My son is one year today! I am on a flashback mode and cant help but think of life a year ago. Varsha, my older child, was just two and i think she was amazing for a two year dealing with my pregnancy and especially my labour.
I went for my routine check and ended up getting admitted for an induced labour coz my son was kind of big even 10 days before expected due date. Even though it was my second baby, I was caught off guard when the doc said that I should get admitted right away. I had the most perfect pregnancy and perfect labour the first time around. My expectations were based on that experience and I only imagined myself going into labour and walking into the hospital minutes before the baby came out. I never thought I would have to be induced!!! It took me a while to beleive that my baby would be in my arms by the end of the day, when the doc suggested the induced labour option.
It was motherly pangs that was the other factor for such hesitation. Varsha is a very reasonable child. She would always be convinced if I would reason with her. But on this day I had only told her I was going for a check up but had no clue I would be leaving her without any prior warning that she would have to be for a full 24 hrs before I could be by her side. She stayed with my mom and did amazingly well.Infact she joined her grandmother in her prayers for a safe delivery( of course she just repeated prayers that my mother recited.) Even when she came to see me that evening she was a bundle of joy full of energy and enthusiasm spilling out of every cell in her! She was so happy to see her little brother and continues to be very happy about him till date and pray it continues for life.
Ram has been growing so beautifully right in front of our eyes. A joy, an energy bundle that takes the best and most out of you! I am so grateful to god for the two beautiful jewels in our lives. I love every moment (except for the dreadful nights when he troubles with his fussy sleep pattern!!) or maybe I would include them if I were writing this piece several years from now..when i would miss their babyhood!!!
I look forward all beautiful moments that they will fill in our lives.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Do we care?
I watched an interesting documentary - "The inconvenient truth" by Al Gore. it was a hard hitting eye opener. We keep hearing and reading on global warming perhaps as often as we catch the common cold ( at the least). But really, have we given it much thought?
It is a very scary scene if we are to think of the world we are going to leave behind ( perhaps we will witness it ourselves the rate at which the destruction is happening). Much as I knew what global warming is, I was shocked to see figures and actual images of the deterioration of random regions in the world.
One one hand its a whole wide world we are talking of saving. But on the other when you zoom out and see it as a spec in the galaxy, one feels...hey cant we save even this small spec???
I started to think of household ways we can put in our two cents for this "save OUR world" project. Many of the suggestions maybe ones we have heard over and over. It is still worth not just hearing but putting into practice.
- Avoid plastic: These days most shoppers tend to bring back loads of plastic bags. If we can carry our own shopping bags perhaps we can avoid, if not at least reduce the use of plastic.
- Save paper: There are several ways we could do that. It may sound crazy, but if you can do without reading your newspaper go for it. Choose the online version instead. Try to use wipe of pads for making temporary notes. Minimal use of paper towels is another way of saving paper. Sponge wipes can probably take care of replacing the paper towels in many occasions.
- Being fuel conscious: Make planned trips( combining shopping with friends or maximising on your shopping day in the same area). Avoid fuel driven vehicles for short distances that you can mange by walk or on a bicycle ( perhaps it will double for your much needed exercise too!)
- Being conscious of our electricity usage: Fluorescent lights consume lesser energy than regular bulbs. Switch off the lights in the rooms not in use. Try choosing energy saving appliances.
-Save water: Rain water harvesting has caught on in many places. Remember saving small amounts adds up to buckets or even more. (ex:Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth!)
-Spread the message : To our children and to all whom we care, let them know we care for our world and teach them too.
Let's move forward with the hope and a promise to be a part of saving tomorrow.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Have you felt this way?
Last Sunday we went to attend a birthday party. It was my daughter's friend who was the birthday girl. The highlight of the birthday was a huge bouncy that my daughter completely fell in love with.
It was simply amazing to see her jump for the entire three hours, but for the small breaks that we insisted on just to wipe off her pouring sweat. It was set outdoors and in this scorching summer, despite the late evening hours, it was terribly hot and sultry. I bet , an adult would not have lasted even 1/10th of the duration that the kids managed to "bounce".
Forget the energies, but would we actually do it. Filled with all our inhibitions, we would first see if we had company or think of how awkward we might look bouncing all our extra kilos up and down!!! Or maybe if our dress might go out of place and embarrass us.
Maybe that's why we SHOULD indulge in some such activity every now and then. Just so we "let go" and feel "free".
I don't have much of guts to actually do a free fall or a bungee jump. But it always remains a maybe-i-should-try-out-sometime activity on my mind. Its scary. But those who have done such liberating activities seem to have enjoyed the letting-go feeling.
Watching my daughter free of inhibitions and full of joy on that bouncy reminded me of my very own experience of "letting go" and "feeling free". I went skiing once. I loved it. It was a daylong experience. Right from the excitement of driving up to the mountains. Thoughts like: how am i gonna do it? Did we get off the right exit? Am i going to look clumsy? Wow, think about the beautiful white snow...and many such mixed thoughts. Finally we got there and everything from getting on our skis, the boots , our first lessons...was very exciting. Then finally you are on your own to ski. Man, was that scary, exciting and fun! You have to do it to feel the adrenalin rush. It felt so good when i actually learnt just to stand on my skis. Its really hard!
There was this cable car that takes you to the peak of your choice to ski all the way down. Of course i did not venture further than the first peak. The car keeps moving and you have to jump off the car when you get to the peak and the car keeps moving on. If you don't get it right you can be assured to have and accident with the next skier getting off the car. It takes you a while to get the hang of it. I had more than a few accidents. But to get your turn in the car was even more painful coz it was quite a long wait since the line was long. At the end of this long wait to get onto the car and then getting off the car tactfully, its just a great feeling to be zooming down the hill. The good part is the way you feel coming down. The bad part is, it gets over so fast!!! And its not like you had this picture perfect ski downhill. I had more than a few instances of bumping into fellow skiers, bumping off unexpected humps on the way or simply not being able to get myself to stop!!!
At the end of the day it was the most enjoyable experiences that gave me a meditative feeling, taking my mind off every aspect of my life and my thoughts being just myself on the snow filled hills being able to control the fundamental movements of my body.
The next day my body ached like crazy. But still, I think that was one of the most memorable experiences in my life and one that really made me feel "free". I must thank my daughter for reminding me of my "free" moment .
Maybe it is time for me to experience "IT" again.
It was simply amazing to see her jump for the entire three hours, but for the small breaks that we insisted on just to wipe off her pouring sweat. It was set outdoors and in this scorching summer, despite the late evening hours, it was terribly hot and sultry. I bet , an adult would not have lasted even 1/10th of the duration that the kids managed to "bounce".
Forget the energies, but would we actually do it. Filled with all our inhibitions, we would first see if we had company or think of how awkward we might look bouncing all our extra kilos up and down!!! Or maybe if our dress might go out of place and embarrass us.
Maybe that's why we SHOULD indulge in some such activity every now and then. Just so we "let go" and feel "free".
I don't have much of guts to actually do a free fall or a bungee jump. But it always remains a maybe-i-should-try-out-sometime activity on my mind. Its scary. But those who have done such liberating activities seem to have enjoyed the letting-go feeling.
Watching my daughter free of inhibitions and full of joy on that bouncy reminded me of my very own experience of "letting go" and "feeling free". I went skiing once. I loved it. It was a daylong experience. Right from the excitement of driving up to the mountains. Thoughts like: how am i gonna do it? Did we get off the right exit? Am i going to look clumsy? Wow, think about the beautiful white snow...and many such mixed thoughts. Finally we got there and everything from getting on our skis, the boots , our first lessons...was very exciting. Then finally you are on your own to ski. Man, was that scary, exciting and fun! You have to do it to feel the adrenalin rush. It felt so good when i actually learnt just to stand on my skis. Its really hard!
There was this cable car that takes you to the peak of your choice to ski all the way down. Of course i did not venture further than the first peak. The car keeps moving and you have to jump off the car when you get to the peak and the car keeps moving on. If you don't get it right you can be assured to have and accident with the next skier getting off the car. It takes you a while to get the hang of it. I had more than a few accidents. But to get your turn in the car was even more painful coz it was quite a long wait since the line was long. At the end of this long wait to get onto the car and then getting off the car tactfully, its just a great feeling to be zooming down the hill. The good part is the way you feel coming down. The bad part is, it gets over so fast!!! And its not like you had this picture perfect ski downhill. I had more than a few instances of bumping into fellow skiers, bumping off unexpected humps on the way or simply not being able to get myself to stop!!!
At the end of the day it was the most enjoyable experiences that gave me a meditative feeling, taking my mind off every aspect of my life and my thoughts being just myself on the snow filled hills being able to control the fundamental movements of my body.
The next day my body ached like crazy. But still, I think that was one of the most memorable experiences in my life and one that really made me feel "free". I must thank my daughter for reminding me of my "free" moment .
Maybe it is time for me to experience "IT" again.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Who is the teacher?
Kids are amazing. Its all the more interesting to watch them. I have a daughter of 2 years and 5 months and a son for 4 months. It amazes me how wonderful and amazing the human brain development is. My son can recognize voices and is able to demand for attention at 4 months. To see what he is perhaps going to be like 2 years down the line, i just need to take a look at my daughter. She has a wonderful capacity to remember people, a great sense of direction and very imaginative these days. These are just some of the aspects that stand out in her ( for a two plus kid).
I wonder many a times what an irony it is that a great creation that starts out so-near-perfect, progressively deteriorates. And then one day we turn around and say "Hey! i need to get to perfection" and head back all the way to how it all started!!!
Babies have so little needs, are happy most of the time and are not very hard to please. A new born has no negative feelings- no jealousy, no enmity, no food cravings;).......Most of the times, you will find that if the you smile at the baby, she will smile back at you. How many times are we able to return smiles? For a good portion of our lives, we keep wondering what we need to do to get the smile on our lips. Perhaps if we stop to figure out how to smile from our heart, the smile could last longer.
If I stop to actually watch my kids closely, I learn a lot from them. As an adult/parent i "teach" my kids to face the world. An interesting circle of life...who's the teacher?
I wonder many a times what an irony it is that a great creation that starts out so-near-perfect, progressively deteriorates. And then one day we turn around and say "Hey! i need to get to perfection" and head back all the way to how it all started!!!
Babies have so little needs, are happy most of the time and are not very hard to please. A new born has no negative feelings- no jealousy, no enmity, no food cravings;).......Most of the times, you will find that if the you smile at the baby, she will smile back at you. How many times are we able to return smiles? For a good portion of our lives, we keep wondering what we need to do to get the smile on our lips. Perhaps if we stop to figure out how to smile from our heart, the smile could last longer.
If I stop to actually watch my kids closely, I learn a lot from them. As an adult/parent i "teach" my kids to face the world. An interesting circle of life...who's the teacher?
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