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My Cup Floweth Over
I end the day, my heart full, my eyes teary, and overcome with emotion. All through the day, I watched as friends and family shared posts on their social media. They accompanied links to my books with lengthy write-ups, an ode to the time we have known each other. Each of these posts were heartfelt,…
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COVID-19 Diaries: It Takes A Village
I woke up at 2:45 am to news that Amma will be discharged Friday. By the time I brushed and checked messages again, I learned she would be going home today. The following hour was manic. Phone lines buzzed between continents. Friends and family worked in tandem to make sure she could go home without…
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COVID-19 Diaries: A Lull
I woke today to news that Amma may be discharged in a day or two. Panic set in. Was she really okay? What if she got sent home and her condition worsened? How will we manage to clean the home and make it ready in a day? What preparation do we need to do in…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Bone Tired
It has been five days since Amma has been admitted. The communication gaps when trying to coordinate care in a country 8000 miles away is staggering. Basic questions like what medications is she on? Why is she being given the medicines she is being administered? What is the prognosis? Will they check her lungs again?…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Glimmers of Hope
I am on a work call. I am distracted by incoming messages. At some point, I request the rest of the day off and focus on the messages on my phone instead. There are different sets. One with Amma. One with my siblings. One for my medically competent friends. I share details and worries. I…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Doom
My right eye twitches. I press my finger on the jumping nerve to still it. Tears poke behind my eyelids. My eyes burn. I am feeling feverish from a lack of sleep and running on adrenaline for two weeks now. My phone lights up with a notification. An extended family member reaches out hearing of…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Direct Hit
Over the weeks, I have mused countless times about how much the pandemic occupies my thoughts. I have imagined in vivid detail what the virus does and can do to our bodies. I have feared that someone dear to me might be affected. Amma spiked a fever ten days ago. A mild fever she said.…
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COVID-19 Diaries: Longing
It is past bedtime but the five of us are crowded around my laptop peering into the screen. My siblings and their families are in small rectangles on the display. It is chaotic. It is loud. We sing off key as my niece cuts her birthday cake. The whole meeting is less than thirty minutes.…