring afternoon. 

Unfortunately, further cementing their dislike, the food at the restaurant also ended up being a massive disappointment. My mother still pretended to enjoy everything a little bit – but my father was just very angry and vocal about his displeasure. This is normal behaviour though. Hehehehe.

My son, on the other hand, was just simply excited and happy to be at a place he likes, eating food he likes, with the people he likes. 

Somehow, after a slowwww 1 hour, we got to the end of the lunch. We had 2-3 uber taxis cancel on us, as also is normal these days. So, we decided to take an auto to the closest taxi stand and a taxi from there towards home– much to my son’s delight and thrill. 

It wasn’t a very long auto ride. It was short and sweet and very breezy in an otherwise hot and sweaty Mumbai summer afternoon.

There were a few taxis at the taxi stand but there was one particular taxi with an old disgruntled driver leaning against it with a scowl. Just as my mom and I were discussing not taking that taxi, my father leaped out of our auto towards this taxi as if they were long lost brothers – well, they very well may have been, given the really angry scowls plastered on their faces. 

It wasn’t a surprise to either my mom or me because my dad, like me, has a natural magnet for weirdos. My genetic inheritance game is strong ;)

Anyway, Appa sat next to this driver, who by the time we all sat in, was terribly angry. I really want to believe that the heat had gotten to him and made him angry and it wasn’t our faces.

As soon as he started the drive, he received a phone call. That phone call was stressful for everyone in the taxi. This driver-uncle couldn’t’ hear. So, he would say : KYA, HAIN, KYA BOLE repeatedly after every word the caller said. And not just say the words – it was a sheer scream. We had all become invested in this call. Appa suggested keeping the call on loudspeaker to which driver-uncle said ‘KYA’ again loudly. This infuriated my already furious dad and he mouthed some unmentionables and looked the other way outside the window. Mom had started complaining about how this phone call was diverting the driver’s attention and he was driving rashly. My son on cue started grumbling that he was sleepy and it was hot and it wasn’t comfortable and he wanted to get home.

I gathered whatever little patience was left in me and suggested boldly to the driver to park the taxi aside for a moment, finish the call and then driving again. You can only imagine what happened next. He got SO angry that he started loudly saying stuff that we couldn’t even understand or make sense of. 

The phone was on – I could hear the caller at the other end yell “chacha chacha” on loop, driver-uncle was screaming at us, Appa joined in shouting to terminate the call, Amma was shaking her head and trying to get her grand-child to sleep and I, at this point, decided that looking out the window at the street was possibly the easiest option. This went on for 3-4 heavy minutes. All this while – uncle was also dangerously driving through narrow lanes and loud horns and trucks and every vehicle invented by mankind, around us. 

Suddenly, we came upon a traffic signal. God bless the person who invented these – because we all got a miraculous few moments of calm. Driver-uncle finally decided to cut the darned call but only after screaming some terrible profanities at the caller. This made my dad chuckle. (Don’t ask me why). He even joined the driver in agreeing that the caller was a terrible person for calling in the afternoon and talking in a way that the uncle couldn’t hear. Uncle also calmed down and shared a laugh with my father. But his anger towards me was intact. But because by now he was “friends” with my father, he tolerated me. 

Meanwhile, my son started an endless loop of “have we reached”. That driver only had a very limited quantity of patience left – he lost all of it when my son asked for the 177th time if we had reached home – but thanks to his new friendship, he somehow kept it together, only complaining to my dad “Ek hi baat bole jaa raha hai bachcha”. 

After what felt like ages, eras, eons….. we reached home and paid him. He was mumbling something again but we were all too tired to even care what he was complaining about. We got home in a hurry and aimed directly for the bed to take a well-deserved nap.

As I was drifting into a sweet sweet nap, I heard my dad tell mom with a hearty laugh, that they had a nice afternoon, that the restaurant wasn’t as bad as they felt and that, the driver was a good guy having a bad day but with a wonderfully colourful vocabulary!! 

P.S. requesting earnestly to please write your name if you comment otherwise it’s a string of anonymous messages due to some strange settings. Hehehehe :)

Anecdotes from life #2

I am back – with new encounters :)

I am an only child to my parents. I grew up with my parents and paternal grandparents. I have a lot of the trappings of an only child! 

I am kinda (!!) pampered, not very, but definitely a bit. I am comfortable in my own company, in fact I am my favourite person; I understand myself the most ;) But I am also very social. Hehehehe! And hence, I am also very easily misunderstood :)

I am always looking for new and different ways of keeping myself busy. That means you’ll suddenly find me learning Kathak for a few weeks/ months and then I’ll do some meditation classes and then suddenly I’ll buy an oven and bake and burn a few cakes, only to switch to pottery and make shapeless objects. And then I will do many more of such things. You get the drift!

I am also non-confrontational and I’m used to letting things slide without dealing with it. And so I always cry when I fight or argue because I don’t really know how to fight correctly :) (Much to the delight and dismay of my Husband :) )

I am also literally always on the lookout for making new friends and conversations. I ask as much as I answer. Often, I make very deep connections very quickly (and hastily, might I add). And this, right here is why many times, I end up becoming “Best friends” with people all too quickly and then realize as time passes by, that they, in fact, aren’t my best friends (and vice versa). But I am also foolishly hopeful and optimistic and soooooo interested in talking and people, that I never learn my lesson. 

Now all of the above and some more unique qualities put together means that I am slightly weird, eccentric and borderline crazy. You’ve been privy to my unique encounters with weird personalities such as Mr Diaz my electrician, Vandana Maushi my replacement cook (Who by the way I still run into and who continues to torment me with her “nantar boluya’ every time we cross paths) and many others.

I also think that since I am always looking out for conversations with people and give out this “Approachable” aura, I end up having very strange conversations with strangers, who also form a very misunderstood opinion of me !

Let me illustrate :)

Recently, I met yet another Maushi in my building’s lift. She was just plain simple angry looking. She wore a look of utter disgust on her face. She looked at me and suddenly announced that she had no time to work at my house. Why?! I didn’t ask her anything. I didn’t want her to work at my house. I was simply standing in the lift waiting to reach my floor. But she felt the need to explicitly decline an offer I never made, wanted or wished for.

At another time, I was at a parlour a few days ago getting a very well deserved head massage. Ladies at the parlour generally find faults in us. It is just their KRA – find faults, get more business for the parlour. I am used to the regular ones – dark circles, dry skin, terrible hair etc etc. But I wasn’t prepared for “Aapka smile bohot bada hai madam” (Your smile is too big, madam). I had started smiling at this point because I thought this lovely stranger was complimenting me. But when our eyes met, I realized she meant it as a problem – How is that a problem! And why is that a problem? But well, for her, it was a problem.

And then of course the cherry on this weird pie.

I took my little one to our regular dentist’s clinic for a routine check-up. There, an elderly lady was awaiting her turn ahead of us. She indulged in some small talk with me about money plants, Kumbh and Mamta Kulkarni. All this while, my little one was drawing/ writing something. Interested by his writing, she asked me about him – which school, grade etc. Suddenly she asked very directly “ek lakh rupiya lagta hoga na bachche ke peeche har mahine?” (You must be spending a lakh every month behind the kid, isn’t it).  I said “Nahi nahi aunty” (No no) and was just about to start giving a more detailed explanation, when she snarled with “Tu jhooth bol rahi hai” and smirked.  And then didn’t talk to me at all – well, thankful for that, but what the hell!! 

Later, when I went inside the dentist’s chamber, I asked him about her – and he said she is a regular patient and is someone who is very non-trusting of people around her due to certain things she has experienced in life. Somehow that made her actions a bit bearable to me. I wasn’t feeling angry any more. 

When we got out after the appointment, she was still sitting in the waiting room. Looking at me, she got up and apologised “sorry haan mein tereko aise boli” (Sorry I said those things to you). I said “Ok aunty, chalo bye”. As I was opening the door and leaving with my little one, I heard her mumble to the nurse “Chaapli hai yeh chhokri”!! (This girl is oversmart!)

:) :)

Anecdotes from life #1

So I've wanted to write a post, actually a few posts here for a long time. I have tried starting something many times but haven't been able to proceed at all. Maybe because all of those were forced attempts and so the words kinda dried up real quick :-)

But here's one that's flowing rather smoothly as I travel back home from the other home :-)

I was thinking that instead of a full, long, topical, meaningful post, why not I share with you and you share with me some anecdotes from our lives! Hehehe!! 

Life is full of big, special, life-altering moments - but life is really lived in the smaller, every day moments and memories, isn't it! 

So here's a small memory blast from my past! 

When I was younger, my eldest mama (mother's brother) used to suddenly drop by to our home many times, if he was anywhere in the vicinity. Now this Mama of mine - well - words can't do justice to what kind of person he was and the life he led. Suffice to say, he was the black sheep of the family. It's hard to say it like it is - but, sadly, we nieces and nephews also weren't particularly fond of him. However, family is a strange thing. You don't even know what bond you have with someone or how deep a relationship actually runs, until it's tested :)

Anyway, so, when he would drop by, he would generally come for not more than 15-20 mins. My paternal grandma, unfortunately didn't approve of his visits but my grandpa was always cordial.

My mother would feel awkward I think (in hindsight) but she never let it show. She would make him some tea/coffee everytime he came and it would always be accompanied with some dry snack. He would gobble it up quickly and make small-talk with me. I don't remember at all what we would talk about. But it was fun. I was very attached to my maternal grandparents and my 3 cousins, so I know that I always asked about them. They all lived together. And then I think we spoke a lot of random but interesting-to-a-kid kinda stuff :)

Then it would be time for him to leave. By this time, I would be primed into the conversation and would feel really angry that he's leaving just when things were becoming interesting. But he would have to leave anyway. My mother would ALWAYS hand him some money at that time and tell him in a stern but kind voice to either use the money well or give it to my grandma but not waste it. He would nod ever so sincerely. The fact that he never followed through, is a different story :-) 

And then he would leave. Mom and I would stand in our balcony and watch him go with a wave. Sometimes, I would notice a small tear in her eyes. I don't know what these visits meant for my mom.. But for me, it was someone coming from the land of my grandparents and my cousins. I remember that in a few of his visits, I have hurriedly written small notes for my cousins in torn pages of rough books. There was no way to know if they ever received it, read it or knew about it in those days of no phones or communication. But it was like a messenger had come and I had a message to send :)

Those visits stopped long ago. Mama is long gone too. But these random, fleeting memories come by suddenly like a gush of wind sometimes. 

As I travelled today from one place to another, I saw a roadside thela (stall) selling men's handkerchieves. The signal was red and we were parked right next to this thela :-) One particular kerchief was dark blue with black & red lines. It was the same one like what Mama used to carry always :-)

And just like that, I thought of my Navin Mama and said a small prayer for him :-)

It's your turn to share your story :-)

Mom Chronicles #6

 

So, my little one is now 5. He's a very busy guy. He attends school grudgingly every day, he has a few hobby and sport classes that he does after school, he plays at home with lot of things and finally, in all his left over time, he attends Birthday Parties of his classmates. 

Now this is a whole Universe in itself - Birthday Party Universe.

You don't know anything about it until you are a parent. You have a kid who's an infant and you still don't know about this universe. 

Then your kid walks into school for the very first time and BAM!!! You are suddenly a key stakeholder in this universe!

It's privileged entry only. ;)

And once you enter, you realise this universe is actually a whirlpool. Enter once and forget there is an exit. 

It's a non-stop loop of birthday parties. You attend 50 parties - then you invite 60 - then you attend those 10 extra - by then it's time for the first 50 - then there are newer friends - then you invite old + new friends and then this is an unbelievable, irrational and infinite number and you can't keep up!

And oh, there is also the Gifts! Gifts you give, return gifts you get, Gifts you get, return gifts you give. And don't forget, there are boy gifts, girl gifts and the more acceptable gender neutral gifts. 

Then there's the type of Birthday Parties! Play area parties, time zone parties, hosted parties, home parties, spa parties, themed parties, activity parties, movie parties and I'm sure in time to come, there will be parties with the theme of 'not a party' !

Now here's where this Universe is tricky in our particular case. 

Half of the birthday parties my son and I have attended are because the mother of the birthday kid and I are friends and not because our children are friends!! :-) Can you believe it! 

You know me well enough to know that I find it 'relatively' easy to make new acquaintances. And if there is a vibe-match, I try my best to make a meaningful friendship out of it - one of the skills/perks of being a single child myself!! And since you know me, you somewhat know my child too - and you know that he's taken after his father in this particular area and lacks this skill/expertise to a very large extent ! 

My little chap struggles to make friends. He has a select few he adores passionately and then there are the rest. So being his parent and loaded with my own colourful insecurities, I go against conventional wisdom and try to bridge this gap for him. 

And that's how we find ourselves in birthday parties where he doesn't even know who the birthday kid is. 

This one time, we were gathered around the birthday Girl and the birthday cake and my child was suddenly enlightened and with a huge smile said :- ohhhhhh we have come for herrrrrrrrr birthday, yes yes mumma I know her! Imagine my surprise, happiness, relief and worry (that the parent might have overheard this) in that moment. I treated him and me to an extra piece of cake that day :-)

If I were miraculously invited on Koffee with Karan and in the rapid fire if he asked me to describe this year in one word, I'd add a word to it and say "birthday parties" ! That's how this year has been!

But it has translated into my little one finding a bit of a firm ground for himself in a crowd. It has helped him add a few more precious friends in his selective basket. It has helped him understand mumma has her own friends and sometimes, she too can eat the bigger piece of cake :-)

And in what's possibly the biggest return gift for me from this universe - it's made it easy for a 40 year old mumma to find like minded, fun loving, wise women, on whom she can rely on for some of the toughest moments of parenting! 

And so, CHEERS to this Universe that turns a mumma into a Momzilla and a kid into a Wondrous Mess Of Magic ✨

Ek garam Chai ya Mocha ho !

As usual it’s been a while. 

Every time I write a blogpost, I genuinely feel that I have now reached a point where thoughts and words are going to flow ever so easily and there are going to be posts after posts after posts. And every time I post a post and come back to write another post, I realise that there is no post but a drought of words and posts ! Sigh !

Yet, here I am, back after "post" drought for one more Post :-) 

I’m going to tell you about a morning which taught me an important life lesson!

It started with an encounter with a barista at a coffee shop that I visit regularly.

She didn’t look happy…. Her “Good Morning” was filled with disdain and displayed immense lack of interest in me. 

I asked for a cold brew - because I am cool like that :-)

She responded with “Chhee” ! And a look of horror on her face..

Me (shocked and err a bit scared): Excuse me? 

She: Cold brew kyu? - with that same disdain…

Me: Ok, so what then, if I shouldn’t take cold brew…… with a quivering voice and fake courage…

She, defiantly: I don’t know ma’am, it’s your choice….. 

At this point, my brain wasn’t sure if she was giving me a hint about how cold brew was bad there or she was just angry with my choice and wanted me to pick another. If you know me, you know I am a die-hard people pleaser and often I don’t consider myself one of those people to be pleased. So I gave in and asked for “chai tea latte”. 

She: Madam aapka choice hai, dekh lo!

Me: Bye! And turned around to go back to my table at astonishing speed!

I decided that this was the best way ahead for me. It was God who was indirectly discouraging me from having a cold brew with outside water. Maybe it wasn’t the right choice in monsoon. I made my peace with God’s voice and sat at the table drinking hot water that I had from home. 

The barista on the other hand was a bit scared. She felt that this could potentially lead to a complaint, so she came to my seat and tried small talk and offered a cold brew. By this point, I had disavowed cold brew from my life itself. But curiosity got the better of me and I asked her why she reacted like that. She said in a softer tone that she had gotten completely drenched in the rain while on her way to work and the thought of a cold drink instantly evoked that sentiment, but she shouldn’t have said it out loud. I could understand…. Mumbai monsoons are crazy. They are wild and dirty. Not a combination for rain, of all things :-)

I sympathised and she left. She came back in ten mins, sat at my table and got us 2 piping hot mochas - Meri taraf se ma’am - let’s enjoy :)

That was a wonderful morning right there :-)

I left from there in a zippy mood. Tea and good company was a great combination!

I walked up to the auto stand where I was instantly rejected by a few autowallahs who wanted to go to the moon but I had so stupidly asked to be dropped to Bandruhhh! 

One guy said aajao madam, sabne hi mana kar diya. I have a feeling he was mocking me - but I had also lost any will to fight by then ……. I was in his auto for 17 mins, but “Yeh satra minute” were full of lessons. 

He asked me why I was in such a rush, I said I had to pick up my son from school and I was running a bit late.

As soon as I sat in his auto, he started talking loudly on the phone with someone, the conversation was filled liberally with ingenious profanities. He was actually arguing heatedly, about the colour of paint that the person at the other end had chosen for some important wall at home. Argument had turned into an impasse, when he suddenly threatened to not buy chicken for that night. After a moment of deafening silence, the other person relented. 

I was impressed at the power of chicken.

This guy was happy and victorious and he smiled at me and said, madam chicken sab cheez theek kar deta hai. I smiled back marvelling at what had unfolded. He asked aap nahi khaate? I said No. He was annoyed:- “kya hi faayda phir”. 

He stopped talking to me after that. He looked unhappy too. I couldn’t believe I had spoiled someone’s mood just by not eating chicken. We stopped at a signal and he bought tea for himself from a vendor and drank it in one shot. I could see it was really hot, but well, this level of anger at me had made him immune to heat, it seems. 

By the time we reached my destination, his mood had lightened and I think he decided to forgive me, thanks to that hot tea. He said chalo koi nahi madam. Lekin ek request hai- aapke ladke ko aap jaisa mat banaao madam, usko life mein chai aur chicken zaroor khilaana! Kyunki dukh to bohot hai, lekin khushi isi mein hai !! And zoomed off yelling more profanities on other autos and cars around. 

It was a busy morning mentally for me. The two people I had encountered, had had to deal with issues at their own end, had decided to judge me from their own loaded lens, but the common placating factor for both of them, was a hot, nicely brewed cuppa. 

So, as I stood thinking about them in the school pick-up line, I realised that truly there are many trials and tribulations in life, problems and issues being hurled at you at breakneck speed, but what do they really hold to a good cup of well brewed hot tea or coffee eh ….. chicken notwithstanding :) :)

Ek garam chai ya mocha ki pyaali ho! 

A Date!

 

My week day mornings are frantic. It’s because a tiny human has to get to school on time.

I wake up groggy - ever so dearly pining for just 5 mins more of deep sleep. But alas. My needs take a royal backseat. I somehow manage to push through the morning chores and brace myself. 

The next part is tough.

I have to awaken THE tiny little person. Now this person is mercurial. Some days are sunshine and roses. He’ll wake up with a huge smile and a hug and share fresh anecdotes about his dreams. Most Other days, it’s like the dragon pulled you down his dungeon. He’s angry, upset and totally betrayed by his mother who dares to wake him. And for what……School?? You must be kidding him!!!

But well, we gotta do what we gotta do! So I seek patience from the Force. Because guess what, I’ve already lost it a couple of times in a span of ten minutes.

After a lot of talks, negotiations, threats and ultimately literal begging, he relents. He gets up, drudges through the chores and somehow gets ready in time, give or take a few precious morning minutes. 

I've known of a lot of homes and families which play devotional songs in the mornings and it’s a beautiful hum and background music to the whole house. In my house though, you'll hear the constant hum of things like “just eat that” or “no you can’t throw food on the floor; Empty threats like  “pick that uppppp or else….” ; “no you can’t go to school in your night suit”; “yes you are a boy not a car” and more such interesting things.

But anyway, we are out the door and on the way to school. The journey to school is another chapter in convincing arguments and negotiations. I am beginning to thank my stars that I didn’t choose a career in law because every morning is epic evidence of how I am so bad at it. 

The actual moment when I drop him off at school though, is poignant. He feels miserable. I feel sad. We hold hands for a second more than required. He has moist eyes and I have an emotional lump in my throat. His eyes and ears are longing for me to say “chuck school today, let’s go home” …. But that doesn’t happen. He walks in slowly, deliberately and with a tinge of disappointment at how his morning has gone so far. I watch him. I feel like bringing him back and telling him chuck school today, let’s go home!! But that doesn’t happen na :( 

And so, he goes in. I linger a little longer …. I don’t know why. 

But then I leave too.

Now the next few hours are mine and only mine. Till I go back to my boss of 4 years, I am a free person. Well, it’s a date alright :)

I go for a yoga class sometimes and stretch and move to provide some much needed TLC to my ageing, aching muscles and joints. 

Sometimes I go and see my erstwhile staff members - they are also called my parents. You see, not too long ago, I was the boss and they were the captives, working day and night like I’m doing now as karma comes back in form of a tiny person of my womb :) They let me live the illusion of a bygone life, even if for just a few hours :)

Then there are those days when I meet my friends. Oh ! This, I must tell you, is one of my favourite things to do on a date with myself. These rendezvous are the joie de vivre of my life. They remind me of the girl I am before I became the girlfriend, before I became the wife, before I became the mother! They remind me life is simple and joyous when you share a wonderful, throaty laugh over an absolutely silly age old joke with people that matter.

And then there are days, when I spend those hours with just myself! I find a cozy spot in a restaurant or cafe, I order something completely and sinfully loaded with calories or a green tea, there is just no in-between. So whatever the mood, I order food accordingly and sit :) I watch people around, I think of how so many lives meet and intertwine with each other every day and how everything, just everything enriches us every day! I philosophically remember my carefree teens and twenties and how I really feel like a different person before and after the birth of my little one. 

I think of how my best friend has evolved with me from being my college classmate, to a person of interest, to someone I dated and then married, and is now an awesome father! Then I remember the little fights we have ever so often and make a mental note to give him the silent treatment till he apologises for whatever has happened (whosoever’s fault it may be).

Then as I casually glance at my watch, I’m reminded that it’s time to get back on duty and fetch my tiny boss. And so, I save this document and remind myself to publish it on my blog, for you to know, how I date myself for a few hours, everyday :)