Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com Laddu was at her school desk painstakingly taping Dum-Dum pops to her dinosaur sticker valentine cards. She was excited. It is all she has been talking about this week. Today, when she is back home, she will bring with her a box full of valentine cards, an assortment of … Continue reading Jaded, Faded.
Category: Love
COVID-19 Diaries: Anniversary
Photo by Văn Thắng on Pexels.com Nineteen years is a long time. It is even when you factor in the first few years when you are getting to know the person, the next few years when you are struggling to build a family, the years after that are consumed by nurturing this hard-built family. We … Continue reading COVID-19 Diaries: Anniversary
Saaptiya?
The children troop in, one after another, tired, messy hair and cold. The routine is the same every day. I insist they put their boots away, hang up their jackets and use the bathroom before snack time. I stand by the kitchen island, three bulging school bags lined next to each other. I am methodical. … Continue reading Saaptiya?
Valentine’s Day: Flawed And Perfect
“I have two Master’s degrees you know?” I playfully tell my oldest daughter as we talk about why I should be working. The conversation stems from a chance remark about how exhausted I feel and she quips that perhaps I should quit as I did once before. “I probably will get another Masters after you … Continue reading Valentine’s Day: Flawed And Perfect
Contrarian Love
"Can I get a pair of diamond solitaire earrings?" My tone is playful. He responds with gravity, asking me a zillion questions and finally pronounces that yes he will. "Can we adopt twins?" His immediate reaction is one of incredulity and anger. The next morning, he is sheepish as he agrees to expand our family … Continue reading Contrarian Love
Love That Spilleth Over
Laddu peeks in the study and noticing I am on a work call, closes the door gently behind her as she runs upstairs in search of akkas. Her pigtails bounce up and down as she scampers away and my heart swells with a feeling that feels too big for me. I am disoriented by the … Continue reading Love That Spilleth Over
Vacation Tales
We (my children and I) returned from a ten-day trip to Texas late last night. Exhaustion had us sleeping well into the morning. All day today I unpacked and prepped for the week ahead. Milk boiled away in anticipation of making curds. The grinder whirred all evening making a fine silky batter of rice and … Continue reading Vacation Tales
Building A Sonata
Earlier this week, a friend shared this letter (excerpt 3). Words that have stuck with me for over two decades now when I first discovered Bach and the Bridge Across Forever. There was even a time when I thought I could not get married to someone who cannot discuss stuff like this with me. Eighteen years … Continue reading Building A Sonata
Milestone: Ten Years Old
Pattu bounds down the stairs each morning, a full hour before her sister Ammu wakes. Some days she hugs me around the middle. Some days, she sits at the island waiting for her dad to wake and give her company as she brushes. Our early morning conversations are limited but a growing reminder of how … Continue reading Milestone: Ten Years Old
Non Anniversaries
Saathi’s voice modulates up and down to match Laddu’s enthusiasm at the little table by the kitchen island. Laddu is on her tiny pink chair. Her toy from the dollar store named Gem is cooking on the molded one-piece kitchenette propped against a stack of books on the table. Saathi is next to her, his … Continue reading Non Anniversaries
Love Is All That Matters
My iWatch shows 6:46 AM. The king size bed I am in is curiously populated. I am on one side almost at the edge of my side. My youngest is way past the middle on dad’s side of the bed. A little away is Pattu breathing heavily and making it known she is awake and … Continue reading Love Is All That Matters
#ToAllTheBoysIveLovedBefore
#ToAllTheBoysIveLovedBefore at the high school, I was too busy trying to not cry at being called fat, busy trying to fit in, busy trying to come out of the shadow of my beautiful friends. I was trying hard to stay awake in class after 5:00 AM tuitions and after-school remedial classes. I was too caught … Continue reading #ToAllTheBoysIveLovedBefore
A Good Man
I am sending some emails when a new one downloads. Saathi the name reads and my face breaks into a smile. Reflexive, something I cannot control. The subject says, “Your PECO bill” and I almost laugh. In the ten days I have been away from home, I haven’t caught myself thinking about him or the … Continue reading A Good Man
Love In The Times Of Middle Age
Anniversaries have this way of inspiring reflection on who we were, who we are now. Each year as the week of Valentine’s day comes around, Saathi and I talk about the day we met and how we decided in a couple of hours that we were to be partners in life. I don’t think I … Continue reading Love In The Times Of Middle Age
When I am Gone
She flicks a tear from her cheek, her nervous laugh a cover for unexpected emotion. Pattu reaches out, her fingers lacing themselves through mine. Ammu is on my lap, her neck nestled in the crook of my neck and shoulder. She nuzzles, her cheeks wet with tears. I am overwhelmed. By the tears. By the … Continue reading When I am Gone
Crushes and Blushes
Pattu says, "Amma, Ammu has a crush on M." Ammu blushes a deep red. Then I ask Pattu "Do you still crush on L?" Pattu blushes deep red. Ammu tells Pattu "M is just a friend. Not a crush!" Pattu persists until Ammu relents "His name starts with C" We all take turns guessing until … Continue reading Crushes and Blushes
State Of The Union – Sixteen Years
I watch him squint in the twilight, his face looking bare without glasses. “Can you read this?” he holds a tiny molded toy (Tsum Tsum for the initiated). I look at it in turn and give it back. I can barely see anything. “Made in China,” he reads and looks at me expectantly. I stare … Continue reading State Of The Union – Sixteen Years
To The Moon And Back – We Love You
The sun slants in through the open glass of the side door. It feels warm against my face. All three kids surround me. One is convinced her sleeping bag needs a wash. The other two are taking their first delightful steps into the Harry Potter universe. The questions fly thick and fast. I can’t seem … Continue reading To The Moon And Back – We Love You
Tripping On Memories
I love looking back. I collect memories. I relive the years gone past. I look into old photographs and see past the people in the pictures. I am transported back to slivers of time preserved in my head. These memories, they swirl in my head like in a pensieve, dragging me along into corridors … Continue reading Tripping On Memories
A Rose By Any Other Name
In the past few weeks, my mind has been consumed by thoughts that can only be classified as morbid. Close on the heels of reading “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanidhi and subsequently hearing of the loss of a cousin at a young age, I was driven by a need to distill my thoughts … Continue reading A Rose By Any Other Name
Cards, kisses and a whole lot of love
The house is quiet. The kids are in bed. Saathi is on the highway somewhere returning home from his first ever US Open visit. A few months ago, when he broached the subject of going to watch the Open with friends, I jumped at the idea. He was taken aback. I laughed as I told … Continue reading Cards, kisses and a whole lot of love
