Author: Laksh

Author. Parent.

Respite

Photo by Kristin Vogt on Pexels.com I wake up a little after 4:00 am most days. Today, I woke feeling happy and rested which is a rarity. It has been two days since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were sworn in as President and Vice President. I cried as I watched them take their oath. … Continue reading Respite →

Memories Bring Back Memories

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Today marks eleven years to the day since we received the call from the social worker. It was a Thursday, like today. Earlier in the morning, I had written in my blog. “Ever get that feeling that you are caught on the median with vehicles flying past both ways wondering … Continue reading Memories Bring Back Memories →

#LettersToKamala – Tryst With Fame

Early in January, the Biden Inaugural Committee put out a call on social media asking for children to write a letter to our VP-Elect Kamala Harris. I promptly bookmarked the tweet and asked all three of my children if they would write to her. My reasoning was simple. This is history in the making. VP-Elect … Continue reading #LettersToKamala – Tryst With Fame →

Hard Conversations

Photo by Vincent M.A. Janssen on Pexels.com Not unlike a day last year following George Floyd's death at the hands of the police, I stood by the kitchen island and played a seven minute video showing what happened in the nation's Capitol yesterday. All three of my children watched in horror as men and women … Continue reading Hard Conversations →

Parenting From The Sidelines

Photo by burak kostak on Pexels.com I watch my twins laugh and chat with their friends from school over Facetime. The happy faces, the whispered exchanges and the giggles that break out every once in a while, make me amused. I think about the time I was eleven in the pre telephone, pre internet days … Continue reading Parenting From The Sidelines →

Goodbye, 2020. Welcome 2021.

Photo by Disha Sheta on Pexels.com It is New Year’s eve as I write this. My morning has been productive. I’ve cooked an elaborate meal of vendekka morkuzhambu, beans parupu usili with ample help from Amma. I have two batches of Jalapeno bread proving in the oven, I also have four rounds of laundry in … Continue reading Goodbye, 2020. Welcome 2021. →

2020: The Year In Review

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com January this year started on a promising note with my then yet to be published book showing up on a list of anticipated reads for the year. The month also saw me read and review The Good Talk on my blog. This book came to haunt me in many … Continue reading 2020: The Year In Review →

Spiritual, Not Religious

Photo by Being.the.traveller on Pexels.com These days I am often on YouTube following my favorite astrologers as they talk craft, offer insights and sometimes do mundane predictions. I am fascinated by this science. I always have been. Numerology, Palm reading, Chart reading, Psychics and the occult have interested me. I have googled paranormal phenomenon, out … Continue reading Spiritual, Not Religious →

COVID-19 Diaries: Kindnesses

I walk around my home, moving my body as I walk, nudging my heart rate up. The view out the windows around the home is bright and cheery. It is cold outside. It has been a while since I went out of my home at all. Outside of the one time in a day when … Continue reading COVID-19 Diaries: Kindnesses →

Crossroads

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com The almost full moon outside my kitchen window is ethereal. I stand transfixed mulling the wonder that is an object suspended in space reflecting light off its surface. I have always enjoyed natural beauty. This year has made me appreciate what I have around me even more. Occasionally I … Continue reading Crossroads →

Thanksgiving 2020: Much To Be Grateful For

Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com As murky as the origins of Thanksgiving are, I have made it my time of the year to look back on the year that was and be cognizant of the things I am grateful for. A good many are the same year after year. Health, Family, Friends, Food and … Continue reading Thanksgiving 2020: Much To Be Grateful For →

Thanksgiving And An Ask

Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com Thanksgiving is around the corner. It is the time of the year when I take stock of the year gone past and process the big and small things that I am grateful for. 2020 has been a strange year. It started with a bang. I was counting on my … Continue reading Thanksgiving And An Ask →

Deepavali Is An Emotion

Photo by Debabrath Goswami on Pexels.com My feed(s) on social media are filled with Diwali wishes. They feature clay diyas with flickering shadows, bright colored rangoli and mithai boxes. The wishes feel alien, the way it feels when someone wishes me Happy Halloween. These customs are new and strange. As a family we have taken … Continue reading Deepavali Is An Emotion →

Unsettled

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com On Saturday, I danced. I never do. This election has had me on edge as nothing has before. In 2016, I was rooting for our first woman President. Trump was a figure in the periphery. Someone whom I did not like based on what I saw. A person who mocked … Continue reading Unsettled →

Truth Permits Us Space To Hold Duality

Earlier in October, Carrie Goldman who runs the Portrait of an adoption series on Chicago Now reached out asking if I would like to submit a piece for their 10th anniversary run. I agreed and thought about what I wanted to write given this is National Adoption Awareness Month. The liminal space in adoption is … Continue reading Truth Permits Us Space To Hold Duality →

Sitting With The Pain

Photo by Zeynep Sude EMEK on Pexels.com My eyes are glued to my phone, the screen that is being shared too tiny for me to follow. The voice in my ears is talking about some test strategy. I am there mentally but physically I am in the morning sun, walking home after waving bye to … Continue reading Sitting With The Pain →