6ers

"You know what, I feel like cleaning my Toy Box today"

[Mama falls off her chair in surprise]

"Naina, let's play Chess"

[Mama faints in shock ]

"Mama, I just swallowed a burp, do you think anything will happen to me???? Maybe we should go to the doctor.

[Mama begins to see the light]

They are ready to do anything to get out of studying;-/.

Putting up a short post today. Have a lot of portions to complete, I've got Maths and Science exams tomorrow.

Fee Five Fo Fum

I was trying to get all the pictures on the laptop into some kind of order when my eyes fell on a series of photographs taken in a mall last Christmas.

Most of the malls here have loads of activities planned during the holiday season. Some malls hold colouring competitions, face painting, craft and henna-designs, some have jugglers, acrobats and clowns entertaining the crowd and some others host musical plays based on fairy tales or even on books like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

My kids have outgrown the colouring & craft programs but like watching the plays and acrobatics. The musicals especially are very attractively put together with good looking artists, colourful costumes and elaborate sets. And sometimes there have no props of any kind and yet they are a resounding success.

One day we went to this mall to catch the 'Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs' show. We happened to reach late and so weren’t able to get seats anywhere near the front. As the kids couldn’t see anything we decided to go a level above and watch the show from the top. Even upstairs was crowded but luckily a few people moved and we got some space right in front.

The play was already in progress but we had no difficulty catching up as it was about Snow White. My kids ofcourse were already engrossed in the plot and I was idly following the act through my camera lens. 

Snow White didn’t impress, the dwarfs were just lil kids dressed up and the props weren’t upto the mark. The step-mother was good though and the songs they all sang[real singing, not lip-synched] were lovely. I was randomly clicking pictures when the prince strode into view. 

Snow White dropped everything and listened enthralled. So did we.

The prince sang like a dream. He was young; not a boy and yet not a man. He had the audience in the palm of his hand the minute he opened his mouth and he knew it. I watched my kids drinking in his every expression and couldn't help grinning to myself. If he looked cute to me then imagine how attractive he must be seeming to the kids;-D.

Just then he looked up and caught me at it. Grinning ie. I don’t know whether you’ll believe this but after that he kept looking up say every minute or so and singing soulfully to me.

My smile widened. He was charming, I had to admit. I shook my head at him. He grinned back naughtily. I zoomed my camera lens to take a picture but almost all pictures came out blurred as he was never still. Honestly, he was an entertainer in every sense of the word….he sang, danced, romanced Snow White and still found time to look up and flirt;-D.

At first I thought he was trying to impress the pretty Filipino girls standing next to me. Maybe he was. But at that point it didn’t feel like that.

When the show ended all of us clapped and cheered loudly. I wanted to put 2 fingers in my mouth and attempt one of those ear-piercing whistles. Only the fact that I didn’t know how kept me from trying. The kids rushed down after the show to take pictures with the troupe but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he knew he was going to get mobbed:-P

Here’s the only clear picture I have of him…..

I've been thinking about it 4 sometime now

I want to work again.

Not that I'm sitting at home and twiddling my thumbs now.

There is no shortage of work at home;-/

But I want more.

I want to get up in the morning, get dressed in crisp formals and go to work.

I miss those mornings when I greeted people with a bright, plastic smile ‘Good Morning Mr. Mazen*change name every 2-3 mins*, How are you??? I’m gooood, good, thank you’ for the 1^st hour of every morning.

I especially miss those ‘shrugging the shoulders & rolling the eyes’ conversations I had with my colleagues [esp. if one of us were on the phone with an unreasonable client].

I crave for those cold-cold chapatti rolls and limp sandwiches which I used to carry for lunch.

I pine for those dull boring meetings after lunch where one desperately tries to hide yawns by raising their files to face level or pretend to pick pen/paper/stapler/paper clip from floor every 2 minutes.

Did you know I started blogging initially from office and when I stopped working I had trouble blogging from home because I was just not used to it;-P.

I miss my boss who would leave me alone for the better part of the day and then dump 2 hours of work on me ½ an hour before leaving.

Jokes apart, I've been thinking about it seriously for some time now. Inspite of managing a household and a family, I don’t feel very……how do I put it….very productive. Sometimes an emptiness overwhelms me and I can’t shake it off for days. Thinking of the children puts things back somewhat in perspective. Staying home to look after the children was good reason at that time when I quit. It’s still a good reason but now I realise they don’t need that much of my attention. Infact it will do them good not to have mother hovering near their elbow all the time.

I've been thinking of my parents too.

Truth be told I’m quite intimidated at the thought of starting all over again. Especially in these times when good jobs are quite hard to come by. 

But I have to try. 

3

A Fun Test

This test is a nice demonstration of how the human brain perceives things. Follow the exercise as mentioned below. 

[Please do not be tempted to check out the answer, you'll ruin it;-)]

READ this sentence:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS

OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE
EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.

Now count the F's in that sentence. Count them ONLY ONCE. Do not
go back and count them again. Check answer below...

ANSWER:

There are six F's in the sentence. 

A person of average intelligence will see three of them. 

If you spotted four, you're above average. 

If you saw five, you can turn your nose up at almost anybody. 

If you caught six, you are a genius.

There is no  catch.   Most people forget the OFs. 

The human brain tends to see them as V's instead of F's.

****************************************************************************

Alright I can't resist it, I simply must know what your score is;-D.

Comments are open today.

2

Nikita walked into the kitchen to put her plate in the sink.

Mama heard her mutter something like…..

“I wish I had a life, then I would be so free…..”

It must have been one of those days….

Why else would Mama have got soo touchy.....

She placed the plates she was holding onto the counter, sighed heavily, made a big production out of turning around and scolded “Don’t be in such a hurry. Your turn at living your own life and being free will come before you know it. Enjoy your childhood now and don’t be in a rush to turn into an adult. You may not understand now but being an adult is not all great as you think it is. There are responsibilities and duties which will burden you & then you’ll be yearning for your childhood.  Enjoy this time when your parents are around to take care of you and protect you from everything. Why are kids these days……”

Mamaaaa………

…….in a hurry to……

“Mamaaa…….I was just singing a song from Barbie & the Popstar.” explained Nikita confused.

And she sang…

"I wish I had her life….
Then I would be so free…..
I wish I had her life…
I'd be another me"

[insert ‘sound of loud silence’ here ]

Nikita sensed her mother made a boo-boo and tried to catch her eye.

Mama turned her burning face away from view and yelled in random direction “Nainaaaaa…..will you finish eating fast and get your plate to the kitchen, I don’t have all day”.

1

I post so sporadically on the blog that sometimes I wonder why I bother.

I realise I need to get my ACT together.

Watched English-Vinglish bytheby.

Inspite of the fact kids had exams the next day.

TERM exams.

Can you even imagine the guilt???

But whattay movie I say!!! Totally motivating!!!!

Bas, I decided to post something on my blog everyday for the next 30 days.

It could be something I wrote, a forward I received, a quote, a cool fact, pictures..….anything.

Comments will be blocked for reasons I can’t explain.

Oh all right I can explain but it’s going to sound silly.

Still want to hear it???

Seee it’s like this….

There is a fear that I may not complete the task I’ve set myself.

A fear that I may not do justice to it.

Plus the fact that I feel guilty….

…..
…..

You don’t get it????

No, no forget it I can’t explain….

*N hides face in the book*

Which book???

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama.

*N is rattled by the sudden silence her last sentence evoked*

What???? I'm not joking, I'm in the *looks in book* 243^rd page right now.

He wrote this book way back before he became president. Did you know he was called Barry by everybody when he was small.

I think he is still called Barry but I can't be too sure as I haven't read till the end.

I know, I know.....if somebody told me 2 months back that I would be caught reading this book I too would have laughed at them.

See……I found this library a bus stop away soon after we shifted into our new place. The best part of it is we get to take home 20 books at a time. Cool huh!!!

The kids & I hammered out an agreement between ourselves wherein it was decided they get to take 10 books, I get 9 and the better-half gets 1.

Before you accuse me of injustice and what-not, let me tell you something about the better-half. He is a tv guy, an English[comedy] movie guy, a sleep, snooze, nap, siesta guy, even a magazine guy but not a book kinda guy.

1 book too many really.

But I told you….I was born with a guilty conscience.

So we get the books we want and he gets 1 book that I think he’ll like.

The latest ofcourse is BO’s book.

The previous was David Beckham: My Son by Ted Beckham.

I watched from afar as he scanned the pages of the latter. 

Lingered over the glossy photographs. 

And shut the book.

All this in 5 minutes.

Luckily Nikita showed some interest in the book and I was consoled.

The President’s book had no pictures.

It got 20 secs.

So I'm reading it now.

…..

….

Guilt, my friends, I've realised is a powerful motivator.

In the News

Good Evening Viewers,

Welcome to the Bi-monthly from the RBC*.

The headlines

A popular blogging portal had selected Reflections last post as their Saturday Spicy pick. Confusion and chaos followed. Details below.

The term exams have started and there is tangible tension in the air.

And in sports news RBC celebrates the victory of underdogs WestIndies.

******************************************

News in Detail

After 5 long yrs of blogging, one of Reflections post……….made it to Saturday Spicy pick.

She stared in amazement.

Rubbed her eyes and stared again.

It was true.

Her heart overcome with joy started a wild dance which refused to stop.

So what if the post was copied and pasted from an article she read.

She felt like……

She exclaimed that she couldn’t possibly explain how she felt.

But you know her, she needs to explain or she’ll burst….

We will now take you to her and let her explain in her own words how she felt….

“I was sooo thrilled. I now know how Amitabh Bachchanji must have felt when he finally received a filmfare award for Agneepath. Before I continue let me wish the superstar, "Happy 70^th Budday" *waves to camera & blows kisses*

[pausing dramatically]

But it all came crashing down when I realised they misconstrued my entire post….

Bronnie Ware is the person who worked there not me[refer previous post for details].

I wrote to the concerned authorities immediately about the error and am hopeful they’ll do the neccesary amendment.

[leans forward and looks directly into the camera]

But I am not surprised.

You see, these things happen to me all the time.

People kinda assume I’m something which I’m totally not. And I so badly wish to be what they think I am, not because I want to be what they think I am[oh alright maybe a leeetle bit] but because I don’t want them to feel they have erred in their judgement. You get what I mean. You don’t??? Yeah well it’s complicated…….”

[Fade out & back to prim newsreader looking suspiciously like Ms. N’s twin sister ]

Thank You Maam. That was Ms N clarifying her stand on the issue.

[Pauses and continues]

Ms. N also listened to Mayawati’s speech at the Party rally 2 days back and shook her head in amazement. 

“Time will reveal” she said cryptically when asked her stance on the issue and refused to comment further. 

In other news….

After 3 years and 8 months of successfully blocking the tv channels on their idiotbox, Ms. N’s family chanced upon a receiver lying unused in an acquaintance's safekeeping. They sort of blanked out after that. The next thing they know is that the receiver mysteriously found itself in their living room and nobody had logical explanation as to how it reached there. Ms N and family are now always found in front of the tv watching reruns of comedy circus back from 2009. They are also found laughing themselves silly over the episodes and don’t even leave their seats for fear of missing the wonderful advertisements aired.

Side by side, an uneasy atmosphere prevails in Ms N’s Household as the first term exams are going on. We are not prepared, the family gloomily admit. The children are quiet……very quiet, hoping to be overlooked if they made no noise and just kept to themselves. The adults ofcourse are aware that they’ll have only themselves to blame if the kids perform poorly.

On a happier note, Ms N had a celebrity moment a few days back. As you all are aware Ms N has very old friends who don’t think much of the blog and when questioned they critically analyse that there is more hype than matter in this space. So it came as a surprise to Ms N when an old friend told her that her new collegue was a big fan of this blog. The friend’s voice held a shocked element; Ms N face had a beeg grin on it and she wisely held her tongue. Ms N would like to thank this blog-friend for raising this humble blogger's value in her friend’s eyes;-D.

Sports News

Ms N was overjoyed when the West Indies lifted the T20 Trophy. Not surprising since she is always rooting for the underdogs. 
[A pop-up in the corner shows Ms N shrieking "Chris Gayle......BIG Fan*pointing to self*]

But she looked very dispirited when asked to comment about Lance Armstrong. “I’m very disappointed, seems like Heroes don’t exist anywhere except in storybooks. I keep hoping he’ll come back with proof and redeem all our faith but the evidence is damning. None of us like to admit we've been played for fools huh” shrugging her shoulders resignedly.

Ms N has also been eagerly waiting for the temperatures to drop so that she could make a start on her exercise regime. As expected, temperatures dropped but Ms N is still waiting. She is now waiting for inspiration.  Suggestion and comments on this topic are welcome. All messages will be read & replied to by Ms N personally.

That’s all in the news toda......

[News reader is handed a scrap of paper by random hand]

Reports have just come in that Ms N’s congratulatory message to Mr. Bachchan has been misconstrued by his fans. ABFA have asked for a public apology.

When questioned Ms N began dramatically “I’m completely innocent. Why is it that I am always in the news for the wrong reasons? It is all a big misunderstanding. I have nothing but respect for the old man........ ”

Fresh violence broke out among the protesters.

[fades out]

That’s all in the new today. Good day!!!!

[RBC signature tune follows] 

*Reflections Broadcasting Corporation

To Die without Regret

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called 'The Top Five Regrets of the Dying'. Bronnie Ware realised while working with terminally ill patients and she shares the five most common regrets the dying have.

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last 3 to 12 weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
 
1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
 
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
 
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
 
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
 
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice.

It is YOUR life.

Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly.

Choose happiness.

Tried and Tested on Kids

A friend of mine got married in his late thirties and they had a baby recently. He is a big guy in the creative field, very confident but fatherhood has completely freaked him out. He takes a very healthy interest in his baby and even the minutest details are given a lot of attention. 

Once in a while we meet online, after the barest pleasantries he is onto his favourite subject…his baby. I try to calm him down with all the stuff I remember about when my kids were little. One day he thanked me profusely for all the help and asked me why despite being a mother there wasn’t a single post on bringing up children on the blog.

I laughed & dismissed the idea of a post outright but after grandly announcing my return to blogging a week back and then looking around blankly for a while[for inspiration;-P] I didn’t have much choice.

Anyways here is some gyaan for what it’s worth….

#Babies generally cry for 3 reasons; hunger, lack of sleep or a wet nappy. Only after you’ve ticked off these 3 things, should you proceed forward to exploring your other[often unfounded] fears.

Another reason could be gas. That’s why burps are like sweet music to the parents’ ears. Timely burps also saves you from needing to change your outfit after every feed which your baby dutifully throws up on you.
How to do it: Hold baby upright and pat the back gently for a while. You know what they say about watched kettles right……don’t expect the burb right away; give it 20 mins, if you are lucky it will happen in 10. The little ones who burp immediately & to the point[minus the mess I mean] have very, very lucky parents.

#Using cotton nappys is a very noble thought but if you want a good night’s sleep use a good[brand] diaper only for the nights. Just wash the itty-bitty bummy with water & mild soap everytime you change the diaper & apply a bit of Vaseline. A good night’s sleep for everybody involved assured.

#Don’t knock Pacifiers without trying them. If you have a baby with Mariah Carey’s musical pitch[the kind that can shatter glass] or the depth of an ambulance siren[goes on and on] pacifiers are life-savers. This tip is from a good friend.

#Please don’t invest in baby walkers. They ruin the shape of your little one’s legs. Many of the bow-legged children you see around you are victims of these contraptions.

#Resist the temptation of taking pictures of your little ones without their clothes. Spare a thought for the poor kid who will cringe in embarrassment later on. And maybe even hold it against you for the rest of his life.
I’m not even going into the bit about when these pics get into the wrong hands.

#Sleep is very important. A schedule even more so. A child who sleeps & wakes up on schedule is a happy kid [most of the time].

#Tantrums can be avoided 85% of the time if the parents are alert. Take the child away immediately from the cause of discontent and distract him with something else. DO NOT allow the child to wallow in his misery thinking you are teaching him a lesson. All it serves is to make him more stubborn.

#Be extra careful when you use words like ‘No’, ‘I don’t know’ and ‘Go get it yourself’. Before you know it they’ll be repeating it back to you….and in the same tone;-/.

On the same topic…..we all know how fast they pick up phrases like ‘Shut up’ ‘get out’ and ‘I hate him’ or ‘he's lying’. Instead of yelling at them uselessly, teach them to substitute the same with ‘Keep quiet’ ‘please leave’ and ‘I don’t like him’ or  'he's not telling the truth'. You may have to repeat this a few times but once they get the hang of it our ears are spared.

And the last life-saving tip….

#Never, I say never teach your toddler the correct word for a ‘private part’ of the body. Use a nickname, codeword or refer to it as another bodypart. This tip will save you from embarrassment more times than you’ll be able to count.

There’s more but I’ll get off while the going is good. I get the feeling some of you are already looking at me very disapprovingly.

Once again, I don’t claim to be any expert; these are some things which worked for me and I’m sharing them with you. Feel free to discuss, argue and add your gyaan on how it worked for youJ.

Yesterday...

....we went to a Mall.

Never again....

We managed to lose some money in the first 1/2hr itself…..alright alright I lost the money.

We walked back & forth endlessly to register a complaint. The better-half thought it was useless but I was like 'We are not going to lose anything, are we???'. We did. We lost 80 precious minutes.

The kids didn’t get the books they were hoping to pick up[which was why we were in the mall in the first place] and were very disappointed.

It was just 8pm but we prudently decided to go home while the going was good.

The world-famous driverless Dubai metro broke down; all passengers were directed to alight at some random station and wait for buses to take them home. 

The metro officials called us back after 15 mins and announced that the metro will drop us in the next station....which it did....but which again was in the middle of nowhere.

The 2 buses provided for the emergency finally arrived and saw 4 busloads of people clambering inside & another 2 busloads outside trying to get a leg in. We didn’t even bother, just stood at the peripherals and watched the entertaining absorbing sight.

The kids who make it their business to check out the rest-rooms in a mall forgot their routine.

We tried to flag down taxis but others got there first till there were no more taxis.

We gave up and started walking. Walking in the humidity was NOT funny especially when we were not even sure if it was in the right direction.

Somewhere inbetween Nikita's sandal strap gave up adding to her our woes; with that Nikita burst into tears.

We were hungry, thirsty and not a restaurant in sight.

There was lots of time for contemplation….
*we wondered if Friday the 13^th got her dates mixed up.
*the kids decided adventures were just NOT their thing and will be very careful in future about what they wished for.

*the better-half was grimly striding in front of us, like as if he got information that the country was going to war.
*I was critically examining the episode from all angles; after all the first post after a blog-break must not in any way reflect the blogger's fear that her skills may have rusted.

And just like that a fast-food joint came up on the horizon and we rushed in for sustenance.

The food was lousy but we ate it stoically; nothing was going to be taken for granted any more.

And reviewed our situation….we spent the last of our money on the meal and there was not a single ATM in the vicinity.

……

……

We reached home around 12.30am

Never again will we bunk church to go mall-crawling.