Leap of Faith

There is an extra mattress in our bedroom which is used during weekends for the kids to bunk in as they have not yet adjusted to sleeping alone in the next room when the maid is not around.

Usually by the time I’m back from office the next day, the mattress is put back in its usual place, until the next weekend. Yesterday for some reason the mattress was not put back & was still there on the ground.

Everytime the kids walked past it they would take a flying leap into it & have some fun. I warned them against it & told them to go complete their homework. I then went to pick it up & put it back in its proper place. But as I stood in front of it there was this urge to just ……fall like a log on to it..….just like how the kids do.

I took a deep breath, put my hands straight up & tried to fall into the mattress without putting out my hands for support. But try as I might I couldn’t make myself fall. My body just refused to follow what my mind was instructing. I felt like the heroine in “Titanic” standing at the tip of the ship except that my hands were held straight up & no Leonardo DiCaprio to support me through my feat.

Leonardo DiCaprio reminded me of my Better-Half. On the other side of the curtain-drawn room, the object of my thoughts was catching a quick nap. On a sudden suspicion I went up to where he lay & peered closely. His eyes were half-open & he was watching the whole show very interestedly

“Can you do it?” I asked.

“Do what” asks he.

“Just fall like a log onto the mattress…without any support”

“Ofcourse” says he & gets up to show me.

He stands in front of the mattress & I look on worriedly.

“I don’t think you should do it, you already have a bad back….we don’t want to invite problems”

“Oh there’s nothing to this” scoffs husband. “Just stand & fall into it….like this” and he falls heavily into the mattress. He sits up & grins triumphantly.

“No, no, not like that, your knees bent a little & got the support” I insisted.

“No it didnt”

“Yes it did!!”

“Ok then, you show me” says he loftily.

So I stand once again in front of the mattress, hold my hands straight up & chant in my mind “if 89kgs can, 65kgs definitely can”……and let go.

Felt my heart plummet, as I crashed ungracefully into the mattress. Sat up with a whoop…… “Seee, see I did it, I did it!!!!!”

“Your hands came forward to support your fall” he noted.

“No it didnt”

“Yes it did”

“No it didnt” I insisted.

He just raised an eyebrow. “Maybe just a teeny-weeny bit” I agreed.

“I’ll try again” I said, getting off the mattress & standing in front of the mattress again. Another thought occurred & I asked him “Can you fall on your back??”

I immediately turned around & stood now with my back to the mattress & willed myself to fall backwards.

“It’s not that easy. You won’t be able to do it” said Husband.

“Wanna bet????” I challenged.

He didn’t say anything. I stood there for a few seconds with my hands up & realized I wouldn’t let myself fall. Falling on the front was difficult enough but falling on one’s back was impossible. Even the knowledge that there was a plump mattress behind to cushion my fall was not enough for me to let go.

“Mama, what are you doing” asked Nikita curiously.

Without my knowledge Nikita entered the room & was watching me standing with my hands held straight up, trying to muster courage to fall back.

“Oh Mama was just trying touch the ceiling” said Mama pulling back her hands quickly and led the child away from the room before she caught on.

When I came back, the mattress was kept back in its usual place by the Better-Half. I knew he didn’t want me trying any more stunts & inviting trouble & so kept it out of harm’s way. He looked at me expecting some comment.

I shrugged “I always wondered about how I'd react if I was asked to bunjee-jump or sky-dive. Atleast I’m sure now” grinning sheepishly at him.

The matter ended there but the question kept niggling me……

How do the kids do it…….without a second’s thought……………….so easily??????

Can you??????????????????????

S(tag)gered

I have been tagged by Myspace & Shalom.

Myspace, sorry I took so long to put this up and Shalom I was going to tag you with the same but u got to me first:-P.

The rules for the tag are:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

So here goes:

If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
Its his loss, not mine

If you can have a dream come true, what would it be.
As of now….to win a week’s stay at the Atlantis.

Whose butt would you like to kick?
My tailor……he just ruined a beautiful outfit of mine.

What would do with a billion dollars?
Give Half to Charity.

Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Nope, ghar ki murgi dal barabar[translated as: house's chicken dal similar]

Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
Ummmm.......loving someone who loves me

How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
Ooooh tough question……ummm will give him a 24 hrs deadline

If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
Make sure that he knows my feelings & leave the decision upto him.
[Now this is what I’d ideally like to do].

If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
A roof over every head.

What takes you down the fastest?
A flying tackle.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
Back in my own country

What’s your fear?
That there’s going to be a terrible earthquake & I have no time to pack the family jewels.

What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
myspace: Tongue-in-cheek humour(ous), short(I don’t know why I feel she is short like 5feet 1inch……are you short myspace???)
shalom: Person with strong sense of right & wrong. Her faith in God is awe-inspiring.

Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
Without a doubt Single & Rich, marriage will automatically follow:-D.

If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?
The guy with the sense of humour.

Would you give all in a relationship?
Nope……….my toothbrush is my own.

Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
Well I’m terribly forgetful………..so I dont get the chance to forgive.

Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
Well, I'm already married, so dont start putting doubts into my head:-/

List of people to tag:
Agnes
Anjuli
Maddy
Mystery visitor from Birmingham(cant link u for obvious reasons:-P)
Onlooker
Wannabe
Winnie the Poohi

p.s -
@ Ish: I feel vaguely guilty that I havent tagged u but please note its becoz Renu has already done it.

@Bins: I dont feel guilty at all about not tagging u. Put up the previous 3 Tags before raising even an eyebrow at me:-/

Post Blues

She stares at the computer screen blankly for 5 minutes, waiting for inspiration, lightening, anything…. to strike but not even a staple pin stirred. Exercising patience, she waits for some more time….nope, no luck.

She types out the sentence “She stares at the computer screen blankly for 5 minutes...” in apathy. Then, due to sheer lack of anything else to do she changes the font from Times New Roman to her all-time favourite font Verdana, & the font size to 10. Then she stares some more.

She can hear the Marketing Manager’s crunching on chips in the neighbouring cubicle. If she turns her head ever so slightly she can see him thru the glass partition. But who wants to see a Manager, anybody for that matter, stuffing their face?

She turns her head away in the other direction and her eyes fall on the designer who is yawning his head off at 10 ‘O’ clock in the morning looking like he is ready to wind up for the day. She controls the urge to yawn herself & looks pointedly away only to see the autoCAD draftsman trying to access the orkut page stealthily. Orkut is officially banned in the country she resides, however, can be accessed if one was aware of alternative ways to get it.

Almost everybody asks if she was accessible on Orkut. In the beginning she never felt bad about saying she wasn’t but lately she has taken to wondering whether she was missing something. Oh well, she’s got a profile on Facebook but what good was it if she never went there.

The cleaner walks in & salutes a cheery Good Morning. She responds with a smile, & watches him get down to work. Listlessly she turns back to her monitor, her smile disappearing. The partially blank document mocks her.

The Marketing Manager leaves for an appointment & almost immediately 80% of the workforce gravitate towards one corner of the office to read the paper, have coffee, catch up on eachothers lives. They beckon her to join the party.
“Gimme 2 minutes” she gestures.

The phone on her table rings. The Project Manager calls to inform the status of current going ons & also to entrust some work. She notes them all down in her handbook knowing that she better get to work immediately otherwise it will spill over her working hours. The thought of not accomplishing what she set out to do gnaws at her.

As the cursor hovers on the X button of the partially filled page, she straightens up in her seat slowly. Her eyes sharpen & a bent finger creeps towards her mouth unconsciously as her mind races “Dare she do it???????”

Dare she put this up in the guise of a new post??????????????

Ode to a Woman!!!!!!!

'Whatever you give a woman, she's going to multiply.

If you give her a house, she'll give you a home.

If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal.

If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart.

If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby.

She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.

'So - if you give her crap, you will get a bucket full of shit.

Got this in my mail this morning. Had a big grin on my face for sometime:-D. I agree with the above totally.
So now the question is, who disagrees with this????????????????????

Rat - A - Tat

Last morning, Better-Half asked me why I left the drain cap in the bathroom open.

I was like “Eeewwww, I didn’t open it”.

We then asked the maid & she said she never went anywhere near it for the past 2 days.
Thanks lady, for letting us know the germs are having a field day out there.
Anyways, we knew the kids didn’t do it.

Then how did it……..?????
Huh…all of us simultaneously looked at each other in horror….Rats!!!!!!!!!!!

It was not unknown for rats to turn up, though very rare. The last time one entered was 8-9 yrs ago but that time the parents were around & they had dealt with it.

A moment later we heard a noise from behind the bathroom door. Husband opened the door cautiously but the coast was clear. But…the drain was open again. The suspicion was confirmed. A rat stole in by pushing the drain cap upwards, landing onto the bathroom floor.

Well there was no time for high hysterics as we were already late for work so the drama was adjourned for the time being. Strictest instructions were given not to use that bathroom until further notice.

Later in the evening we found the drain cap out of place again. That did it. We cant live in fear for the rest for our lives, can we?

“I’ll call pest control” decides Husband.

“Ok” agrees the dutiful wife supportively. No way was I going to get involved with anything to do with rats. Leave the experts to deal with it.

“Pest-control???? What for???? I’m here….all my neighbours used to call me when they found a rat in their house” said maid indignantly as if we cast aspersions on her honour.

I looked at her with new found respect.

Now the Maid was in charge, the master of the house & I meekly followed her instructions.
The sticks supporting the plants were pulled out to beat the rat with.
Water was boiled to flush the rat out.
An old, rusted rat trap which was co-owned by everybody in the building was brought in.

The maid wanted to fix Tapioca as bait coz rats are supposed to love it.

I was like “Well no tapioca at home, lets fix a banana”

Nikita piped in “I have an idea….lets keep cheese”.

All 3 of us turned & looked blankly at her.

Nikita explains exasperatedly “Don’t you know…….they love cheese”.

“Quiet, go to the living room & stay there” instructed her father, irritated.

Maid still looked blank, went on to fix the banana inside the trap.

Meanwhile a conversation was happening animatedly 2 meters away…

“Good Idea, Chechi*, I’m sure it will come & eat the cheese” said Naina supporting her sister's idea.

“Then Papa can catch it & give it to us” responds Nikita.

“Yes, then he’ll be our pet & we’ll call him Jerry” continues Naina.

Husband & I exchanged exasperated looks & went back to helping the maid to prepare for war.

Finally armed with enough ammunition she set out…..I assured her my complete support & firmly shut the bathroom door on her from outside.

All was quiet for 5 minutes, then after much thrashing, again all was quiet. I cautiously opened the door & found the maid looking into the laundry basket & the aiming the stick carefully to fatally injure the rat.

“Wait” I cried. “Don’t kill the rat. Catch it alive & we’ll throw it out.”

Maid looked up confused.
In that split second the rat jumped out & escaped with its dear life back thru the drain-pipe which the maid had forgotten to block.
Maid was so upset…..she almost had it in the bag…in this case the laundry basket.
And the Husband looked murderously at me, his hands itching to do what he wanted to do to the rat.

“Ummmm…..I didn’t want my favourite laundry basket ruined” offered Nancy lamely.

Later as I was settling into sleep, I remembered something & grinned to myself.
Better-Half arched his eyebrows inquiringly.

In my daughter’s voice I repeated “I have an idea….lets keep cheese”.

We burst out laughing.

*Chechi – Elder sister in Malayalam

Follow-up Notes...

Right after I poured out my woes in my last week's post, things started looking up…...

As I cautiously watered the neighbours’ ‘fading’ plant[cautiously coz I had a strong suspicion that I was killing it with kindness], I spied fresh sprouting at the nodes. Halleluiah, my heart lifted in joy…….with renewed enthusiasm I turned the soil up a lil bit, then cut off all the dry leaves & finally sprayed it with some plant shine. Now there’s one gorgeous looking plant sitting in the sunniest corner of my house, ready to be received by its owners.

The maid who seemed in a bad shape even on Thursday morning as I left to work, was up & about when I reached back afternoon[Thursday is weekend here, so half day]. She was all brightly dressed, waiting for me to arrive……..& just had enoff time to stuff herself with the food [which I had thoughtfully picked up from the restaurant] & leave for the weekend. Ah well, atleast she unglued herself from the bed.

Nikita still gets up atleast once every night but has stopped crying. After a visit to the loo, she lies in her bed quietly till she goes back to sleep. She wakes me up sometimes but not always. Hopefully she has accepted that she must sleep alone & continue…well I’ve got my fingers crossed but I’m not exactly holding my breath.

Naina hasn’t suffered any after effects of her nosebleed. She proved it by falling off her tricycle[she was doing the balancing act on the seat & watching TV at the same time] & hurting herself on the eyebrow by hitting the bare handle bars. It was a bloody affair but none of it came out thru the nose. The doctor after initially scaring us about having to put 2 stiches finally just glued it shut. Yes, she is fine now. Hopefully the scar will fade in a few yrs time. She is usually a very careful child but I guess the law of averages finally caught up with her.

And I’m so overwhelmed by the fact that I won 2 awards from the blogworld. Thanks once again Renu & Winnie the Poohi. And a Big Thank You to DeeplyDip, Myspace, Sunshine from Singapore & Wannabe for awarding me the same once again.

And a big thanks to all of you for caring. More than medication, it was the feeling that I had friends looking out for me, that brought me out of the dumps I was in.

Awards' Night

Last week I was delighted with the number of comments my post got, this week I’m overjoyed by the fact that I won 'Awards' for my blog.

Renu has very kindly awarded me the

"Brillante Weblog Award".

"This is given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design"

Since the design of my blog site is nothing much to write home about, I assume she thinks the contents of my blog are worth a glance which ofcourse I take as a HUGE compliment.

So going by the rules I’d like to present this award to.....

Agnes: A globe-trotter, who has a very interesting site with details of her travels & humanitarian works, just like how it is.

Bins: Yeah, she’s been inactive for the past 2 months. But when she writes she puts her heart into it. Bins, get back into the groove & kick some butt.

ISH: I simply adore the way she writes but wish she’d post more often. I also love her ‘moods’ button:-D

Prashanth: An intense blogger who covers all view-points, that as a commentor I'm often lost for words. The quotes he puts up for each subject are excellent.

Preethi: An avid blogger who has started working recently, as a result of which her blog is suffering. A terrific sense of humour coupled with intensive research about her blog subjects makes her a very interesting blogger.

Wannabe: I enjoy her easy style of writing. And her site & layout are totally eye-catching. I only wish she’d post more often.

Winnie the Poohi: She is totally technology savvy & one can see all sorts of interesting gadgets at her site. Not the least, a very interesting story-teller with a poetic bend.

Now the rules are:
1. When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.
2. Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
3. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brillante Weblog'.
4. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize(optional).
5. And pass it on!

Once again I stress this is totally SPECIAL coz it’s my First Award……….

Now some of the people reading this might just think with an eyebrow raised “why, she’s acting like she’s going to keep getting them awards all the time”……..

…..ahem, I just received another Award from Winnie the Poohi

“The Bloggers Friends Forever Award”

And the Award goes to:

Anjuli: We met over a death post but I’d like to think a friendship was born.

Balvinder Singh: I know you’ll be surprised by this award coz we’ve known each other for just a short while but your blog & its contents brings a patriotic feeling within me.

Lan: U & I share a love for reading. While you actively pursue it, I stand afar & admire you for the same.

Renu: Met you quite by chance over a post on Gulab Jamun tips. I tried it out & it came out awesome. Boyyyy, am I glad I commented:-D. Just imagine, I could have missed my 1st award.

Sunshine from Singapore: You are special coz you are my first lurker who delurked. I sorta felt like a celebrity for sometime:-D

& a special for

Sunshine from India: You came out of nowhere & loyally commented on all my posts. Just as suddenly you disappeared. Come back soon…this award awaits u.

And here are the rules for the Blogging Friends Forever Award:
1. The winner may put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Put a link to the person you received the award from.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to the blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

So go ahead, spread the cheer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A weekful of emotions

One way or the other, I've been on a emotional roller-coaster whole of this week. Here are a few of them which I quickly share with u.....

Awe: The fact that I survived 9 yrs of married life. The fact that I have 2 kids. Just cant get over the fact that they are already 7 & 4 yrs old. And so many other facts connected with this fact...

Annoyance: The maid caught a cold & fever but acts like she’s got pneumonia. Took her to the doc & got her the required medicines. The fever is gone but she just lies curled up on her bed throughout & only gets up to wolf down the food that I serve at her bedside. Get your butt out woman, it’s just a cold, dammit.

Sad: My grand uncle(90 yrs old) passed away 2 days back. Why do I 'feel’ so much for this old man? He was a priest who conducted both my baptism & my marriage. An important man in the church level & we(ie all of us related to him) were always given some ‘weight’ bcoz of our connection with him. Yes I know it sounds sooo prosaic but we were proud to be associated with him.

Terror: Naina my 4 yr old got up from sleep 3 nights back & came to us looking like something out of a horror movie…….she had blood dripping from her face & the front of her night clothes were soaked in blood. It turned out to be a nosebleed. It happened twice again the next day....we panicked, took her to the nearest 5 star hospital. A consultation with the paediatrician, 2 blood tests later the results were out....it was just a simple case of nose bleed, nothing to worry........huh, they shd have paid me.....I told them that, first. Oh well, atleast we are sure now.
Apathy: First the kids were sick, then the maid fell sick. Now its my turn. I’m so tired but going about doing all the work[please note: the maid still hasn’t got up from her bed].

Amazement: The living room floor was a mess. Toys, books, bits of paper scattered all around. I decide to clean it up. I told Naina my intentions & asked her to pick up the bits of paper lying on the floor. Then I got a call. I come back to the room after 10 minutes & find the floor spic & span. My darling 4 yr old knew I was not well, cleans up the entire room by herself. “I did it for you, Mama??? Nice????” Tears stung my eyes…..lost for words I simply hugged her.

Mortified: My neighbour has left some of her precious plants in my house coz she had to go on vacation. Its been 2 months now & she'll be back any day. All these days they were perfectly ok, thriving infact. Just last week I noticed one of the plants slowly fading away, the leaves are withering away one by one, for no reason. I've been desperately trying to resuscitate it back to life. How ever will I show my face to her...not to mention the plant?

Frustration: Nikita my 7 yr old is waking up every night bcoz she is not happy about sleeping alone in her bed at night. Well, She’s not alone in the room…....Naina sleeps on the top of the bunk bed & the maid sleeps in the same room. We suggested that the siblings sleep together but both are not interested. Nikita wants me to sleep beside her which I’m not agreeing to. We’ve placed pillows, soft toys, warm milk before sleeping, the works. She goes to sleep immediately after getting into bed but gets up almost every night after 12 & cries, sometimes lies awake till 2 pm. If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know…its been 1 month now & I’m at my wits end.

Happy: Delighted to note that the comments for my last blog post hit the 30 mark[turned a blind eye to the fact 7-8 comments were made by me]

Gratitude: Thank God every night for all his blessings…..so grateful that I have a family to come home to, food on my table at mealtimes & a roof over my head.
p.s - And also dear Lord, just reminding u......the maid still hasnt got up from her bed.