Diwali Celebrations

Diwali, The festival of lights, the victory of good over evil. The favorite festival of our household.
A reason to dress up in Indian fanfare, eat delicious food, spruce up the house with candles, colorful rangoli's showcasing the kids creative side and above all meet friends and family and just be festive, happy and grateful.

This year, I was feeling a little lazy to get the process started> I asked the girls, can we skip the annual Diwali Party? And both of them responded right away saying "Absolutely Not". So that was that.
We planned and prepped, kids helped decorate the home, made diya mistletoe, friends RSVP'd, menu was thought through, appetizers were discussed and debated and above all, the highlight: the dances! They kept asking me, what song, how long, how many, solo, couple etc etc.
We landed on 5 this year :-D Since that's how we role. All in all, I am glad the kids now relate to Diwali and actually live and breathe it as we did growing up in India

A friend was reminiscing her Diwali in a school in Indian hill town and her story of saving to buy fireworks, overlooking the valley and seeing it all lit me made me nostalgic.
For me, it was the yearly "getting house ready". Polishing the silver, decorating the house with a "theme" having cousins and friends over for a big family dinner and pooja. Above all going to family friends house with treats and getting treats from them, greeting everyone and dressing up with everything feeling magical. Diwali was a big deal and I am hoping it will continue to be a big deal in the generation to follow.

Like all years, this year was special. The girls, oh the beautiful girls. As we got ready for our home pooja, the girls like clockwork knew how to set up the temple, the writing on new books, the asking of presents,  the discussion of us being grateful in the world and above all, greeting one and all "Happy Diwali"

May we continue our traditions and invent new ones as we go along this journey together.

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Diwali.

New Age Parenting ??

We are new age parents

And yes, I am sure all parents in their generation would think the same. So it does not make us unique, but still i like to put myself on pedestal from time to time.
I will continue.

We are new age parents.
We want to be actively involved in our kids lives, the PTA's, the classes, the play dates, the tucking in nights with the hugs and kisses. We want everything.

We want a career to reach the stars, the board meetings, the late night presentation preps, the work happy hours, the high heels to go with it. We want everything

We want a social life, the late evenings with friends, the occasional sans kids date nights, the crazy fun home parties, the dressing up for key milestones for friends and family. We want everything

We want a healthy lifestyle, the home cooked meals, the fresh salads, the occasional gym memberships, the soccer games with the kids. We want everything.

We want to reflect inwards, go to temple, do the meditation, learn about self calming techniques, the folding of hands with gratitude. We want everything.

We want to give back, be it volunteering, removing the weeds from a national park, packing food, donations, associated fundraising etc. We want everything.

But something's got to give. Right?
We still get the 24 hours in a day. We still continuously juggle and prioritize and make to do lists and make spreadsheets to keep track. We still struggle and some balls inadvertently do get dropped.  As 'new age parents' some days are good and some days are blah.
Is there a way to get this "Mysterious Balance" in the life of new age parents?

Hmm, I wonder.
May be not wanting "Everything" is a start. May be continuously adapting to life's priorities. May be making peace with the fact that we are not going to be balanced!

Is this what is New Age Parenting?
May be our parents had it right.... keep it simple and go with the flow and instill the value system. Rest will follow!