Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Smile Factor

Not all know, but I am a member of a working mother’s blog site and i contribute on that site once in a while. This morning, I was browsing through the blogs I follow and to this site.. I scrolled down and i saw that one of the posts of mine was the Member spotlight! Cool Naah! It gave me a high and smile and most definitely made me feel good.

I don’t know what the criteria of choosing it or something is, but its like back in school, when for some reason, teacher really liked your essay and puts it up on the notice board for all the other students to read! I know me for one, would always try to be one of those.. but oh well, As you can imagine, math and science where my forte, teachers commended me on that but definitely not on my literary skills (I never had any!) But still, seeing my post as the member spotlight, made me feel like a little school girl again!

Few of the Simple things that made me smile recently:

V's mummy mummy: I go to pick her up from her day care, she sees me, drops everything she was doing, rushes to hug me.. and all the time is screaming mummy mummy. Similar thing at home, we are playing, and the door opens, per her logic- door opening = dad's come home from work.. So she once again leaves everything and runs to the door and says " Papa aaye papa Aaye" Very very cute! So that gives me a high!

A good hand of poker: Recently at a friends place, where we were playing post dinner friendly poker, i had pocket kings.. and below were a king, an ace, a pair of two's and a three...for any one who follows Poker- 3 K's and a pair of 2's makes it full house and a very good hand!! The opponents betting felt like he had an ace giving him two pairs.. i least excitedly played, kept matching and putting in a lot of chips.. but pretended like i had nothing (trust me, i would definitely put at least a B-grade actress to shame!). My friend went down bad.. he had more than 60% of his chips in the game.. and needless to say he was shocked..and we all had a good laugh! And it gave me a naughty smile for sure.

Decent party: We love to entertain and enjoy hosting gathering's for friends and family. We do it as often as possible.. and every time, if all went well. Friends bonded, liked the food, had a good time, towards the end of the party, i sit down and revel in the merriment and smile.

Emails: My girlfriends and I have a decent email chain.. sort of therapeutic.. and we all are in different continents, difference places in our lives…but we write to it almost daily.. reading that gives me a high!

Top of the charts: The thing that makes me smile all day: Waking up next to my bestest people: SD and V! Followed by looking at the family picture on my night stand with our sets of parents looking and smiling at us!

What's your "Smile Factor"?

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Life is not one big story, but a combination of little ones!

This was a line SD said right after a cop pulled us over for crossing a white line at a turn! The cop figured we were genuinely lost, and gave us directions to the place we were heading. Phew, a sigh of relief, no fun in getting a stupid ticket at midnight! So alls well that ends well, and then SD said the above line: "Life is not one big story but a combination of little ones!"

Few words but profound meaning. We both have been feeling that lately.. lets live more for the moment, all is good and we have to make sure what we do is good and gives us and people close by immense pleasure. Learn from the small things we see, grow with things we learn.

So here are the little stories in the past month, which have struck a chord! And these small stories will be a part of our bigger one!

On a recent jet-ski trip with friends, by lets just say, some stupidity of mine, we overturned the jet-ski. So the jet ski is upside down, SD and I were eventually laughing hard with life jackets in a huge lake, and really hoping our friends find us there! Eventually a lovely couple on a speed boat came, towed our ski and helped us back to our rental place. Really nice.. the lady said a simple thing, the week before, someone had rescued her daughter from the lake! So for her it was only overdue to repay it back to someone. Hmm... What goes around comes around i guess.

We met a cousin after ages, and while discussing SAHM and WM's (Short forms for stay at home mom's and working mothers, in case you are unaware of the lingo), he said a simple line: No body can bring up your child but you. At the same time, you have to spend quality time and not quantity time with the kids! As you can imagine he favored my kind- WM's and the guilt of working while V plays in daycare subsided a bit.... And i know its true, since we do may spend lesser hours with her, but definitely more productive and fun filled than when i was a SAHM. Point duly noted!

V and all of us went to Shedd aquarium in Chi town, just a huge place with a variety of fishes.. and dolphins and sharks.. and walrus.. and all you can image. I saw people of all ages, all colors, number of nationalities... just mesmerized by it all.. these lovely creatures, who don’t care what we do, where we come from and what our beliefs are! They live in there simple pleasures, and the mankind is staring at them, and cheering them on, as one! No differences, just one! Two things here, we all can live happily and share this earth without any issues.. and then, we should definitely go the green way to preserve what’s dear to us. I do want V and generations to follow to experience these simple pleasures!

And for going the green way- it may sound uber cool, so something which is a farce... Its not. We can all do something for this Green revolution- and the the title "Life is not one big story, but a combination of little ones" will hold true. If we do the little things to save earth.. all these small things by millions of people will add up to the bigger one- generations to follow enjoying mother nature in its simple, beautiful form.

So we must go on, continue enriching our loves with these little stories and keep an eye out for the younger ones to be able to do the same!

Monday, July 6, 2009

With a twist!

I have been writing weekly on this blog, there is no theme to it, just whatever moved me, whatever troubled me and above all, whatever i spent time thinking and pondering over... But for the entire last week, i didn’t have the inspiration to write. Writers block of sorts... We did do a lot of things- had friends over, went to friends houses, Took V to the fountain, the pool went for the long walks and of course the July 4th fireworks show. But still no inspiration.. and then suddenly out of my bi-weekly meeting with my boss! and tada! i have an inspiration!

My boss is an expectant first time mother. Like all, she is elated, excited and very anxious. She airs the same, and kind of looks at us "new" moms for words of inspiration. Amongst other things, i told her that before the due date- sleep a lot, watch movies, go to plays, go for walks, go to fancy restaurants and do all the adults only activities feasible with a protruding belly ;-)
She asked a simple question- why, don’t you do these things still?
And i thought- well i do! I still do, then why was i making such a big deal of it?

Hmm, i think its just the difference with a toddler in tow. SD and I still spend a lot of quality adult time together, and we do all the toddler friendly activities V should be doing. We still go for the walks, the restaurants, and now that we have help at home, we put V to sleep and try going for concerts and movies. Hmm, all activities are done but with a twist!

At a concert, we would call a couple of times at home, to ensure V is sleeping, and all is well. Though we are out with the friends with fancy clutches in hands, my hands misses the strollers. We will go for family dinners and carry enough spill proof cups and crayons and activities to keep this toddler occupied for the 2 hours long dinner. She is a good kid, but we don’t want to take any chances and have other adults stare at us or the older folks looking at us with disapproving eyes!

We will visit all our friends and host lavish parties at home, but there is enough non-spicy food for the toddlers and always an additional blankie if the little one decided to snooze.

We still sleep-in on weekends... with a different, SD and I take turns! One day i will have a late morning, and during this time, he will be up feeding her breakfast and playing with her and then the next day, i will be up sooner and he will be snoozing! This way both working parents get there fare share of lazy time and one on one V time!

So, i guess we do it all- with a twist!
And we love every minute of it..there is nothing stated above that we would like to change or alter.
So when i discussed this with the new mom to be, we both smiled- there is hope! And the i ponder- Its funny, the famous quotation goes: "Grass is always greener on the other side." But when a girl becomes a mom, and a couple become parents- the greener side is always on your side, the gleaming toddler eyes, the child like innocence in their laughter and the adorable mess all make the parents pastures green.. and yes with a twist!