Category: Monday Musings

Are we listening? And enough? #MondayMusings

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A couple of years ago, I lost a friend.

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She chose to part ways because she felt I was consumed by my joys and sorrows to such an extent that I never allowed a pause to listen to her. She did not feel heard and valued in our friendship which set her off on a negative spiral.

The biggest good she did for me was she communicated clearly what she felt and why she was ending our friendship of many years. Now, what would a majority of people do in such a situation? They would give their explanations, negate the emotions of the aggrieved, attempt to hold the other at fault for feeling the way they have been feeling Continue reading →

A leaf out of holidays #MondayMusings

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I like to stay at home. There is nothing new in this as I keep shouting about it from my rooftop.

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I do not like to venture out of town and go travelling or doing touristy stuff.

My idea of a holiday is –

  1. to wake up early, maximum by 6 am,
  2. do nothing for the next 2 hours or maybe meditating or reading,
  3. cook a hearty breakfast and a perfect cup of tea, 2 hours later, and
  4. to devour the tea and breakfast in absolute silence and solitude.

The rest of the 2 members are at their best supportive and co-operative attitude Continue reading →

“Is my foot getting whiter?” #MondayMusings

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“Why am I not white?”

This was the question from last week. It was surprising for me, at least, because having lived all alone by ourselves with our own philosophies, Dhruv and I frequently discussed how the colour of the skin doesn’t matter, it is a person’s qualities that matter most. I thought living in a diverse and multi-cultural apartment complex in South India for 3 years was helpful to understand this point and I believed it did.

Then how come the question of not being white reared its head?

This wasn’t a one-off instance. Every day, he spent his time figuring out if his body parts were getting any whiter. The word ‘No’ for an answer did not provide any solace. Hence, it became pertinent for us to address the issue of skin colour once again citing difference in geographical condition from where people come from, Continue reading →

Random realizations #MondayMusings

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I am back after a gap of 2 weeks.

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Image Source – Pixabay

The last 2 weeks were a bit of a struggle on account of health troubles and consequently time (mis)management. Yet, it was not all bad. The good thing is I have made friends while Dhruv is wondering why is it taking him so long to make friends. His frequency calculations for mapping a friend have not worked out favorably for him as yet. This boy who stepped out of the house in exuberance on the first day of school as if to conquer the world and make friends in a dash is still without a friend 3 months later. The other day he came up to me to ask “Is there a problem with me that I cannot make friends?”

You know how a mother’s heart works!

It broke my heart. I wouldn’t like him to believe not being able to make a friend is some sort of a problem.

He has taken to writing stories by blending reality and imagination together, with encouragement from his English teacher. And, while all of them are presently about his lonesome plays, the trouble he has been feeling gelling with other children or vice versa, I see a beginning here. A hope about written words being used for expression.

On the home front, we are keeping up with the Hindi syllabus of 2nd Std of India so that he doesn’t lag behind in Hindi when we return. In the last 2 and a half years, while I had been building a library of books, his father had been building a library of movies. So, while I have a long list of books for him to read or for me to read to him, his father has got a long list of movies which he (Dhruv) must watch. Thus, I realize what one loves is what one passes over to the next generation, be it books or movies as in our case.

I also realize in order to keep this blog alive with the limited amount of time I have in hand these days, I will be writing more of microblogs for example ‘what happened over the weekend? or about any conversation we had’ rather than long posts.

Linking this post with Monday Musings and Microblog Mondays

#Monday Musings

Microblog_Mondays

10 not-so-brainy questions #writebravely

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For Day 2, let us play a fun game.

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I will pretend to be a not-so-brainy Derek O’Brien and you pretend to be the quiz participants. I will ask you 10 silly questions and you are free to choose and answer at least 5. You can even answer more or all if you are not pressed for time.

So, let’s begin –

  1. Is this your first read of the day today or not?
  2. Feeling thoughtful or funny?
  3. Make-up look or Plain Jane?
  4. Face value or place value?
  5. Monday or Friday?
  6. Hills or beach?
  7. Creativity or copy-pasting?
  8. Sanskaari or not? (Your MIL’s word for you, please)
  9. Mommy blogger or simply a blogger?
  10. Blogging – a fun game or a serious business?
  11. Read my Day 1 post or planning to read now?

I am taking part in the Write Tribe Festival of Words June 2018 and this is my post for Day 2 in response to the quote prompt “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and—snap!—the job’s a game!” – Mary Poppins

My Birthday Weekend #MondayMusings

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Me: A picture perfect birthday party!

Me: What is that?

Me: A birthday where you have an exhibition of cards, flowers and gifts displayed neatly amid other props, where everything looks just too beautiful.

Me: And a cake?

Me: Oh yes! The cake too.

Me: Husband and Dhruv singing ‘Happy Birthday to you’ song?

Me: That should not hurt. So yes, maybe that too.

Me: And dinner outside?

Me: Breakfast, lunch and dinner, all readymade. Doesn’t matter if it is from outside or someone cooks at home. As long as that someone is not me.

Me: Ahem Ahem. Continue reading →

Gratitude list May 2018 #MondayMusings

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“How do you write a gratitude post when you are feeling low?” is the question on my mind today. It actually wasn’t going to get done if I had not kept a daily gratitude journal.

On 25th April, I started the practice of writing daily in my gratitude journal. I missed a day here and there in between during the month of May but as soon as I got back I made sure I had something to write down for the missed day/s.WaterMark_2018-06-04-12-40-43.jpg

Therefore, despite me not feeling too good about the state of certain affairs these days, I am still able to share my gratitude list with you. Continue reading →

3 things I do not miss about India #MondayMusings

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Last week, I shared my list of 5 things which I miss dearly about India.

This week, I have put together a list of 3 things which I do not miss about India. This is a personal list.

The semi-automatic washing machine –

I do not miss the whole day affair of washing dirty laundry twice a week having a semi-automatic washing machine for assistance. It had been a real bane involving multiple to and fro transfers from the wash tub to the spinner.

Why did I buy it in the first place? The answer is I was completely brainwashed with respect to its advantages over a fully automatic model. Tell me I was naive. Continue reading →

5 things I miss about India #MondayMusings

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Life moves on, inevitably.

Life moves irrespective of the fact whether you want to move on or not. Things, circumstances, and situations change as a result thereof. The issues which you prayed for to vanish do vanish away with time and then you discover the prayers must keep going because there is always something to pray for. The same happens to the good things in life also. Everything is temporary. The permanent lesson is to be grateful for the good times and things in life.

While the journey of gratitude continues, it happens once in a while (or maybe often) that you look back at the good old days and miss the nuances of those days.

Well, I am in that mood today. Continue reading →