Wait, what: 6. No Way

Yes, Little Lady is now 6.
You need fingers on both hands to count how old she is... wait what, 6 No Way!!!

Little Lady: Who knew this nick name...Little Lady will be so apt. She is the Little Lady of the house or the Little Sassy Lady of the house!!!

A letter for your 6th Birthday for 6 Life's Lessons honey"

1. Be Yourself
I wish I had learnt it way earlier. Be yourself. More than that: Be comfortable with who you are. You will evolve with age, but be comfortable with that.

2. Be Kind
This is you, you are kind, empathetic and you figure out how to make it nicer for someone else. This kindness is what makes you unique and loved and pampered. Your little acts of kindness make me want to do better as well

3. Trust
Trust people and as you get older have the ability to let people trust you. Of course, don't go trusting blindly. Yes, Unicorns are mythical. But have trust in its mythical powers if that's what makes you smile.

4. Enjoy food
As a foodie myself, your relationship with food worries me. You try it, but you are not driven by it. Food brings everyone together, makes travel fun and above all is the easiest thing. You said it this thanksgiving: "We always have food and always have people over" Remember this!

5. Speak Up
And you do, you speak your mind, your heart all the time. As you will get older you may get inclined not to. But remember Lesson 1 "Be yourself" and speak up. It can be contradicting. Always Speak Up.

6. It's okay for pants to be loose!
Now this.... you my little sassy lady: My fashionista! If you had it your way, you would wear dresses and tutu's 100% of the time! And for you, pants always have to be fitting. But remember: "It's okay for pants to be loose" So if its in your closet you wear them, you wear them like the coolest thing on the planet and be your own trendsetter!

My Little Lady, Happy 6th Birthday!

STRESS

Stress is defined as "a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances."

This sums up a lot of our days. Stress creeps in for a multitude of reasons- be it work, personal life, constraints on which we have no control over, over commitment, under utilization of skills and on and on.

Over summer, Sumit and I spend 10 days at a "Nature Cure" place and among other things we learned, the one element that had a lot of emphasis on was "de-stress" After those ten days, i felt calmer, my skin had a glow and i was "happier" aka less stressed.
I learned and got reminded of- One thing that is the key is "Less Stress"

And the first few weeks of being back to normal life were good, really good. I was genuinely less stressed, less running in circles and above all just calmer. And then slowly but surely,it slid downwards. One step at a time in the wrong direction.

And I didn't realize it until earlier this week. Calendar at work and personal life are choc-o-block. We are going through the motions of all festive celebrations, school recitals, work commitments and its all a lot of fun. Don't get me wrong, I would not have it any other way.
But the one element that is missing is "Just Breathe". I am not taking the time to breathe, to read a book, to take a stroll aimlessly. It does not have to be big. Just 5 to 10 minutes to just be.

And in spirit of following the cliche of new years resolution. Here is my revised definition of Stress

S- Simply let it go
T- Try to develop a workaround
R- Relax, breathe and repeat
E- Evolve and then resolve
S- Stay silent, sometimes letting that moment pass helps
S- Stress: Haha! Sometimes we are stressed about being stressed