The customary end of the year musings.

Looking back at the year 2006:

Really sucked. All I will remember about this year is being a mom to a toddler. Every waking and sleeping moment - I spent it as a mother. I did nt take a day off. No weekends. No breaks. Changed approximately 1500 diapers. Washed bottles around 1000 times. Did nt watch loads of movies I badly wanted to watch. Did nt go anywhere out of town except to parents and in-laws place. And that sucked even more. Fought with my parents all the time when I was with them when I should nt have. Did nt speak to my MIL at all when I was at my in-laws when I should have. Of course there were loads of good times too. Lots of precious moments with Ashu. But I realize now that those are not enough. I should have taken some time off and gone somewhere with HD. We did plan but it just did nt work out. I know this is how its going to be forever. But we should have gone somewhere special to fondly remember about this year. With or without Ashu. At least if I had left for Swiss by now and joined HD, this year would have ended on a happy note. But no such luck. Hope 2007 is better.

May be being away from HD for the first time on New Years eve is putting me in this negative mood. May be not.

Ok! Moving on...

As a mother - I rate myself 9/10 this year. The one point I cut because I shout. A lot. Not only at Ashu but generally. I am loud mouthed. Need to work on that. I should really stop screaming. At least reduce. That would go as a new year resolution if I believed in it. But I dont. Will try anyway.

As a wife - 9/10. For the same reasons I said above. ;)

As a daughter - 1/10. I sucked. I screwed up big time this year. Hope to make it up next year, Dad & Mom!

As a daughter-in-law - 0/1000.

As a sister: 10/10. Well, long distance relationships are always easy for me. So this year has been great what with Ashu now. Thank you for a wonderful year, Sis. If there was one silver lining in this bleak year, it was you! (And that includes you too, Jeeju!)

As a friend: 5/10. I did nt reach out to many friends. I was just content with family, blogging, etc.. I dont even know whether I should change myself or not on that front. Well, I just answered myself, did nt I?

Happy New Year people! Let 2007 rock for all of us! :)

Take a look at Ashus journey through 2006 here. Thanks baby for all the special moments which bring a happy tear to my eyes whenever I think about them.

Update on Ashu at 20 months.

Yesterday Ashu turned 20 months old. It will be her second birthday in 4 months. I definitely cant believe that. Feels like yesterday I went and got my hair cut to look good for her 1st birthday party!! Hmmm... that reminds me, time for my next hair cut! :)

Heres update on Ashu all of 20 months:

~> She has outgrown the big winter jacket I got for her when she was 6 months old in Swiss. Yes, after 14 months!

~> She will do things only if we make it look as if it was her idea to do it.
Example: She ll run away as soon as I take a fresh diaper to change her. So I ll keep the diaper near her and go away. Exactly after one minute, she ll come to me with the diaper and ask me to change. Its the same while dressing her up, feeding her, ...

~> She has lots of teeth and much more attitude. So she would nt let me count them all.

~> She has learnt loads of words that I cant count them anymore. Understands everything we say and conveys everything she wants to say too.

~> She recognizes some of the alphabets. She says "babulu" for Double U. Very cutely!

~> She is still stuck on too, thee, chix and nain for the past I-don't-know-how-many months. When we play hide and seek, she closes her eyes and counts too, thee, too, thee,...

~> As kids at this stage are, she also has photographic memory. She loves to answer when I ask "What is this" pointing to objects. Apple, Banana, Horse, Cat, Bow Wow, Ball, Doll, Balloon, Star, Moon, etc... are some her favorites.

~> Loves it when I take her out for shopping. No surprises there, I guess!

~> Loves to watch herself in the mirror and in photos. I have no idea how she learnt it but the other day I put a clip in her hair and she ran to her room to look at herself in the mirror! Girls!

~> Whenever we get ready to go out, she reminds me to get her jacket and shoes. As soon as she comes back home, unzips the jacket and takes it off. Removes her shoes and throws them in a corner and no force in the world can stop her doing that.

~> The other day my neighbors daughter had come to play with Ashu. Shes 2 1/2 years old. She and Ashu fought over a small, plastic, yellow cup the entire one hour the girl was here. Oh, we had two identical yellow cups at home. But they both wanted "that" yellow cup only!

~> Ashu can switch on the monitor, move the mouse and send a couple of desktop icons to the recycle bin. And move a few folders while at it to some vague locations!

~> At last we are down to one nap a day instead of two since two months. We are happy.

~> Prostrates on the floor before the Puja shelf, rings the bell and touches both her cheeks every morning. All under her grandmas intensive training!

~> Very shy when guests are at home. Bonds with older kids immediately. But the kids must be a head taller than her. Same height means fighting over the yellow cup! Infants are okay, though! Very tricky, this one!

~> Long distance relationship with Appa for the past 2 months is not going well. She just refuses to talk to him on the phone. I hide the phone and HD eavesdrops our conversation to hear Ashu's voice. May be its her vengeance for leaving her. She talks to my sister and BIL as always though! Did nt I say this one is too tricky to figure out?

~> Started screaming! Oh. My. God. Really annoying! She calls me AMMAAAAAAA never Amma. As if shes calling me for the hundredth time. And to think that I have to fly with her alone! God save me and then the co passengers!

~> Picks up certain words and actions very fast. But never the things we want her to learn! Says bye to everyone when leaving without me asking her to. But never says thanks to anyone even after me telling her a hundred times!

~> Identifies the colors Blue and Red. So everything under the sun is either blue or red according to her. Must be fun!

~> Sometimes she runs to me, gives me a hug and kisses me and runs away again. Those unexpected show of affection makes me feel so special!

Gilli 365.

Check out Gilli if you can read Tamil. I have written a post with my favorite links to celebrate Gilli's first anniversary. Thanks to Prakash who for whatever reason asked me to write and I used the opportunity to blabber. Little did I know that there are so many bigwigs who are writing too. Not fair Prakash! ;)

Quite a heavy thought for the day.

I really don’t like my dad that much. I don’t consider him a great father at all. I fight with him a lot. I question his role. I ask him why he brought me into this world. I don’t like his rules. I don’t like his role as a husband as well. But I go to him whenever I need help. If I am standing on the middle of the road with a flat tyre, I call him and ask what to do even if he is in another city. I ask him to do something to make me pass my exams even though he can’t do anything about it. If I am in any tricky situation, I seek his advice. I ask him for money. I ask him for guidance. I ask him to choose. I call him and ask him to come and visit me just like that. I tell him all my problems even though he can’t solve them all. I trust him. I need him. And I am totally selfish. According to me, he is just there to give. And I thank him occasionally. I want him to be partial towards me. I don’t try to please him when I want something, I just ask. I blame him for everything that’s wrong with my life. I want him to set everything right for me. I respect him. I don’t tolerate anyone who say mean things about him. I say mean things to him. I don't lie to him. I want him to protect me. I will trust my life with him.

And today I realized that I treat my father and God equally.........bad.

Happy Christmas Everybody!

Wish we were together HD. You, me and Ashu (in my tummy!) back in Grindelwald celebrating a true White Christmas like we did two years back. Hmmm....

The beginning of the "Look Mommy" saga.

You know how some kids call "Mom, mom, mom" a dozen times and their moms will slowly tear themselves away from the conversation with you and answer the thirteenth "Mom" with "What?" Well, I did nt want to be that kind of a mom. I had planned to answer my child immediately and give all my attention to my child instead of some stupid conversation. But of course the whole motherhood thing happened to me for only one reason and that is to prove me wrong and also to accept being an idiot and beg for forgiveness from every mother I have (mis)judged!

Long story short, Ashu calls me around 300 times everyday. She is awake 12 hours of a day so do the math. And she has started talking as if shes making it up for being quiet the 9 months in the womb and 18 months outside. And its neither Tamil nor English. Its some gibberish language but the irony is I understand every word. She will connect the horse she saw on the road , the J for Jump in the ABCs, a pony in a cartoon show on TV and a horse picture in the book and spin a story. Since I am the one who showed her the horse and the ABCs and the pony and the horse picture, I ll get what shes saying 5 minutes later. And since Socks, Horse, Stars, Os(Oswald the octopus), Spoon, ... everything sound similar, 5 mins is a record. If she points her feet, she means socks. If she jumps, its a horse. If she points up, its a star. If she does neither, then its Os. And the funny thing is shes getting frustrated trying to make me understand. Today I gave her some puffed rice in a small bowl and she pointed to the bowl and said "solthomowquyhska ma"! I am like "What?" and she patiently points to her bowl and says "solthomowquyhska ma"! Have to give it to her. At least she is consistent in her gibberish. After a lot of action from her side, I get it. She wants a Spoon! I just hope there was a "please" hidden somewhere in that gibberish sentence. Anyway, so I give her a spoon and she goes away mighty pleased with her communication skills!

So where was I? Oh yeah, the calling part. Today I had the TV on mute and was channel surfing. Ashu was sitting on the floor facing me and playing with her toys. She calls me:

Amma?
Yes dear?
Amma?
Yes dear? Tell me!
Amma?
Tell me?
Amma?
Yeah?
Amma?
Hmm?
Amma?
(Silence)

5 mins later:

Amma?
Yes dear?
Amma?
Ashu?
Amma?
Ashu?
(giggling) Amma? Amma?
Ashu? Ashu?
(more giggling) Amma? Amma? Amma?
(Silence)

5 mins later:
Amma?
(Silence)
Amma?
(Silence)
Ammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmma?
(Silence)
Ammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaa?
(Silence)
Comes near me, touches my face and calls Amma.
What?
She points to the floor.

And I see this:
She has arranged her books on the floor, it seems. And she wanted to show me. This was the first time she did something like this and more importantly she wanted me to see something she did and knew that I ll be proud of. I went speechless for a second. And guilty the next. And snatched the camera next. I also gave her lots of compliments and she blushed. And then I came to blog about it. :)

ps. This IS a huge thing for me especially since I only see mess on the floor day in and day out and something like this which is remotely similar to order just choked me up! And do you see the neat intervals between the books and how the back cover of one book touches the front cover of the next? *wiping proud tears of joy*

Phone, Fan, Spoon and I have one thing in common.*

The only thing good about the whole delay in getting our Swiss visas is Ashu having fun. With her grandma that is. Since last week, Ashu has started calling us by our names. She realized only last month that every one has a name. Before that whenever we ask "What is Moms name?" She would say Ashu. Whats dads name? Ashu. Whats grandpas name? Ashu. So much so that you ask what the doggies name is and she would answer with Ashu. As if the only name worth having is Ashu! Anyway, then she understood the trick. Now shes showing off. At first, she started pointing to the photo on the fridge and saying Thatha and then his name. Its a photo of my dad and Ashu. Then she started saying his name whenever he talked on the phone. This weekend, my dad visited and she started calling him by his name. It was very cute. And she shortened his name and called him "Soo" so it did nt sound so offending. And I knew she was just flaunting what she has learnt. Then the day before, we were in a department store and I was paying for the goods. My dad was carrying Ashu and she called me "Amma! Amma!". I did nt respond to her as I was counting the money. So this one shouts "Oooon". I was shocked. "Oooon" is what she says when asked for my name. My name does not sound even remotely like "Oooon". (Pronounced like Spoon but without the S of course!) But she sticks to Oooon. Whatever. Anyway, this one had the guts to shout "Oooon". And is continuing to do so. Annoyingly. Amma, amma. Oooooooon! is what she calls me every time now. And my mom is "Paati, Paati, Dhaadhaa". And my dad is Soo. She does nt pretend with my dad. She knows he would respond to her even if she says "Here! Here, nice doggy" to him! Long distance phone calls have saved HD for now from disrespect. But what do you know? Hes feeling left out and urging her to call him by his name! To be honest, it sounds absolutely cute when she calls us by these made-up names. I just hope she stops before she can pronounce our names perfectly well. For my parentings sake!

* Ashu says "Oooon" for phone, fan, spoon and ya, me!

Word Cloud.

One look at the above word cloud and my whole life unravels! You don't even have to read the small print. The big bold words say it all: STAY at HOME MOM, BOO with way too much TIME in her hands writes about her BABY GIRL, ASHU in her BLOG all DAY long and THINKS that she is OLD! And shes RIGHT.

Taking sides.

I have a new found respect for men who have taken their wives side and decided that wife and kids are more important than their parents. Until recently, I detested the sons who abandoned their parents. And the daughters-in-law who split happy families. But when I became a mother, my opinion changed drastically. We have long debates on who is more important to a man: his mother or his wife? But rarely have I seen the topic discussed with a daughter in picture. Is nt a daughter as important or even more for a man? Given a choice between his mother and his daughter, what should a man choose? Very tricky, I know! But a friend of mine has had some marital (read as In-laws) problems and her husband has nt gone to see his wife or his daughter for a year now. Occasional phone calls is all thats happening. This guy is living with his parents. So he has chosen, even if its temporarily, his parents over his wife and daughter. In the case of choosing one's wife, at least she is happy and Im sure any parents however miserable they are will only want their children’s happiness. But when a guy chooses his parents over his wife (and especially a daughter I should add), the wife is miserable. The daughter is miserable. The parents can not be happy seeing their sons family separated or is it possible? In that case, they don’t deserve a son who will sacrifice his family for them, right? If their son is so important for them to keep close, should nt the son feel the same about his daughter too? Is nt she important to him? Does nt she matter at all? I know this is not a simple matter of choosing this over that. But what kind of man is he? Am I missing something here? I hope this is only a temporary phase and he comes back to his senses soon. Thats what my friend wants, right or wrong, and thats what I am going to pray for too.

No power.

Mommy had way too much time in her hands today. And way too much hair clips. And Ashu had a little patience! The result, these mug shots:


There was a power cut the whole day today. So no internet for Mommy and no cartoon for Ashu. I mean, what can one do when theres no power the whole day? My mom is sick and Ashu is sick too. So no cooking either. They both had curd rice and I had toast! So it was a 2 mins affair. Ashu of course has dysentry, her best friend who never fails to visit her when shes sick! So my mom and I were running to the bathroom every 30 mins with Ashu. In spite of this busy schedule I got bored by the evening. I started asking aloud "Ashu, when will the power come back" a dozen times just like I used to ask HD and annoy him. Ashu started playing with the remote and pointed the TV and asked me "Noddy?" Yes I know, me bad mother! Too much of Noddy is good for nobody! (Hey, I just made that up and it rhymes!) The house got darker and darker towards evening and we could nt even read a book. So out came the hair clips to keep my baby busy for a while. My mom thought the same about her baby too, I guess! So we both played around for sometime. But of course I had to take pictures. And blog about it now that the power has come back. :)

I am a celebrity!

How did I forget to write about this? Anyway, better gloat late then never! So I told you guys I was in Chennai 2 weeks back for a wedding and my US Visa appointment right? One afternoon, my FIL, Ashu and I were going home after a bit of shopping. Stopped at this shop called Surya Greens (Is that in Adyar? I am not Madras Savvy so forgive me!) for eating some chat and to buy some veggies and fruits. I finished my Sev Puri in 2 seconds and took Ashu and went out so that my FIL and the rest of the customers can eat in peace! Next door was Surya Sweets and Ashu and I were doing some window shopping there. There was this family with an elderly lady, a young woman and 3 cute kids. Ashu immediately said "Paappa" (Baby!) and went near the youngest child. And then it happened. The young woman asks me "Are you Boo from Boosbabytalk?" I have to check with her later but I think my jaw dropped and I went blank for 2 whole minutes! She continues, "I recognized your daughter from the photos you have posted". That brought me back to Earth. Ok, I am not the real celebrity after all! Then we chitchatted for a few mins and said bye. I liked the way her son came to her and asked in a whisper who I was and she was like "I ll explain to you later!" Ha ha ha! It might take quiet some explanation, Im sure. I think I said something like "Keep reading" when I left! How silly is that! I am sorry P, but this was the first time it happened to me and I was nt prepared!

And P it was so nice of you to say Hi to me unlike some people I know who lurk and read this blog but never acknowledge it when we meet. They get to know all the dirt about me but never bother to even mail me or wish me on my birthday. Ya, I am talking about you Honey. Now you know I know! ;)

Remember that evil boy in the Toy Story movie? He is real!

Dear Opposite Door Neighbor,

I don't know how else to say this but don't come home anymore with your 3 1/2 years old son. Don't make him knock on my door and watch it from the peep hole of your door. He is YOUR son. Your responsibility. If you are at your wits end and ready to crack because of the brat, get a baby sitter. I am not one. I have my own baby to take care of. I know it was only 2 hours but it was too much. All my sympathies are with you, but thats all I can offer. Even if you had sent him alone, I would have taken care of him in my own "special" way. But you followed him too and sat on my sofa asking me hundreds of questions while your son was literally making my living room as if a hurricane had passed through. I can forgive him for scattering all the 120 pieces of blocks all over the floor. I can forgive him for not putting them back while leaving. I can forgive him for snatching a book from Ashu. I can forgive him for going to the bedroom and searching for Ashus bus which he saw a couple of months back while Ashu was riding it. I can forgive him for throwing a tantrum when I would nt allow him to open the showcase and take out my precious souvenirs. I can forgive him for sitting on the big stuffed toy and dragging it all over the floor. I can even forgive him(if i try really hard) for taking a real pencil and scratching all over the doodle board and trying* to rip the board apart. But I can never forgive him or any one else in this world for laying a hand on my daughter. I mean she was only coming near him to ask what was wrong when he was crying at the top of his voice when you two were leaving. And your son had the guts to push her. (again with the psycho look!) And I can never ever forgive you for not stopping him. Your lame attempt does nt count, ok? You are a bad parent, thats what you are. There I said it! I know I can never say this to your face and I am writing this in my blog only because you will never read it. And tomorrow if you come again with your son, I ll give my fake smile and let you in. But I just hope you don't!

Yours,
Boo. (The Opp door neighbor in constant terror whenever the door bell rings.)

* I mean you guys should have seen his face. He had a psycho look and was repeatedly stabbing the doodle board as if the pencil was a knife and the board was his victim! It scared the hell out of me!

Another movie quote. I am watching too much TV!

We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet... I
mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to
care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the
mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your
life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go
un-witnessed because I will be your witness'."

Susan Sarandon in Shall We Dance.

And I rest my case.

I watched Mona Lisa Smile a few weeks ago on TV. I liked it. Below is the conversation between Julia Roberts and Julia Stiles(I really like her.) Anyway, for a long time now I was wondering how to convince people that being a house wife is MY choice and I AM happy with MY choice. After a few unsuccessful attempts, I decided I dont have to convince anyone about anything in my life. I dont care. But now and then when one gets certain looks from Working Wives/Mothers and as well as from fellow House Wives/Stay at home mothers and not to mention from the Toms, Dicks and Harrys, one cant help but steal quotes from movies and throw them at their faces. Here you go...

Joan Brandwyn: It was my choice... not to go. He
would have supported it.
Katherine Watson: But you don't have to choose.
Joan Brandwyn: No, I have to. I want a home; I
want a family, that's not something I'll sacrifice.
Katherine Watson: No-one's asking you to
sacrifice that, Joan, I just want you to understand you can do both.
Joan Brandwyn: Do you think I'll wake up one
morning and regret not being a lawyer? Katherine Watson: Yes, I'm afraid that
you will.
Joan Brandwyn: Not as much as I regret not having
a family, not being there to raise them. I know exactly what I'm doing and it
doesn't make me any less smart. [Katherine looks down] Joan Brandwyn: This must
seem terrible to you.
Katherine Watson: I didn't say that.
Joan Brandwyn: Sure you did. You always do. You
stand in class and tell us to look beyond the image, but you don't. To you a
housewife is someone who sold her soul for a center hall colonial. She has no
depth, no intellect, no interests. You're the one who said I could do anything I
wanted. This is what I want.

I am back...

... in Bangalore.

One long month resting my behind in my parents place - Check
Ashu having the time of her life - Check
Ashu catching a severe cold and suffereing from wheezing and generally having a tough week - Check
Traveling to Chennai to stay with my in-laws - Check
Mosquito bites - Check.
Meeting up with my BIL, my sis's husband - Check
Attend wedding and hog food - Check
Bye bye to BIL and Welcome to HD - Check
Grand re-union of daughter and daddy after a month - Check
US visa appointment in Chennai on Monday - Check
Jumping queues thank to Ashu and visa approved - Check
Shopping and dining out - Check
Back to Bangalore, home sweet home - Check
Passports to arrive from the US embassy - Check

So many things accomplished, wont you say? HD is only here until the weekend and he will leave for Zurich again. My Swiss visa is still a mystery. Loads of my favorite blogs to read but no time. HD has made me promise that I wont sit before the computer until he goes back to Zurich. Hoping he wont notice this post!! So catch you all soon and The Mad Momma, slow down a little for my sake girl! I cant catch up with your posts fast enough! ;)

I am an actual person! Hurray!

I tried to publish a new post in my Tamil blog and I had to go through word verification before publishing. But even after the word verification, the publishing failed. I tried a couple of more times and it was really annoying. There was word verification even to save it as a draft. I tried a few hours later and I got a message from blogger. My blog has characteristics of a spam blog it seems!

Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.

Before we can turn off mandatory word verification on your posts we'll need to have a human review your blog and verify that it is not a spam blog. Please fill out the form below to get a review.

Find out more about how Blogger is fighting spam blogs.

Remove word verification from posts Word Verification: Type the characters you see in the picture below.
Email Address:
We'll contact you after we review your blog.

How insulting! :(

ps. Prabhu, the post was about Tamil Rhymes for your kind info! I know I would have someone to blame this on! (Prabhu asked me for a post on Tamil Rhymes.)
ps1. By some hair pulling and searching for my lost post, I found it here. But it cannot be viewed in my home page or in its permalink. Go figure!

update: The posts are appearing now but I am not able to publish a new post in my Tamil blog. Even this post appeared only after 12 hours. Whatever!

1.5 & a tag.

I found this cute little meme at flipflopmamma and tagged Ashu. Could nt resist! ;) By the way, Ashu is 18 months today and call this my gift to her.





3 Things That Scare Me
Pressure cooker whistle
Beach
Walking on the wet bathroom floor

3 People That Make Me Laugh
Grandma
Grandpa
Amma

3 Things I Love
Noddy show on TV
Noddy book
Noddy stuffed toy

3 Things I Hate
Sweets including chocolates. Mom says I ll change and start hogging them soon. But I dont think so. Bring on the pickles!
Washing my hair. How am I supposed to breathe when water is running down my face? And Im not supposed to swallow the water too. When will mom get it?
When grandma tries to put flowers on my head with a hairpin. It can wait, woman! I have hardly any hair and you are doing seriuos damage to the scalp.

3 Things I Don't Understand
Why do I have to begin counting with one? Why cant I start from two? And finish with three?
Why do I have to go in the potty? What are diapers for then?
Why cant I drink Milk for breakfast, lunch and dinner? And for snack time?

3 Things On My Floor.
The entire contents of the toy basket. About 108 things.
Me.
Winnie the pooh rocker.

3 Things I'm Doing Right Now
Playing hide and seek with the two boys from next door.
When they call out my name, I come out of my hiding place!
When the boys go and hide, I run to mommy!

3 Things I Can Do
I can give a dimpled smile and make grandpa eat out of my hand!
I can understand most of the stuff Mom asks me to do. But I do only a few stuff. Why give her the satisfaction?
I can open the main door, climb the stairs and go to the terrace on my own and give mom a heart attack.

3 Ways to Describe My Personality
Happy
Needy
Lovable

3 Things I Cant do
I cant be alone in a room even for one waking minute.
I cant pronounce Water. I say Taater. But you know what I mean, so why bother?
I cant go to sleep on my own.

3 Things I Think You Should Listen To
Grandpa. He is always right. He is my man!
The song "Suttum vizhi sudare". Rocking!
Kids below five talking. Sounds like heaven to me. I am not far behind myself!

3 Things I Think You Should Never Listen To
My mom singing me lullabies. Although it makes me go to sleep, it ll be very embarassing if theres an audience.
Ferber.
Some of the things my mom writes in her blog about me.

3 Absolute Favorite Foods
Bananas
Yogurt
Toast

3 Things I'd Like to Learn
Operate the TV remote and switch channels between Pogo and Cartoon network.
Take the milk from the fridge and pour it in my bottle. I dont have to depend on my prison warden then!
Climb down the stairs without my butt on the air.

3 Beverages I Drink Regularly
Milk
Apple juice
Water

3 Shows I Watched as a Kid
Make way for Noddy
Oswald
Sesame street

3 Fellow Babies That I am Tagging
All the babies whose parents read my mommy's blog.

Except for "dressing up Ashu" part, this Diwali was a bummer!

The Old.

Right now my grand mother (Dads mother) lives with my parents. She’s 90 years old. Next door lives my Uncle (Dads younger brother) with my 96 year old Grand uncle and 94 years old Grand aunt. This is a story about the old.

My father has 6 sisters and 3 brothers. My grand father had two sisters. Both of them did nt have any children of their own. One of the sisters was widowed when she was in her thirties and demanded her brother to give one of her sons in adoption and succeeded. She adopted my dad. Though not legally but with all the required religious poojas. Soon after the adoption, my dads Upanayanam (where he wears the sacred thread) happened. After that, he started doing the required customs to be performed after the death of a parent. For his adopted father. Once a month on the Amaavasai(Tharpanam) and once every year (Srardham). We called his adopted mother Athai Paati. She died when she was 75. She lived alone almost all her life and only the last year of her life, she lived with us. She suffered almost for 5 months before she died. The last 2 months, she lost her memory. It was really bad. My mom bathed her, dressed her, fed her, cleaned her and did everything for her. Soon after her death, we moved to another town.

Six years later, Dad’s parents came and lived with us on and off for around 3 years. My grandpa fell in the bathroom, broke his leg and was bed ridden for 2 months before he passed away. He was 90. Then my Grandma lived with my Uncles and Aunts for a while before coming back to my parents. Whenever my parents were traveling abroad or moving to another town, she ll live with the other sons and daughters. After my parents came back to our home town, she started living here. Now even when my parents travel, she continues to live alone in her down stairs room. A cook brings her food and since my uncle lives close by, he takes care of her. She’s 90 years old now.

My grand father's other sister who did nt have children either asked her brother for a child to adopt. So my dad’s younger brother was given in adoption to her. She died within a year of adopting my Uncle. Her husband, my grand uncle, is the one who is 96 now and living with my Uncle. The grand aunt I told about earlier is his sister. Her story is a tragedy. She got married in her teens. Her husband did nt want to live with her as she was dark and ugly. She came back to her village and lived with her family. After a decade or probably less, her husband died. She shaved her head, adorned the widow's attire and lived alone all her life. Last year, she joined an old age home. But she got too sick and wanted to live with my Uncle along with her brother. So she’s currently with my Uncle now. She is 94 and very sick.

My great grand mother had a sister. Her story is the most tragic. She got married when she was around 10 years old. As was custom then, girls got married young, stayed with their parents until puberty and left for the husband’s house afterwards. But after a year or two, her husband died. She became a widow when she was 12. After her puberty, they shaved her head and made her wear the widow’s attire. (My grandma has told me that she had really long and beautiful hair.) So she did nt even see the inside of her in-laws house, I guess. She lived alone almost all her life. I used to be very scared of her as she was a bitter old woman. (I can imagine why!) She died when she was 95.

I wish I had a magic wand with which I can wave and wash away all the worries and troubles of the old. Life is nt worth living long.

ps. If you have a story to tell about the old, please make an effort to write. Don't forget to send me the link. Or you can email me(boobabytalk at gmail dot com) the story and I can put it in this blog. It can be about anything:
The problems the old face.
The dilemmas our parents face caught between the old and the young. (I am currently writing a post on this topic.)
The customs and beliefs which make life more difficult.
Or anything which comes to your mind when you think about the old.

I would love to know more about this topic from you.

My gullible baby!

I am sitting on the bed and watching "America's next top model"(Some old season!) on TV. I have closed the door since the AC is on. Ashu, as she does every 10 or 15 minutes, calls out "Amma! Amma!" and prompted by my dad comes and knocks the door. She is too short to open the door by herself and I am too lazy to get up from the bed and open the door. Also, Tyra is about to criticize the contestants photos. So I shout "Amma is not in here" and Ashu believes me and runs away. My poor darling! Either she thought Amma is always right and if she says so, then she might not be in there(!) or she was just reassured with my voice and went back to play with Grandpa. I could nt help laughing. I heard my dad telling Ashu "Amma is lying, She is in there" and she came back and knocked again. And I shouted again that I was nt in there and she ran away again. But this time I opened the door and said "Gotcha!" She came running to me and gave a hug. One of those sweet nothings! :)