Maybe

Sammy and Rehan have a story book called Zen Shorts. One of the stories in that book is about an old farmer who has a son and a horse. One day, his horse runs away and his neighbors come to console him saying “this was too bad.” The farmer responds with “maybe.” The next day his horse comes back with another horse and the neighbors say “this is great.” The farmer responds with “maybe.” The next day the farmer’s son was riding the new untamed horse and he fell down and broke his leg. The neighbors said “this was too bad.” The farmer said “maybe.” The next day army folks came into the farmer’s village to draft soldiers. They did not select the farmer’s son because his leg was broken. The neighbors told the farmer “this was great.” Farmer again responded saying “maybe.” The moral of the story is that you never know what is going to happen next and it is always good to stay humble in your ups and downs. While I don’t endorse being a saint by any means, I think there is strong merit in this philosophy. To not be overly affected by the good and the bad. The philosophy to be calm and humble through extreme successes and extreme failures. As much as humanly possible anyway.  

Now here is the ironical part. I was thinking of writing on this topic last week. But I decided to swap the topic literally as I started to type and wrote on something else last week, pushing this topic to now. It is ironical because little did I know that it will come in quite handy for me this week. My company announced a bunch of lay-offs and my position was eliminated as a part of it mid last week. I asked them exactly two questions. The first question was if I was the only one being eliminated that day or if there were others. I normally hate to be singled out, even if it is for a good reason, so definitely not for something like a lay-off. They obviously could not comment on my question for legal reasons, but I later learned that there were more jobs cut the same day. Phew. Relief. My second question was obviously about where and when to return my laptop, badge, etc. I did not have any other clarifying question. While it is always better to dump than be dumped, I handled it quite well, I think. It seemed like quite devastating news on the face value, but it didn’t hit me like one. I did confuse myself at first, but I figured that maybe because I wasn’t too attached to what I was doing. I am still trying to find my calling. The point is I am a silver lining person. Maybe a little too much for my own good. So something like this made me a little sad for some time, but then it made me very happy shortly after. Maybe because I didn’t think this was that bad a thing. Or maybe because I thought something better is in store for me. For now that ‘something better’ involves sleeping a whole lot, shopping, making baby quilts, working out, writing, and maybe more shopping. I am definitely not complaining. I haven’t not worked in the last 10 years, but this took me no time at all to get used to. So I might actually continue to do this for at least the next several weeks, if not months. That is my no-plan plan, and I am kind of digging it.

Here is another interesting thing about this whole experience. I got the news of my lay off on Wednesday morning. I picked up my belongings and left the building within 5 minutes because I did not want to spend any more time there. I am a little impulsive and not at all practical that way. I came home and cooked something, folded the laundry, had lunch with Siddhu, and cleaned the house a little. And then it was time to pick up the kids from the day care. The routine was just the usual once the kids came home. They were running around, screaming, playing, hungry, fighting, reading, drawing, and creating a mess. Nothing out of ordinary. It sort of puts things in perspective. About what is really important in life. It could be different things for different people. And I know what it is for me. It is my family. Funny enough, Siddhu, My bro\Amz (wifey) & my sis\Sudh (hubby) were all rather happy to hear about my news. Kind of weird, but they were. My mom was a little upset, but she is an overly emotional being. So it was just fascinating to see what my family brought to the table and it was quite a spectacular combo, I must say.

So maybe, bad isn’t that bad. Maybe, good isn’t that good. The point is not to highlight this as a grim reality or even boast about a positive attitude, but to highlight what is truly important. Highlight the game of perspective, yet again.



Throw back Monday - because I can. But more importantly - because there is sun, there is family, and there is all things important.

My Positivity

Normally we are not that big into Halloween. We are not that creative or crazy about it. We do stuff because we have kids and because we have company. We never took Sammy & Rehan for trick or treating so far. But we did this year. Rehan definitely enjoyed the idea of grabbing candies and putting them in his stash. Sammy wasn’t terribly thrilled, but maybe she will be next year. I was super thrilled that we took our kids for trick or treat first time ever. Hung out with awesome people. Ate fabulous food. And had fun while at it. What more could one ask for? And just in case you were wondering, Sammy dressed as a University of Washington cheerleader & Rehan dressed as a homeless guy.

We Share

For once, I was responsible. It almost never happens. In fact I don’t remember the last time it did. But I was sick for most of last week. So much so that I had difficulty breathing and sleeping on multiple days and nights. I finally started feeling a little better toward the second half of the week. A couple days into my sickness, Sammy got sick. She got croup. At first we tried to handle the situation like pros. Oh, she has fever. That’s alright. We can handle it. Who needs a doctor anyway? And then her voice got all horsy. We instantly figured it was croup. So we started researching causes, symptoms, and cure. We were being the google-doctor. You know. Humidifiers, hot showers (for Sammy :)), and driving-with-window-slightly-open were our best friends. But when her breathing got worse, we thought it was time. It was time for us to quit pretending to be pros and to make a run to the pediatrician.  

So last Thursday we took Sammy to a doctor. This doctor was an almost 80 year old, affectionate, likeable, almost lovable man. So endearing. I almost had a crush on him. Anyway. That’s beside the point. Siddharth reached the clinic with Sammy and I showed up about 15 minutes later. The doctor had already gone through one round of counseling with Siddharth. Humidifiers. Hot showers. Driving-with-window-slightly-open. The usual suspects. When I walked in, the doctor said “I will give you time to catch up with your husband and will come back in a few minutes to answer any of your questions.” Siddharth explained everything the doctor told me and I immediately exclaimed, “This is exactly what I read online.” The doctor walked in after some time and Siddharth told him that I had read the exact same things online. To which he jokingly responded “Then I must be doing something right…if I am saying the same thing as the internet.” I did feel slightly embarrassed. Knowing very well how the medical community must detest the google-doctors. Anyway. Since Sammy wasn’t feeling well, I held her close to my chest in a sitting position so she could breathe better. As the doctor was leaving the room he said “So now you know what to do.” I said, “Yes. We do. In addition to that, we need to keep Sammy away from Rehan so he doesn’t get croup.” Honestly, I said this only to sound like an obedient mom of a sick patient, trying to please the doctor. Especially, in an attempt to recover from the previous embarrassment. The doctor responded by saying “You can’t. Don’t even try it.” In my head I was going “Are you for real !? You are the coolest doctor ever!” But in reality, I think, the only words that left my mouth were “What?!” In my head I was going like “Aren’t you a doctor? Aren’t you supposed to advise us against letting Sammy and Rehan transfer germs to each other, and other people?” In reality, all I asked was “Why ?!” The doctor said “There is a reason why your husband and you have caught most colds in the last three years than you have in your entire lifetime put together.” He is right. We have. He continued, “That is because you model sharing for your kids. You teach them to share by example. You share your things. Sharing sickness is an integral part of sharing. So don’t bother trying to keep your son away from your daughter. They will get close to each other. Let them. That’s how it should be.”

On one hand, there is nothing profound about it this incidence. But the more I thought about, the more I was simply blown away by this powerful thought of sharing. We keep telling our kids to share. Sometimes in the most unnatural circumstances possible. In circumstances that we as adults may shy away from sharing. We ask our kids to share their toys, their books, their food, in the middle of them using whatever it is that they are using. But what this doctor reminded me is that the way our kids will actually learn to share is by seeing us share things with each other. It will not be by us telling them to share. So the moral of this long windy story is not just that old wise doctors is the way to go, but also a reminder that sharing is what we do as a family. Knowingly or unknowingly. Every single day. For things that are desirable, and for the things that aren’t. For the things that need it, and for the things that don’t. For the things that are tangible, and for the things that aren’t. We share our thoughts, our actions, our insecurities, our passions, our loves, our fights, our visions, our lives. It is extremely, and insanely fulfilling.

So yeah. We share. We all do. It is kind of awesome.

I don't know if he wants to share. I don't know if she is giving or taking. But they are sharing :).

My Positivity
 

Nostalgia. We had a massive power outage in the Greater Seattle area over the weekend. While it sounds pretty grim, it has its upsides. If the power outage goes for long enough, then your (smart) phones will stop working. You TV will stop working. You laptop will stop working. Your music will stop working. You internet will stop working. Your cable will stop working. Life, as we know it today, will halt. While the power outage over this weekend didn’t last that long, it did remind me of a time almost 10 years ago. We had power outage for multiple days that year. And everything stopped working. Smart phones were not as pervasive then but there was still the internet, cable, TV, etc. When everything stopped working, after some time of lamenting, we were forced to connect, talk, and interact at a much deeper level. So this power outage over the weekend reminded me of 10 years ago. Those were some sweet happy memories.

And, Happy Diwali :).

R-Word. Stop.

I thought quite a bit before writing on this topic. There are several reasons why I have felt the need to be less particular about the use of this word. The fact that I myself used this word not too long ago without giving it a second thought. The fact that a lot of people who use it mean no harm. The fact that most people use it in their daily lives to indicate humor, more than a negative intent.

But something changed it. And I decided to write about it.

This year’s Buddy Walk was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I love it when people show up to support us, our kids, our community. I respect it when they change whatever they had planned for their day to join us. I understand it supports us and Samaira. And I also understand it broadens the horizon of every single person who attends the Walk. Being amongst incredible people who are truly inspiring and people who show us that a diagnosis does not determine the things that you can achieve, is special, to say the least. So, yeah. I love the Buddy Walk. Everything about it is incredible and extremely close to my heart. This year, as we were almost done with the walk and were about to go home, we were approached by a beautiful young girl, maybe in her teens. She asked if Samaira has down syndrome and we said “yes.” She asked us if we like the R-word, and we immediately responded “absolutely not.” She then said “I don’t like it either.” That. Right there. Changed my opinion. On whether or not I wanted to write on this topic. It doesn’t matter if it was a part of my vocabulary before. It doesn’t matter if it is a part of other people’s vocabulary now. It doesn’t matter if the intent behind this word is harmless most of the times. When that young girl told us “I don’t like it either,” something stirred inside me to say “spread the word.” I thought someday, it could be Sammy in her shoes. Or it could be Rehan. Detesting the word because they will be called so. And it will hurt them. And it will hurt me.

So here. For a very selfish reason. I have decided to talk about this word. And why it hurts. And why we shouldn’t use it. And why it is absolutely not ok to use this word.

There are things that we do. There are things that we don’t do. And then there are things that we absolutely must never ever do. Use of R-word is one such thing that we absolutely must not do. At first it seems like a harmless, innocuous thing to do. People say it with an air of funny attached to it. In most cases I rank intent over impact. But in this case, I can’t. It doesn’t frikkin’ matter what your intent was. It absolutely does not.

Your impact matters.

You can read more about the campaign to “Spread The Word To End The Word” here.

Having a conversation to raise awareness about this word may sometimes be tricky or difficult. But the best way to do it is to indicate that the use of R-word is not ok, especially when used as a synonym for idiot. This word has been used for people with intellectual disabilities for long enough that even when you are not using the word in that context, it actually demeans a whole bunch of people without you even knowing about it. It is therefore not just a figure of speech. It goes beyond that. Trying to look for a word to replace the R-word in your dictionary will be a good start to show respect to a huge community that truly deserves it. 

Words can hurt you. Words are not harmless even if we wish to pretend they are. So it is never too late to begin. I figured why not spread the word because it will shape the society and the culture that my kids will grow up in. It will impact the people who will be their friends and companions. So why not take this step to help people understand the gravity of this word they take for granted. This word should be erased from our minds. Our vocabularies. The Oxford dictionary. Whatever you may. Let us stop our kids, our neighbors, our family, our friends, our colleagues, our community – everyone – from using this word. Please.

My Positivity
 

I have broken out of my shell and decided to talk about the R-word. I had hesitated so long thinking that maybe I am extra sensitive about it now. But it is no big deal when people don’t actually mean any harm. I tried to convince myself that going mainstream about it will somehow mitigate the impact of this word because there is something to be said about giving people the benefit of doubt. It can’t be that bad. Getting over my denial phase about this word. Realizing how truly negative it is. That is my positivity. I feel liberated in a very strange, incomprehensible way. It feels good.

Stereotypes: No thank you, please.

“All the girls in one team and all the guys in the other team.” It is one of the phrases that annoys me a lot. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against being in an all girls’ team. That is never the problem. I love girls’ night and girls’ girl and girls’ team and man's man. But my problem is always sorting on the basis of gender. This might get very controversial very fast. There are a lot of places where gender based divisions make sense. Like in case of public restrooms. But for some other things, it seems like an unnecessary rule that people impose just because. And that bothers me.

 I am also not a fan of the typical husband-wife or boyfriend-girlfriend jokes. They thrive on generalizations and stereotypes.

And don’t even get me started on statements that start with “we men…” or “you women…”

I don’t know what it is about these generalizations that bothers me so much. I can’t point my finger at it. Especially because I am all for girl power. But something about these broad strokes bothers me enough to complain about it louder and clearer each time I do talk about it.

The problem with generalizations is that it takes away from what truly deserves to be acknowledged. It is like if I do well at something, and somebody responds to me by saying “Of course you did well. I expected nothing less from you. What else could be the outcome.” While I understand the positive sentiment behind these statements, these positive & well-intended statements actually manage to take away from the part you played in your little victory.

We hear a lot of generalizations regarding boys & men. “Real men don’t cry” or “be a man” or anything that says that boys and men are a certain way. Except that it isn’t true. Men cry, just like women can be feisty. I understand the difference in physiology, anatomy, muscle mass, etc. of men versus women. I don’t deny facts. I don’t argue with science. But I get annoyed by incorrect notions that society puts on top of all the physiological and scientific facts. I hope my boy has the ability to cry (what kind of mum wishes this for her son…well my kind...I think crying is great and it does wonders for your system). Going by what he does today, he has ample ability to cry. Granted he is barely an 18 month old toddler. My point, Sir, is that real men do cry.

We hear a lot of such generalizations regarding down syndrome. “They are such sweet people.” “They are all very loving.” “They are emotionally very intelligent.” “They are all very nice people.” Except when they aren’t. Even if every single person with down syndrome that you have ever met fits in these buckets, such generalizations tend to take so much away from the person. Generalizing these qualities make people a number. A statistic. And what fun is that?! It isn’t any fun at all. I used to be ok with it. But as Samaira’s personality is developing, and she is turning out to be a hugger and a high EQ person, I can’t help but wonder at the person she is & the personality she has. I would hate to think that these awesome qualities that she has in her are attributed to her having down syndrome. Doesn’t make any sense, right? I would much rather give her the credit for who she is and what she will become.

Something about generalizations is very unfair. It takes away from the person and the personality. It gives less credit to who you are. It gives more credit to the unnecessary hearsay. If I ever do it, I try to pull myself back really hard. If I repeat it I try to remind myself in the strictest voice possible. This is one of the few (or many) things that is somewhat unacceptable to me. Let us see people, places and things for who\what they are, and not what they are expected to be.

Science is ok. Facts are ok. Traditions are ok. Humor is ok, most of the times. Emotions are ok. Liking is ok. Disliking is ok. Preferences are ok.

But.

Stereotypes – no thank you, please.

 

Kids are confused about us taking their picture, again

My Positivity

The return of fall. I am beginning to see brown, yellow and orange leaves. It makes me feel like I am in a movie .

This month.

October is the down syndrome awareness month. While we don’t wait for this month to celebrate Samaira, or talk about her, we do take this opportunity to inform other people who may not know as much about this extra chromosome.

The best way to spread awareness and dispel myths about down syndrome is to let people know what we know. So far anyway. So here is what we know.

Sammy will be 3 very soon.

She is the most talkative toddler I have seen. We may not understand everything she says, but she is definitely having meaningful conversations most of the times.

Sammy has always had some level of sleep apnea. She got a tonsillectomy earlier this year to help her breath better, and the surgery did help her a lot.

Her favorite kind of play these days is pretend play. She will pick up her teddy bear or another toy and have conversations “teddy bear – you hungry? I give you milk. Teddy bear sleepy? I put teddy to sleep. Teddy bear wants a hug daddy!” You get the idea.

Sammy has three therapy sessions a week: speech, physical and special education/social. Most of these sessions are held at her day care.

Sammy knows we don’t like her doing certain things. We don’t want her to throw spoons and plates and food off the table. We don’t want her to pull anyone’s hair. So, she will do just that. And before we can respond in anyway, she responds “Sammy, don’t do that. It’s not ok.” At this point, we typically don’t know if we should feel good or bad. Hearing Sammy say those words is like listening to ourselves. It is a reminder of how kids pick up on the tiniest of the things we say and we do have to watch our words very carefully.

Sammy really cares for Rehan. And vice versa. While she pushes and pulls him all day long, she is very particular about ending all her fights with a hug and a simple “I love you, Rehan.”

Sammy has a hole in her heart. We will find out in a year or so if she needs a surgery to close it.

She loves listening to and singing rhymes and songs. All. Day. Long. Not that I am complaining. Her non-crying sound is like soft music to my ears.

The first words to come out of her mouth as soon as she wakes up in the morning are "ooohh…. whaaat is that?” Pointing at specifically nothing. It is quite cute actually.

There is a strong teacher-streak in Sammy. She likes to give instructions. “Rehan sit here.” “Rehan read a book.” Rehan go play.” “Mumma go to sleep.” “Quiet.”

She also happens to have a rather independent streak in her. We often hear her say “Daddy, go away. I do this.”

She is One. Stubborn. Kid. I wonder who she gets this trait from!

Sammy loves to follow birds. Anywhere. Everywhere.

Oh, and the latest. She has started saying ‘please’ in a way that it is getting challenging for us to not succumb to it. Our conversations go like this. “Mumma, more pop corn.” “No Sammy. Pop-corn is all done. You don’t get any more pop-corn.” “Pleeeeease mumma” I challenge you to stay strong through that ‘please’. 

So there. Now you know almost as much about down syndrome as we do.

How do we explain down syndrome to others?

If I have to explain down syndrome to someone who is slightly older, then I will get into the details of 3 copies of the 21st chromosome, 47 chromosomes instead of 46, extra protein as a result of the extra chromosome strand, resulting in extra medical conditions, non-disjunction versus mosaic versus translocation down syndrome, congenital heart defects, hearing deficiency, developmental delays, speech challenges, thyroid, low muscle tone, distinct features, and so on.

But if I have to explain it to someone who won’t understand the unnecessarily complicated medical mumbo jumbo, then here is what I will say. Our body is made up of tiny cells, which in turn are made up of chromosomes. These chromosomes decide the color of our hair. They decide if our eyes will be big or small. Or brown or black. They decide if our hair will be curly or straight. They decide if we will have freckles or not. Similarly, chromosomes decide whether we have down syndrome or not. It can sometimes take more effort and work for an individual with down syndrome to do certain things. But it is on us to build a society that gives those opportunities. This condition makes an individual unique in their appearance and abilities. But it by no means defines them. Too philosophical? Hey, what else do you expect from someone like me? Especially when in my own head I think I have some sort of double PHD in philosophy.

All said and done, it is a game of attitude at the end of the day.

Our attitude decides how we are toward Sammy.

As far as our attitudes is concerned, we don’t put a cap on her limits or abilities to achieve anything in life. We never had any goals for either of our kids. We don’t have any specific dreams or aspirations for either of our kids. Except that they be happy. There is no specific expectation from them regarding what they should be, who they should become, what they should do, etc. So Sammy’s life, her abilities, her limits, will be completely defined and determined by her. And none of that will be a constant. It is going to continue to change and evolve all her life. I hope she knows that.

Our attitude regarding her health is somewhat similar. On an everyday basis, we do not attribute any of her medical challenges to her chromosomes. But then there are certain issues that are a result of the number of chromosomes in her body – the hole in heart, missing teeth, apnea, enlarged tonsils, etc. These are certain facts that do not escape even the most positive of the attitude and it is good to keep it real. Our challenges are very real and no amount of rainbows or unicorns or positive thinking will wash away those challenges. Medical or non-medical. For almost everything else, we completely forget her chromosome count while evaluating the cause and remedy. We explore her health issues just as we would Rehan’s. We process it like any other medical situation for any other child. Over time we could learn one way or the other. But as far as Sammy’s health goes, more often than not, we know more than her doctors. We know more than our parents. It is a side-effect of immersing ourselves in endless research on all related things!

Our friends’ and family’s attitude takes the cake.

We love this ecosystem. Of our family, friends, and Sammy’s teachers. The crazy amount our family and friends love Samaira is very present and evident in every word they say and every word they don’t say. Their unconditional love for Samaira screams and yells past their kind and excited shells. They genuinely care for Samaira and we know that. We feel the love through their presence and distance! Her day care teachers really do care for her. There is clearly a reason why Sammy is always so excited to go to and not so excited to leave her day care. Her therapists are her champions and we are so blessed for them.

And then there are other people’s attitude.

I am pretty sure some people’s view of life-of-a-family-with-a-special-needs-member is very different from that family’s view of their life-with-a-special-needs-member. While most people will be positive and open, there will be times when some people will react in less than ideal ways. There could be thoughts and comments ranging from ‘I am sorry’, ‘poor kid’, ‘thank God it didn’t happen to us’, ‘I don’t want to be in their position’, and so on. But let me tell you, life on this side of the fence is not bad, or sad, or sorry, or disappointing, or something to lament about.  It is a different life. Granted. It is a different frequency of doctor and therapist appointments. Granted. It is a different set of expectations regarding milestones and abilities. Granted. But once you have a member in your family with any special needs, these things don’t stand out as a “special” thing. These things just are. There is nothing special about it. It is special for the rest of the world. There is nothing extraordinary about it either. There is nothing heroic or awe-inspiring about it. There is nothing awesome or awful about it. It just is. Just like everything else in life. Does it make any sense?

So, do not ever hesitate to ask us any questions about down syndrome. We will not mind it. We will not be offended. It will not be an awkward question. It will be our honor and privilege to respond to your questions. So ask a question. Answer someone in doubt. Seek information. Dispel myths. Propagate reality.

An open minded and accepting society needs a strong foundation and it starts with being fearless, genuine and informed.

No Limits

My Positivity

Happy down syndrome awareness month people! It is a good month.

My precious

Have I said this before? Of course, I have. Maybe. I don't remember. But we will talk about it again.

Anyway, first things first. Welcome to the time of the year that I like the most. Every season comes with its own joys. The snow of winter, the bloom of spring, the sun of summer & the cozy of fall. Something about fall yells cozy up. Bring a blanket. Or two. Or three. Bring your sweaters. Get your comfort on. Bring your family together. Sit down. Relax. Do nothing. Enjoy the rain while sitting inside your cozy cove. Our fall did kick-start with viral illnesses. One by one. All wickets down. First it was Sammy. Literally, the first day of fall, she was sick. Then it was Rehan. And now the husband. Thank goodness I have a rock solid immune system to get me through ;). And hopefully I have not jinxed it now. But my hope is - this too shall pass, and we will be able to enjoy the new season in its full glory.

As we welcome fall into our world we spend some quality time indoors just being. This gives me extra moments to capture and mummify in my heart for ever and ever. They are random silly moments that deserve no mention or attention. But they were pure joy for us and we couldn’t stop laughing at our funny silly kids. These are my precious. I will continue to capture as many of these as mommily-possible.

Like last evening Samaira was pulling my pants as I was trying to cook dinner. I got terribly annoyed and asked her “Sammy what are you doing?” In all her innocence and with a matter of fact expression, she responded “I am pulling your pants.” Of course. What did I think she was doing? Both Siddharth and I cracked up at her matter-of-fact delivery.

The other day when we were giving a medicine to Sammy, Rehan left whatever he was doing and ran to us and said “ma turn.” He actually said it. Crazy! My little boy is growing up too fast. Not that I am complaining. Except just a little bit.

Siddharth was eating sonf (fennel seeds - Indian mouth freshener) this one time and he gave one seed to Rehan. Sammy saw that and came running to Siddhu. Siddharth didn't pay any attention and kept eating more sonf. Sammy looked at him impatiently and finally said "Sammy is right here, daddy!" We both laughed so hard. Well, that is definitely one way to tell she wants something.

Last week we were shopping for kids’ clothes for fall when Sammy ran to the end of the aisle and stood against the wall and started shouting “Where is Sammy? Rehan, where did Sammy go?” Rehan slowly started moving toward her and screamed “aaaaaaaaaa” with excitement when he spotted her. Sammy said “There she is.” Then she pushed Rehan in the corner, which he submissively accepted, and she said “It is Rehan turn.” They did this for about 5 minutes as Siddharth and I hurriedly looked through the clearance section to spot any useful treasures. Kids keeping themselves entertained - priceless.

Btw, Rehan is one of those people who smiles when he makes a mistake. You know that kind? I belong to that kind. And he does too. It makes getting and staying angry with him a little difficult. If he does some mischief and I yell at him, he smiles at me giving a sneak peak at his bottom two teeth. How on earth am I supposed to stay mad at him? I welcome any and all advise.

Oh, and the latest. Our parent dilemma of to sleep-train or not-to-sleep-train continues. But in the meantime, Rehan knows how to get our attention. He sleeps in our room on a mattress that is next to our bed. When he wakes up in the middle of the night and we are not in the room, he cries for a bit. When we don’t respond, he climbs on our bed, reaches for the night-stand, throws the alarm clock on the floor and says “Uh oh.” He did this once and saw how instantly we came inside the room to make sure everything was ok. Now he knows what makes us tick. So he does it every time we are not in the room. Last night, he climbed on to the bed, jumped on to the night stand, got on to the other side of the night stand with his hands against the wall and knees planted firmly on the night stand - obviously stuck. Siddharth walked in the room and saw Rehan stuck between the wall and the night stand. Rehan looked at Siddharth and responded "Uh oh." My little devil.

One special one. I had given a list of about 25 restaurants to Siddharth. A list of places that I want to try. Siddharth called every single one of those restaurants to see if they could make something special for my birthday. Something that would blow my mind. He finally settled on one and kept it a surprise for me. He arranged for a baby-sitter on my birthday evening, which I knew in advance because I checked his text messages :). But I had no idea where we were going. Siddharth did give me a hint that I would be surprised at who recommended this restaurant for my birthday, because that would be me, thank you very much. Needless to say I enjoyed the food, the company, and everything about that evening!

Oh, so many moments to capture. In a timeless capsule. A new season gives me new rigor to capture and preserve. So before it gets old, let me hold it all in a place where I can look back and cherish my little monkeys.

It would be wrong to say that joy is all our kids give to us. And vice versa. They give us a lot of trouble too. Sammy is stubborn as hell. Rehan has quite a temper. The combination is quite lethal. To top it all there is my impatience. And of course Siddharth’s need to always be clean and tidy definitely does not help, especially when that expectation is from our toddlers. But we have learned to live with each other in spite of our challenges. Very happily so. Because that’s what you do when you are a family. Accept each other unconditionally.

This makes them my precious.

An awesome birthday-date-night with my precious!

My Positivity
 

This past Sunday. We went to Costco. That is our weekly grocery haul. We then had lunch at our favorite South Indian restaurant. We came home and spent about 45 minutes cleaning and drying all the produce. And then magic happened. All four of us – the kid #1, the kid #2, the mom and the dad – all. We slept. In the middle of the day. For three hours. Boom Bang Boom! Beat that. I know. You can’t.

My zing and my zang

My day and my night. My ying and my yang. My tick and my tock. My ting and my tang. My zing and my zang. My Sammy and my Rehan. They are two sides of the coin. They are quite similar in some ways, and quite different in others. It is so interesting to watch the differences and the similarities in their personalities. It reminds me every time I see them that it is not always about finding similarities among people, but it is also about appreciating, rejoicing, respecting and accepting the differences. Both Sammy and Rehan are caring and loving in their own way. I just have to recognize their way and love them for the way they love.

While Rehan's face forms an inverted U when we drop him at the day care, Sammy can’t wait to be with her friends and pretend like we are not even there when we are barely done saying bye.

While Rehan comes running to us at the end of the day when we go to pick him up, Sammy runs in the opposite direction and pretends to be really busy with her friends or toys so we understand to not disturb her.

While both my kids are super-stubborn (guess who they got this trait from? Hint: their mom), Sammy is easier to pacify and make understand that certain something is not allowed. Rehan on the other hand gets angry. Like really angry. He is all of 15 month old. How does a child so young know to be angry? Well, genetics do play a certain role I guess.

While Rehan is happy to eat anything and everything, Sammy refuses to eat any vegetables except for peas. I could cut carrots into the size of a sand particle and she will manage to spit that particle out!

While Sammy loves to listen to songs and rhymes and stories at the end of the day (and pretty much any time of the day), we still don’t know what makes Rehan tick. We don’t have a solution for when he cries. It is almost like our guess would be just as good as our next door neighbor’s.

So, there. They are different. And I love it. I value it. I treasure it.

They both love in their own way too.

This one time, Rehan hit Sammy with a plastic ball and I instinctively yelled at Rehan for throwing a ball at Sammy. I asked Rehan to say sorry to her. And he, in his own way, sat in front of her and touched her cheeks. That was his way of saying sorry. Sammy went ahead and hugged him and said “I love you Rehan. I love you.” Sammy on the other hand will jump and attack Rehan with her hugs and kisses when she wants to pacify him. So much so that Rehan now runs scared in the opposite direction when he sees her coming to give him a hug. We just laugh at the spectacle. Because clearly that is the right thing to do as parents.

Just yesterday, instead of sitting in her car seat, Sammy wanted to sit in the driver sit. So I let her sit there while she was pretending to drive. I leaned over to make sure she is fine and she pushed me away saying “Go away. I am driving.” I immediately fast forwarded 10 years (or maybe 5, who knows) and started imagining this dialog coming out of her mouth when she will be in her almost-teens. This dialog will surely come up in some other context, if not driving. I am preparing for it. And while there is a rebellious undertone to it, something about it made me happy. I can’t point my figure at it. It may be very hard to comprehend the possibility of liking something in that statement. But I did. I was celebrating her zing. Her streak of independence.

Most of the times, Rehan does not like to be held. He wiggles his way out of my hands the minute I try to hold him. But completely randomly, out of nowhere, to my utter surprise, he will take a break from him blocks and come give me a hug and say “mummmaa.” That. Right there. Is my zang. I celebrate that attachment. I understand it is probably an under 5 year old thing. But I will celebrate it while it lasts.

Just honoring and celebrating my zing and my zang when I have the opportunity.

Well...one can only try!

My Positivity

 

Last sunny weekend of this summer. Spent with good people, in a good beach, at a nice hour, with nice food. There is a lot to be thankful for.

Go Gold

September is childhood cancer awareness month.

I know this kid. Actually I don’t really know him. I used to know him. Not quite though. I had never met him. I hadn’t met his parents either. We were on a common e-group. He was 7. I saw his pictures. I read his story. He was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Giloma (DIPG) last June. DIPG affects the pons portion of the brainstem, which makes nervous system function impossible. It is one of the most resistant of all cancers to chemotherapy treatments. Most patients will die within a year of detection. It primarily affects children. There is no cure. It is even said that a cure for DIPG will result in a cure for almost any type of cancer. So, I read his story. Even though I had never met him or his family, I was a part of that journey in a very tiny way. I followed him. This kid loved planes. He wanted to be a pilot when he grew up. He fought a very brave fight. I didn’t witness most of it. Only the snippets his parents shared. Every word, every sentence, every emotion, every feeling shakes you from the inside.

That’s the thing about little people. I try not to use the word “God” a lot in my writing. But I will use it today. They are God’s creation. If God could ever be proud, it should be on his creation of this thing called childhood. Children are innocent, forgiving, kind, and generous. We are born with these qualities. Each one of us. Some of just retain it more than the others. But the kids have it all. I am so jealous. So when something as disgusting as cancer happens to a kid, then all you want to do is throw something heavy across the room or scream out loud. Neither of those will make you feel better. But it will reduce the energy inside you to think or act negatively. And if God could ever feel sorry, it should be on allowing this thing called childhood cancer. Little people must not be hurt. Ever. Didn’t he understand that? I don’t know at what point a child stops being a child and starts being an adult. But children are too innocent to be hurt in such a way. I am all for learning as you grow and making mistakes and learning from them. But this is not required.

But that’s not the point. The point is that watching your child hurt is one of the worst punishments for any parent. Watching your child go through cancer is worse than the worst punishment.
When someone talks about funding for the cause I don’t hesitate to act first and think later. I don’t go about weighing the statistics for the leading cause of deaths in a country. It doesn’t matter. I don’t even go about listing the illnesses that have impacted me directly\indirectly either. It doesn’t matter. The point is that when a kid gets sick, all the idioms and axioms are rendered useless. So if I can donate for the cause, I do. And that is how we get 1 step closer at a time. To treating cancer. To eradicating this monster.

One of the things I remind myself not to do on hearing about a cancer diagnosis is to thank God for making sure that our kids are healthy and happy. And it is not because I am not thankful to God. But it is because I don’t want to make someone else’s sadness a point of solace for me. I don’t want to think about my luck and my stars when someone else seems so hurt. I never say something thankful when I see something bad happen to someone else. While I believe in counting ones blessings, I don’t think a cancer diagnosis fits under the timeline for the same. I try to just be in the moment. Think of the child\kid diagnosed with cancer. What is it that can be done to help? Be there. Say something. Don’t say anything. Just be there.

So, be kind. Be nice. Everyone is having a bad day, at some point or the other. Everyone is struggling with something. Everyone is hurting from a loss. It happens. So give people the benefit of doubt. Be nice. 

And you know what, he didn’t have cancer until the day he did. So fight cancer with all our might. Go Gold this month. At least in your heart.

Moments into Memories

I am a sucker for pictures. I view our old pictures at least once a day, if not more. Even when I have no time. I somehow gravitate to browsing through old pictures in the 5 free minutes I might get in an entire day. I am thankful that we take pictures. I am pretty sure Siddharth is also thankful because I am always so insistent, annoyingly so, on taking pictures to capture every possible moment we can. Most of the moments captured hold a very special place in my heart and each one tells a story. Story of that moment. How it happened? Why it happened? How I felt about it? How I felt in it? Looking at pictures floods my mind with snapshots of that moment. Those moments are etched as a memory, forever in me.  Sometimes these pictures refresh my long lost forgotten memories. It is precious. These pictures remember my memory, as I would have said a long long time ago.

We spent the first few days of this month basking in the sun and sand of Puerto Vallarta. It was heavenly. The vacation did us so much good that even the crazy humidity couldn’t dampen our spirits. We spent most of our time in the pool, or eating, or sleeping, or lazing. Isn’t that what vacations are meant for anyway? The weather was in fact perfect because somehow it was a perfect combination of heat, sun, overcast, rain, thunderstorms, lightening, water and wind. The pool temperature was perfect. Not cold for sure. Slightly warm. Definitely not hot. We could spend hours sitting in the pool – after breakfast, before dinner, maybe in between too. Kids could walk in the pool because it was just the right depth on the edges. I have to admit it was sometimes unmanageable to control two kids who wanted to run toward the center of the pool, or get out of the pool and run outside. Rehan wanted to throw his pool toys outside the pool all the times. Just so we could bring it back to him. Just so he could throw those again. Samaira wanted to get out of the pool every time we were in it. Or she wanted to get in the pool when we were outside of it. But who cares about these trivial logistics right? In fact, I want to go back there, just to soak in more of the same.

The best part was our vacation was the company of our closest friends and their cutest munchkins! We in fact managed to surprise them by showing up one day before they were going to arrive. Siddharth shocked them even more when he pretended to serve mimosas at the entrance of the hotel as our friends arrived. They actually accepted mimosa from Siddharth, said “thank you”, and realized a few seconds later “wait, who is that?” Company trumps all evens and beats all odds. And we had fantastic company. We spent a day roaming around the town. Shopping, site seeing, roaming, photographing, you name it.

My favorite was the old town in the city. It reminded me of Hawaii and Greece all at the same time. It has the greenery of Hawaii and the character of Greece. I wanted to spend an entire day there. I might just go back there to spend an entire day in specific parts of Puerto Vallarta. This beauty does not get old, my friend. And too much relaxation never hurt anyone.

There has been a common theme every time we have been to Mexico. At least a few people come up to us and start talking to us in Spanish. They assume we belong to the country, which, I think is splendid. It makes me blush and gloat and I take it as a huge complement. Except I don’t know the language. Oh, well! I will learn it someday. Maybe.

We did pull off a stunt in the last few hours in Puerto Vallarta. We left our SLR in the random cab that dropped us from downtown to the hotel. We realized we didn’t have our camera about 5 min after that cab left. We searched for our camera everywhere we could. Siddharth left in another cab to try and find our original cab in which we left the camera. Siddharth somehow found a friend of our cab driver, made that friend take him to our driver’s house, had the cab driver’s son call him on cell phone, waited till our cab driver reached his own home – just to find Siddharth waiting for him. In the end, however, we did not find our camera. We lost it. My heart still tugs every time I think of the last few hours we spent looking for the camera. The only solace I could find was in the notion that maybe whoever got our camera needed it more than we did. That – I can live with. Plus, I have those small tiny moments etched as a memory, forever in my heart. It is priceless. Something no one take from us. Plus, it gives us another reason to go back to Puerto Vallarta. To turn more moments into memories. We will be back for more!

Family Four-fi

My Positivity

It was a little hard this week because we lost the camera. But have you ever asked a kid what their biggest problems are? Milk. Hunger. Sleep. Poo-poo. Pee-pee. While the whole camera craziness was going on, Sammy and Rehan were unperturbed by their surroundings. They were busy fighting for The Cat in The Hat. The uszh. And that is my positivity this week. Can I become a kid again? Pretty, please?

"I am not as bad as I look," said Failure

This is like déjà vu. Like it is happening all over again. Like I have talked about it before. Multiple times, maybe. But that didn’t stop me from writing about it yet again. It is that important.

I think destiny does us a major solid each time we fail. Success makes us happy. It makes us efficient. It makes the whole world go around. So, by no means do I want to take away from the idea of success. I love success. I love to succeed. It hurts to fail. It makes me wish away failure. But here is the point. When does our real growth occur? Not quite literally. Not the physical growth. But emotion, intellectual growth. The kind of growth in which our bodily-humanity-cells grow. That growth occurs when circumstances are not pretty. When they are not picture perfect. When the outcomes are not what we expect. When we struggle. When we fail, or when we have the perception of failure. So, while success grows the world, failure grows people. I have to remind myself to greet failure and disappointment with as much dignity as I treat success. This message hits harder every time I realize how little we control in lives. Our corporate world and type A personalities will have us believe that we run the show and control the world. But, no. Oh, no. Could we be more wrong? What we can have a direct control over is our own self, our own actions, and our own thoughts. Sometimes, not even. The maximum we have over everything else is some level of probable influence. Definitely not control. This is no cop-out. This is to say that we need to draw a map of control and of influence. Neither will predict a desired outcome. But it will help us manage our efforts and therefore our expectations.

While I am trying to write all of this, a little voice in my head is going, “T – stop being all preachy and lessony. This world is full of experts and gurus. It does not need yet another 30-something, mother of two, sort-of-engineer, sort-of-business-girl giving advice on how to live life and figure out the important stuff in life." You will be amazed at the promptness with which I am able to shun that little voice in my head and get on with my life-lessony-rant. Because some things are just that important. So I lose my inhibitions, keep calm, and preach on.

So, people. Listen to me. No, I am totally kidding. Not that preachy. But seriously. Just joking.
The point is that I am trying to embrace failures and disappointments with the respect they deserve. To the point that I am still able to lament, stop lamenting, stand up and move on. I have a very, very , long way to go. But I am up for this challenge. Looking for the brighter side. The sliver-lining. The sunny-side up. Or what have you. Words can so often be our biggest enemy, but they can be powerful as well. Just writing these words and articulating these sentences can lift my spirits.

To top it all, Sammy & Rehan are there to teach me and help me course correct every time I get off the wagon. Every time I see them fall off the stairs, cry, and get back up to climb the same stairs again, I make a mental note ‘Did you just see that? What failure? What disappointment?” Remember it. For future reference.

 

A failure is only a failure if you let it beat you down. Or else, it could be your BFF.

And every failure in life can be overcome with some ice-cream anyway

 

My Positivity

 

My coworker mentioned this quote the other day, “Seek first to understand. Then to be understood.” Whoa. Oh hey quote, where were you all these years? Thanks for entering my life with a bang. 

Rewards

We are wired to appreciate rewards. To need rewards. To give rewards. We are inherently motivated by rewards. We pretty much do most things for rewards. I think that no act, including the kindest of the acts, is ever self-less and is a form of self-reward. We tend to slow down in the absence of rewards. How many of us can go on unfazed in the absence of rewards? And for how long?

It is absolutely ridiculous the number of times I say good job to Sammy and Rehan at the tiniest of the things. I will not start calling those things out to avoid further detailed embarrassment. But I like the approach that their teachers at day care take. They don’t say good job to kids for performing the most basic of the functions. Functions that they are expected to perform at their skill level. I understand the value of rewards in providing positive reaffirmation to kids. In fact everyone needs it. It builds confidence and faith in oneself and I am all for it. But at what point do we stop and let an action be self-fulfilling? Independent of any reward. To be honest, my language with kids is so intertwined with reward that I may find it next to impossible to interact otherwise. I am not against rewards by any means. I just question my tendency to need rewards for every single thing I ever do.     

Just the other day, Siddharth was on a flight sitting in one of the front most seats. An air hostess came and asked if he would be willing to take a seat at the back of the plane because a grandma wants to sit close to her grand-child. Siddharth did not even think for half a second before jumping up from his seat and saying “of course’. What shocked him was that the air-hostess came up to Siddharth and gave him a gift voucher for showing kind behavior on the flight. While Siddharth isn’t one to deny an airline gift voucher, he was slightly upset to see that an act as basic as letting a kid sit with her\his grandma was considered reward worthy, which means, it was not considered the most natural thing to do. This is something he would expect anyone to do without giving it a second thought. I know that Siddharth has a certain utopian concept of how people should be – they should be who they are, without being apologetic, not changing yourself to suit other’s expectations, not changing your behavior (either to good or bad) because someone says\thinks a certain way about you. But in this particular instance, I am with him. Certain causes are too basic to be rewarded.

I will try really, very, hard to not say ‘good job’ to kids every time they do something nice. It is going to take all of me to do something like this. It does not come to me naturally. In fact it is hard for me to stop those words from coming out of my mouth. But that’s the plan. To let kids get motivated intrinsically rather than by my ‘good job’ every time they take a step. I want to let them take a few steps when they know they will not be rewarded. When they know no one is watching. I am really hoping they will get to that point someday. I am also hoping that I am just being paranoid in thinking that my kids are overly dependent on these explicitly stated rewards. Except, I think they are.

Again, I have nothing against rewards. I think rewards are great. Clearly. I reward all the time. The point is, these rewards sometimes take away from the core of the act. And I feel that absence of rewards is sometimes necessary to maintain the integrity of the action. If it makes any sense. But I want to be able to draw a line between positive reaffirmation versus constant praise of every single thing.

So here is to me trying. As many takes as it takes. As long as it takes.

My Positivity

A beautiful weekend spent sleeping, beaching, eating, sort-of-biking with friends! Nothing replaces beauty that a good company brings!

All day, every day

Most of our everyday routine is quite uneventful and somewhat planned, which, for a family with two toddlers is a good news. We wake up every morning, give juice to kids, get them ready, get us ready, play a little depending on how much time we have, eat something, and, head to work\day care. Siddharth is the one who drops and picks up kids to and from the day care. The kids are used it. Even the day care teachers are used to it. I drop off and pick up kids whenever Siddharth is traveling. That’s when the entire day care knows that Siddharth is traveling. And then there are some days when both Siddharth and I go to drop off kids. Just because. Those are the days we are not rushing and enjoy every minute of drop-off and\or pick-up.

Dropping Sammy to day care is a very interesting experience. She wants to run to her friends and teachers as soon as we set foot in the area. She sometimes doesn’t even look back to see if we are still there. She goes straight from throwing tantrums to greeting all her friends and teachers like hasn’t seen them in a thousand years. Picking her up is also an interesting story because as soon as she sees me come to pick her up, she runs to her friends and starts pretending that the two of them have been playing together for a while and we are disturbing them. She then slowly warms up to the idea of going home and gives us a hug, starts saying bye to her friends, insists that her friends hug us, and so on.

Dropping Rehan to day care is a whole different ball game. This kid does not want us to leave him. Ever. He comes running to Siddharth every evening he picks the kids up. His face beams with inner joy, which is probably a little deceptive because his face almost always beams with inner joy. These kids I tell you. They have the knack of being so blissful and so unaware all the time. Anyway. The point is, his mischievous face lights up even more when he sees either of us. This morning as we were dropping Rehan to day care he made a sad pout showing a clear disagreement with the sequence of events, which included us playing with him in the day care for 5-10 minutes and then leaving him with his teachers. But instead of wailing and crying, which is what he normally does, he had that sad face of understanding. I know but I don’t like…but I will live with it…because I know I have to. That face. You know. And it hurt. It hurt me to see him grow up like that and be all understanding.

Can the world please stop so my kids won’t grow up this fast? I don’t think I am ready yet. I had a long, busy, crazy day at work today and the only thing that kept me going was the crazy evening that would be waiting for me at home. The crazy evening with both the kids throwing tantrums at dinner time and us struggling to keep up with them. Oddly enough, it motivates me. And I miss it when I can’t witness our evening dinner time madness. My day feels incomplete without it. In the middle of this utter chaos, sometimes, just sometimes, Siddharth and I find each other sitting back and chuckling at the drama. It’s like watching our own movie from a distance, while still being a part of that movie.

Here is to many more movies. Our never ending movie. Our everyday movie. Our day in a movie. These really are the best days of our lives!

My Positivity

A realization that I am so lucky to be married to my best friend. Completely random realization. For no rhyme or reason. It happens.

Find your voice

I sometimes have a recurring theme in my dream. That I am being attacked or potentially harmed by someone. It could be something extra-terrestrial, it could be someone scary, it could be someone I know in my real-life. Or it could just be an adverse situation. In my dream I know exactly what to do to get out of that adverse situation. I know I have to scream, yell, shout, hit back. Maybe run. But at that point in time in my dream – I freeze. I am screaming but no voice comes out of my mouth. I am shouting but no one can hear me. I try to run but my feet don’t move. Typically at such a point, I wake up from my dream. My dreams rarely go past this point.

When I wake up from such a dream, the first thing I do is say something. One word. Two words. A sentence. I do this to make sure I still have my voice. I still have my strength. I get angry at myself for not shouting and yelling in my dream. I get angry at myself for not finding my voice when I most need it, in my dream. I get angry because I knew I had it in me to save myself from that alien if only I could find my voice.

This dream is of fresh in my mind right now because I had it last night. After waking up, I spiral into the whole thought of not being able to find my voice when I need it. There are certain situations when someone says something hurtful to me. But I don’t react. More often than not I find it extremely annoying afterward when I am recapping the scenario in my head. I get angry because I didn’t react when I could have. Most of the times I don’t react because I feel like that’s the right thing to do. The problem with doing the “right thing to do” is that it does not do justice to our thoughts and us. In an attempt to do the right thing, I forget to voice my opinion and tell someone what I actually want to say. My point is, it is not always important to do the right thing. It is ok to sometimes do the wrong thing. Because it is more important to find your voice and make it heard. It may sometimes interfere with what is right, but it will surely appeal more to my body and mind.

When have we ever seen kids not voice their opinion when they are in public? Kids cry when they want to cry. They scream when they want to scream. They shout when they want to shout. They make sure they are heard when they want to be heard. I understand that most people find this trait of kids rather annoying. But here is the flip side. That small tiny tot has the courage and the fearlessness to find her/his voice and make it heard. At whatever cost it might be. While most of the times I am busy thinking of the life lessons that I will pass on to my kids, these are the times when I stand back and pause to admire the miracle and life-lesson kids are and what they have to teach me. At some point in their lives, these kids will learn to hold back and restrain and keep quiet – and a lot of those traits are probably inculcated by us parents in an attempt to make our kids civil. But why does it feel a little wrong? Why does it feel like we do this for everyone else’s and our own convenience and not really for our kids?

The thing about finding your voice and not being silent is that it teaches us to get outside our comfort zone. It teaches us to stand up for ourselves. It makes us more vulnerable but that much more rich with the knowledge of our own capabilities and what we can achieve. It makes us heard. It makes us stand up in the most adverse of the situations so we can emerge as winners. Or losers. But that is not the point. It makes and shows us who we really are. So never lose that voice in your heart. Don’t let circumstances or people or adversity deter you from reaching for your voice. My hope is that if I keep looking for it, I will surely find it. One of these days I will find it in my dreams too!

Hopefully these kids will always find their voice when they need it

My Positivity

The light in my life came from a festival we celebrate in India at this time of the year. It is called Rakhi. It is a celebration of the brother-sister relationship. Sister ties a thread on her brother's wrist and the brother in turn resolves to protect his sister. While this is the traditional meaning behind the festival, I have a slightly more open interpretation of this festival, which includes, sisters standing up their brothers and protecting their brothers - even when no one is watching. Brothers doing the same for their sisters. In fact, especially when no one is watching. The beauty of this relationship is not what happens on face value - because there are always fights on face value. In fact, I would say fights is a sign of a healthy relationship. Lack of fights would mean you venting your anger with your siblings somewhere else. The beauty of this relationship is what happens when the other sibling is not around. It is standing up for them, loving them and protecting them when no one is watching. But surely, fight away to glory when you are in front of each other. Because that's how siblings roll.


 

If I could…

If I could learn one thing from babies…what will it be?

It will be their ability to be in the moment. Have you ever seen kids play? Or eat? Or read? Or pretty much do anything? It is a life lesson happening in front of your own eyes. They are so focused on that one activity in that one moment that it is mind boggling. Admittedly their attention span is low and they tend to switch activities quite often. But while they are working on one task, there is nothing else on their mind.

When Rehan plays with his blocks – I am convinced that there is nothing else on this planet earth he'd rather do. Obviously it lasts about five minutes and then he switches to another activity. But I envy him for the five minutes that he invests in doing that activity. I am pretty sure he is not thinking about what happened at day care that day, who snatched his toy, who let him ride a tricycle, or who did he snatch the ball from.

When Sammy plays with her school bus or when she reads her books – there is nothing else she’d rather do. She seems content, happy. Well, until she is not. At which point she switches to another activity. But the point is, while she is doing one specific thing, she is thinking about that one thing only.

I wonder at what age kids lose the ability to be so singularly focused. But how I wish I could steal their ability to not think about a hundred other things when I do something.

Although now that I think a little more about it – I realize that Siddharth is actually quite similar to Sammy and Rehan in his focus and attention. When he is eating or writing or playing xbox or watching TV or talking – that is the only thing that is on his mind. He doesn’t think of the past or the future. I have very rarely seen an adult so focused on and be in the moment for what they are doing at any given time.

I cannot get that “be in the moment” attitude to save my life. I could be typing a mail, watching a video, talking to someone, in a theater – and be all over the place in my head. From our morning routine to traffic on the way to work to some specific conversation to something that’s been bothering me – I could be processing any of these things while doing whatever I am doing. But that is the main reason why I am a multi-tasker.

So, I guess it is sort of a double edge sword.

All said and done, there is so much to learn from these little people. If nothing, then I would lke to learn to be in the moment for my own peace of my mind. I definitely believe that there is a certain amount of awesomeness in simplifying things. Simplifying life. And one of the ways for me to accomplish that would be to be in the moment. So so so hard. At least for me. I have attempted to do this so many times and I focus so hard on being in the moment that I kind of lose the moment. I guess I just need more practice. Or I just need to find the child in me. The latter might be much harder. Being the mere mortal human that I am, I have lost touch with that inner child in me. I am so surrounded by the world and what’s current and what’s relevant that it makes me feel like I am too far away from the inner child. But at least I have the willingness to learn from other children’s inner-child :).

I will take that.




Kids busy doing what they do best...being in the moment of their goofiness!

My positivity

A reminder to self about being healthy and eating healthy. We are taking baby steps toward it. We are discussing it more among us and with the family. That first step and the earnestness in the intent is monumental for me.
 

Eyes

A little over 10 years ago, when I was a student in Arizona, I attended an Art of Living workshop. At that time I didn’t think I got much out of it. At this time I don’t remember most of it so I am not sure what I really got out of it. but there is exactly one thing I remember. One of the exercises required us to pair up with another person and switch partners every so often, sort of like speed dating. We were supposed to sit facing each other and hold hands and look into the other person’s eyes. I forget what the point of this exercise was. It was kind of awkward to begin with. Sitting in front of a stranger, or worse yet a non-stranger, holding their hands and looking into their eyes is not the most natural situation. But this is pretty much the only thing I remember because I learnt a very important lesson that day. After we were told what the exercise was and before we started this exercise I was screaming in my head “Gosh…please don’t pair me with that guy…anyone but that one.” Honestly, I don’t know why I felt that way. I guess I just assumed I won’t enjoy the exercise with this particular person. I know that sounds totally mean. I it think it is kind of mean. Hopefully I have matured since then. Anyway. About 15 seconds into the exercise I decided to focus on doing what was being asked of us and focus on that person’s eyes. And all I could see was a very very pure innocent soul. I know that sounds overly preachy, but that is absolutely true. I then switched partners at least a few more times and experienced the exact same thing with everyone. No matter who it was, stranger, acquaintance, make, female, person I liked, person I thought I didn’t like, anyone – looking into their eyes and focusing on nothing else for about a minute completely changed my outlook on people. It gave me a new perspective to look at people.

Try this next time. It seriously works. 99% of the times.

The point is, I truly think eyes are gateway into people’s soul. It is the most honest organ in our body. Eyes can say what our actions and words cannot. Everyone has a story and your eyes tell yours.

 My Positivity

 

It was Siddharth's birthday on July 26, Saturday. It was such a wonderful weekend that involved friends, sleep-over, Paranormal Activity IV (yes, we are into that), cake, park, fabulous brunch, date night (thanks to kids' day care for hosting Parent's Survival Night), movie, waterfront, beach, sand, water. Life is good. Really really good.