Packing it all in.....

We are going on vacation to Kerala & Bangalore for a whole month. It’s been 2 years now since our last trip home. If you think my next sentence is going to be “How time flies”, u r totally off the track. These 2 years have really dragged. It seems like ages……..just so long. I yearn to see my parents, I’m aching to hold my sisters baby in my arms, I’m longing for the company of my friends, I’m craving to eat the gulab jamuns from Bhagatrams on comm. street…...…I can go on.

My kids are torn between wanting to go & not go. They want to go coz they want 2 c their grandparents & cousins. But they also don’t want 2 go because they’ll be missing the sports day at school & the fun-filled Christmas Party. The fact that they are missing 2 weeks of class doesnt carry that much quotient.

We’ve been shopping like crazy. My husband loves to make lists……sorry, he loves to make me make lists:-/, & likes to shop according to them. I don’t really believe in lists but I know it makes good sense, so I make one & we set out with it, with good intentions. We’ve now made 6 trips so far with this list to various shopping malls, departmental stores & hypermarkets. Each time we’ve come back with bags of stuff but we still haven’t bought everything in the list.

Getting to the heart of the matter….. When it comes to shopping I’m what u call a ….... husbands nightmare. Not that I shop extravagantly but I insist on buying every relative, friend, and neighbour a little something. And to top it, I also take a lot of time choosing the gifts. Many a time after choosing an item (which would have taken half an hour), I’ll come across something else 2 aisles later & I waste half an hour on which is better, finally decide to pick it up & then waste some more time trying to keep the previously picked item back in the correct shelf.
I now remember how my friends used to hate to go shopping with me.

My husband is a patient person. But after 3 hrs of picking and choosing he’ll have that familiar long-suffering look on his face. The kids will be like climbing the walls & on him by then. I actually like to shop alone but how do I tell him that:-P……... It’s just not him alone, it’s with everybody. At work, once boss leaves I finish all my work in an organized manner. Even while cooking if anybody is there in the kitchen with me then I am not even sure how much salt to add in a curry. I do my work best when left alone.

At work, 2 of us are leaving at the same time. I’m leaving for vacation & the other person is quitting coz she got a better job. So for past 1 week we had been trying to recruit somebody. I put an advertisement as ‘temporary vacancy for an admin staff’. No major qualifications or anything but should have good communication & computer skills. I got around 60-80 calls & double number of emails. 80% of the response was from phillipinoes but we wanted an Indian. After 2 rounds of interviews, we finally short-listed 5 candidates. Then I called them one by one. The 1st person got a better offer in the span of 2 days & declined the offer. The 2nd person.......I forgot why she cdnt accept the offer, the 3rd revealed she was on visit visa (employing people on visit-visa is an offence, the company will get fined 50,000dhs or more), the 4th did not pick up the call & so the 5th person got lucky & landed the job. So 1 problem less.

Now I have to complete all pending works & most importantly, have to delete all the Junk I have accumulated in the computer before I leave :-P……forwards received, powerpoint presentations on useless topics, photographs of friends, relatives, …..ohhh don’t ask, I tend to accumulate all kinds of stuff on my desk, in my computer, everywhere except my kitchen which I keep free of clutter.

And the packing……….i’m the worst at it. Luckily hubby dear saves the day.........as always. He can pack at the rate of 1 suitcase per hour whereas I’ll take 3 days & still not finish one. The kids from the sidelines will keep adding whatever they think they just can’t do without. As soon as they turn their back, we take them out but as soon as we turn our backs, the same item is back in the suitcase again. Just thinking about packing is making me tired.

But all the trouble & travails of travel is nothing compared to seeing my loved ones. My parents, sister & friends are waiting for me just as eagerly. Every time my ear tingles (which is quite regularly nowadays) I know they are talking about me. One month is so little a time to catch up with everything. I guess, I’ll just have to savour each moment with them and stretch it ………within the parameters of time.

I’m counting the hours already…….

Toothfully yours

Nikita has been getting a tooth ache on & off for more than 2 weeks now. We delayed doing anything about it because we thought of getting it done in India while we were on vacation. Around 85% of the Indians in the gulf get all their medical ailments treated when they get back home for vacation.
There r 2 reasons for this: Just 1 appointment in the local hospital with the local doctor is enough to put u off for the rest of ur life. No offence, but ur faith in humanity is badly shaken. Some of them there have no clue what they are doing. The 2nd reason of course is the more obvious one……unless you have a medical insurance; any kind of treatment in UAE turns out to be an expensive affair.

So now coming back to nikita’s toothache, we changed our minds about India coz one night she really writhed in pain. The painkiller I gave her had no affect & we just somehow got thru the night. The next day she was fine but we couldn’t take the chance. We took her to the nearest medicare centre & halleluiah we found an Indian dentist there………..and a Bangalorean at that (now Bangalorean doesn’t mean that he or she is the best but it certainly instilled an instant comfort).

I hate hospitals & everything related to it. Ofcourse I don’t deny the wonders of medical science & blah blah…………….but I just hate the sight of blood & not to forget, the sight of nurses walking around with the grimmest of expressions(like they are waiting to poke u in the backside when u r not looking).
I am not phobic or anything…….ofcourse not. See, I have gone to the hospital many times, ……….like if I’m forced to, I’ll have to go, right(like when I had to deliver 2 kids………aaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhhhh, don’t remind me). And the optimist in me doesn’t see this fear…ummmm…….i mean this delicate condition as a negative point.
Just think…… My kids are very lucky to have me as their mother…………they’ll never b pressurized to become a doctor or a rocket scientist or even an engineer (well to become any 1 of these u have to take science as your main subject & dissect…or is it bisect a cockroach & frog & stuff, right eeeewwwwwhhhhhhh).

Coming back 2 the topic………..My husband took Nikita to the dentist who said that the teeth was in a bad shape, infection had already set in & a root canal treatment had 2 b done to save it. Pulpectomy, they called it. It required 3-4 sittings. Sheeeesh, I couldn’t take it. Imagine a 6yr old sitting through a root canal treatment. I called the doctor (I have no problems calling them up) & had an indepth conversation with her regarding all the options. I was like “pull it out” & she was like, laughing at my illiteracy. Apparently if a premolar was pulled out, the 2 teeth beside it will start inching in2 that space & the new tooth (which will come only when she is 10) will pushed out, which in turn will create an irregular look in the dental facade.

I still thot……just get the tooth extracted & be done with it. After all, the doc did say that in 10% cases the space will remain there & the tooth will regrow in the same place. My better-half didn’t share my view. And so he took her for the 1st sitting. They came back after 2 hrs. Nikita had a half-dazed look in her eyes. My heart went out 2 her. I doubt that in her entire 6 years she would have undergone anything as harrowing as this. I dared not sympathize coz then she’ll beg not 2 go again. Her father stressed again & again how brave she was. Naina looked suitably impressed at her sister’s valor.

She was surprisingly upbeat about her next sitting. I later understood that Naina expressed a desire to go see chechi getting her tooth done & so Nikita was looking forward to introducing her sister to the doctor & show her around. My relief was short-lived coz hubby couldn’t make it in time & I had 2 take her.

All three of us trooped in2 the dentist’s room & nikita took her seat. A lady doctor with a knack for handling children eased some of my worries. She asked me sit but I couldn’t relax. Elaina was most engrossed in what was going inside chechi’s mouth that she tried to climb onto her lap to get a better view (yes, really). I put her on a chair which faced her sister & told strictly not to get up. As the hour wore on Nikita started fretting & fidgeting. Though she was given an injection to numb the pain it wouldn’t have been enough(I don’t knw about everywhere but here they administer only minute dose of painkillers to children). She didn’t make any noise but tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. She looked at me so pleadingly. I stood there trying to calm her with my eyes & voice. The doc was doing a good job of continuously talking to her. Since Nikita couldn’t answer the questions for obvious reasons, Naina took up the responsibility with enthusiasm.

Just then I happened to glance into a small mirror which was hanging there. I saw a pinched face with worried eyes & a downward curve of a mouth looking back at me. Later I thought to myself wryly, it was no wonder that nikita refused to be comforted. My face reflected some kind of tragedy instead of instilling confidence. I hurriedly smoothened my face to a composed mode but the damage was done. Mercifully the doc also finished with Nikita for the day. Both the kids dutifully thanked the doctor. The doc very accommodatingly asked Naina if she wanted to take her sister's seat, she shook her emphatically & was first out of the door.

Later that night my husband got a lecture from me about parental responsibility & his habit of putting his wife in tight situations. He looked suitably chastened which mollified me.

Today the 3rd sitting is scheduled for 4pm & I’ve already called hubby at least 6 times 2 remind him to be on time. Nikita is not exactly thrilled but since I told her that the doc is going to fill her teeth with some gum she is curious. She thinks its chewing-gum. And the coward that I am, I haven’t corrected her thinking.

Now don’t think I’m preaching..……..but brushing one’s teeth twice a day goes a long way in avoiding cavities, especially in the case of kids. And doc stressed that if we flossed also they would be out of business in no time.
The link below gives u simple ways to protect your childrens teeth. There is nothing more worse than watching your children going through pain which could have been easily avoided.

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/body/teeth.html


And for the people who make no time for teeth this is your fate.......

Everyday Humour

Sister Act

Nikita: Why dont u give Naina away to another family?

Mama: Why?

Nikita: I dont think i can live with her anymore.

Mama: Then what will I do?

Nikita: Oh u can stay with me. U dont trouble me the way she does.

[p.s - i actually meant to ask her "what will i do without Naina" ]

05/12/07



Pencil Magic


Biju: I think Naina's color pencils are possessed.

Nancy: what do u mean?

Biju: As soon as u turn your back, they are back on the floor again.

:-D

01/12/07

[p.s - i'm gonna keep updating this page.]