Last week was a roller-coaster ride. Just before we left for Disneyland, my sister called up to tell me that my Bil is coming to Zurich on 26th as a birthday surprise for Ashu and asked me to keep it a secret. I, of course, immediately sent her the birthday party shopping list before going "WHAT?" Since no one in our family even goes to the bathroom without surprising someone(!), my antenna went up and I asked sis if actually she was coming! She denied of course and kept on denying the whole week and I believed her only after seeing my Bil in the train station standing alone! (Even then, I thought Sis might ve taken a taxi and gone home! One never knows when it comes to my family!) On Tuesday evening, I took the kids to the station and they thought we were going to pick up their father! When they saw Perippa, Antu royally ignored him and Ashu went absolutely speechless and we could see her heart racing! She just held his hand and stood there for a long time before hugging him. And she let him go only after a whole week when he was leaving for the airport back to the US! Plan 2 was to surprise my parents who had no idea Bil was here. The kids and I were skyping with them when cooly Bil came and sat with us on the sofa and it was incredible to see my parents face. My sis was on the phone with them at the same time and they thought she was here too! hee hee! Plan 3 was executed when Hd came home from office in the evening. Ashu planned it and asked Bil to stand behind the door. Hd entered and seeing me armed with a camera, he gave a look and then turned to see Bil and was shell-shocked! muahahaha! Missions accomplished!
Sis had sent a bunch of decorate your own fabric backpacks, fabric pens, wild animals stickers, goody bags and even paper plates, cups, napkins, etc... along with a dozen gifts for the kids! Hd was asking me why I was nt going crazy shopping for the birthday party earlier and he had his answer when Bil arrived! He scolded sis and me for using Bil like a courier service! hmph! What does he know? I wish Reva sent one of her fabulous cake through him as well! Then I would nt have had to lift a finger for the party! ;) The party was that sunday at the Wildpark nearby. Ashu and I decorated the backpacks and wrote each kids name on it and stuck some of the animal stickers. I packed the bag with a juice bottle, an apple, a chocolate cookie and a map of the park. (Inspired by my friend, S. She stitched the backpacks herself for all the kids when she threw a party at the zoo last year! Im not that creative but I ve a sister and Bil who are very useful! :) Once all the kids(15) arrived, we set out for a walk to see the animals. It was a drop off party but a couple of parents stayed back to help me out. Bil was the official photographer! The kids loved to carry their personalized backpacks and consult their own maps! We took a snack break half way through. Once we came back to the restaurant, we cut the cake and ate lunch. I had taken cake, sandwiches, cut veggies, dips, zucchini bread, chips, etc,,, and ordered pizza and fries from the restaurant. Later the kids went wild in the play area and the carousel. Everyone was satisfied after going on the carousel four times straight!
All in all, a very good birthday party. I baked a chocolate cake and glazed it and bought some sugar animals, flowers and sprinkles and decorated it! The cake was a bit dry and but looked good and thats all that matters! Added a goody bag with stickers and sweets to the backpack when the kids were leaving. All the kids cooperated so well and were in excellent behaviour much to my pleasant surprise! The three hour duration was just perfect. We saw bears, wild cats, wolves, mountain goats and loads of deers. Antu was stuck to my Bil the entire time and I did nt even hear a peep from her. Hd was mad at me for doing "so much" for a 6 year old party and was wondering how much he has to suffer at my hands when the girls are getting married! I wont let you down, dear! All my friends were in awe that Bil came all the way to be here for Ashus party and she was so proud! She had been nagging my sis and Bil to come to her party for the past few months and she was thrilled that her wish was fulfilled. Even though she missed her Perimma, she got over it as soon as she saw the Rapunzel loot that sis had sent for her! And the scooter. Bil came with a huge suitcase full of stuff for us and went back with an empty suitcase! I am so ashamed! What does one send from here? The only thing my sis would ve loved refused to climb into the suitcase!
Bil went back this Tuesday much to Ashus disappointment. She kept telling him to go one day later, poor thing! But she was glad that her school reopened after the spring break on Monday and she could take him to her class and introduce him to her teachers and show him around the class. It was so cute this time to see Ashu with her Perippa. She was so much "in love" with him! One day we went out for a walk and she plucked a flower and started picking the petals one by one chanting, "perippa loves me, perippa loves me not,....!" And she was thrilled that it ended with "perippa loves me!" When Bil asked what if it had nt, she said, "Its just a game, Perippa! I know that you love me!" She was literally glued to him, watched the IPL matches with him, made cards for him, played games with him, wanted him to read her bed time stories,... It was so heart breakingly adorable to see them together. Antu for her part charmed him and was attached to him too but I guess she can recognize "true love" when she sees it so did nt fight for his attention too much. Phew. Thanks V for doing this trip. The girls are so lucky to be loved like this. And yes, yes. I did nt forget you, Sis! You are the greatest Sister ever. Happy? :)
This December we were in Srilanka for 8 days. It was an amazing trip and what a beautiful country! It was also a family/friends reunion with my parents, sister, brother in law, my In laws, sister's In laws, A's family and her parents. We were 18 people and had a blast! Hd,Sis and Bil had work in India and all of them flew to Colombo from Chennai while the girls and I flew directly from Zurich and came back with Hd. Organizing the whole trip was a nightmare with loads of ifs and buts and I still can't believe we did it. Adding to the confusion was to keep A's trip as a surprise to my sis! A's girls and Ashu and Antu were the perfect company for each other and it was heart warming to see them bond and give us parents a well deserved break! Ashu and Antu were like kids in a candy shop with all the attention from grand parents, uncles, aunts and friends! Not to mention feeding milk to baby elephants, touching a 2 weeks old baby crocodile and petting 2 days old baby turtles! That and the beach - they could nt ask for more!
Sis, A and I with our respective husbands went white water rafting and it was my first time and I loved it! It was an awesome experience and the highlight of my trip. It rained non stop the first few days and it was a total bummer! But that could nt stop us from visiting the Pinnawala elephant orphanage or climbing the Sigiriya Rock or going to the Golden Buddha Temple. Thankfully it stopped raining and we could enjoy the beaches later. Nuwara Eliya was so beautiful too with its scenic tea plantations and water falls. The hotels we stayed were lovely and the breakfast and dinner spread were unbelievable! Sometimes it felt that all we were doing were eating breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday and seeing things in between! We had a van for ourselves with a driver and a guide and on the long road trips, we did what else but eat more! Whether it was Rajaram kadalai mittai or Karachi bakery biscuits or Swiss chocolates - everything vanished in an alarming speed!
Anyway, I totally get how some people dont have TV in their house. Its so liberating. Even though TV was always rationed in our house, it always bugged me that they watched TV when they could be doing so much fun stuff! Especially with Antu. At least Ashu would always prefer a book or a story or painting over TV. Antu was/is a total addict! She would even sell her parents to watch Dora! But then, the apple does nt fall from the tree. At the ripe old age of 16, I skipped +2 physics tution class because the timing clashed with Doogie Howser MD! One cant fight Karma, thats for sure!
An important news - my sister is here! Im writing this so late. Shes actually leaving to the US tomorrow. She had work in Germany and of course, she has to land in Zurich and leave form Zurich even if she has work in Timbuktu let alone Europe! She arrived two weeks back, left for Germany the very next day and then came home for the weekend. Left on Monday again and came back mid week! It has been super fun. We managed to squeeze shopping, ladies night out, pizza dinner, potluck lunch, trekking, parks, play areas, school runs and more in the short duration. Ashu, needless to say, is glued to her all the time and was planning to take her to the play park (where my sister fell and fractured her ankle last time) so that she ll fracture her leg again and wont leave to the US tomorrow! And oh! Whats a visit without a surprise! I had nt told Ashu and Antu that she was coming. Ashu was thinking that my cousin S was coming and we baked a carrot cake and wrote "Welcome" on it. When Sis walked in, Ashu saw her, became speechless, ran to her and hugged her tightly and would nt leave her for ten whole minutes! We all could hear her heart beating! Antu was asleep then. Half hour later, she got up, saw my sis and acted as if my sister has always been living with us! Surprises are so beneath her, you see! *rolls eyes*
It has been a week but feels like a month. We went to Yosemite for the long weekend and had a blast. Saw a bear just five feet from us crossing the road. And I was standing with Ashu in my hip on the road. She was so thrilled. "Why is there no fence? No cage?", she wanted to know. After that incident, she started saving Honey sachets in her pant pockets so that she can give them to the bears when she sees them again! Antu is still in a daze about the change of place and so many people who cater to her every whim. Thatha and Perippa have replaced Appa and she does nt even give the time of the day to us women folks. 
You ve been going full days to school this whole year and loving everything about it. G is still your best friend and your teacher promised me that you both will be in the same class next year too because she does nt have the heart to break you two up. How sweet that you can make such strong bonds in such a young age! And when your teacher told me how you took M, the new girl in your class, under your wing and mothered her and made her feel welcome, I was so proud of you. Keep it up, dear. I do hope you don't clam up when I'm around though. I have nt heard you speak one word to your teachers or your classmates when I'm present. It breaks my heart not to see you bubbly and chatty but your teacher reassures me that you are very vocal otherwise. If I ask you, your reply is "But I'm shy, Amma!" Sigh!
We travelled so much this year and you ve been such a sport. You love staying at hotels and going by bus, tram and trains. You spent a considerable amount of time with your grand parents, uncle and aunt this year and I'm happy that we are able to pull this off year after year. You are so lucky to have such wonderful people in your life and that you see them a lot. I remember how you brave you were and did nt cry when we left India this time. And you understood when Paati left back to India after staying with us for almost 3 months. It amazes me to see how mature you are and how clearly you understand the rules of life. At the same time, you are absolutely certain that you want to visit your aunt and uncle this summer and even went on to tell your aunt over the phone, "You come here and take Antu and me with you to the US, Perimma. Let Amma and Appa stay back in Zurich"! Hmph!
The tantrums miraculously stopped when you hit 4 1/2. They do surface on and off but I can take that. And like you told me the other day, "I am not a robot, Amma" when I asked you to give me a big smile when you were upset about something! The cheek! By the way, you are the least materialistic person in this household. If its giving your car seat to your sister or the stroller or your clothes or your shoes, I have nt ever seen you even flinch. That's some trait I am still trying to acquire so hats off to you. Also, one can take you to a toy shop without a worry because you never seem to want anything that badly. You might point to something and ask me if we can buy it but you are very understanding if I say no. You have always been like this but I never thought its a big deal until I took your sister shopping the other day. Could you train her or something for me, pretty please?
You are so interested in reading and writing and the artsy-crafty stuff now that its not funny. I pack your writing pad, paper and pencils first before packing a snack for you when we go out these days. I have learnt to do so much this year that I'm quite surprised that I even have a creative side in me. You are everything I dreamed about, my dear girl. You are the perfect little five year old I imagined you will be. You know what I do to make myself feel better as a mom when I'm really, really feeling low? I compare myself to some really irresponsible adults. (I know that I tell you all the time not to compare but then have I ever lectured you on hypocrisy? Never.) But even in my lowest of lows, I never had to compare you to another child. And I promise I never will. Just shove this letter in front of my face if I ever did, OK? Love you with all my heart, my dearest Princess. Wishing you a very Happy Birthday!
