Small Things # 5 – Why do moms stare?

When we were small, I would often feel my mother’s eyes on us during gatherings and functions. In between chats and chores, she would stop and look at me and my siblings.

When I grew up a little, I would get irritated and ask her why she keeps checking on us. “To see whether you look fine,” she would answer with a smile.

Today, I caught myself doing the same thing. The older one looked at me, perplexed. I stopped staring and asked myself the same question – Why was I staring? The mom in me answered – “To see whether they are growing up fine. And to assure myself that I am taking good care of them.” I perfectly understood my mother then!

Images courtesy Google

The Big Brother

He knew it was late. His mother would be anxiously waiting for him but he wanted to dilly dally. He wished, she could come down to receive him at the bus stop just like she used to do! But these days she was always busy with the whining little thing, they brought from the hospital. 

It was his dream to be a big brother but now he realised how challenging it was. The baby was a cranky one. If only they could replace her with a sweet, sleepy baby! He no longer liked being a big brother. He wanted constant attention from his parents more than ever.

Dragging his feet, he went home. His mother was at the door with the baby. She reproached him for loitering around. But the cranky one smiled. He ignored her. But she cooed again and held out her baby hand. 

His feelings changed from dejection to exhilaration! She was quite cute, after all!

(This is my entry to the flash fiction challenge, Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers hosted by the lovely Priceless Joy. We are given a photo prompt and approximately 75-175 words with which to create our stories. This challenge is open to all who would like to participate. Thank you Jessica Haines for the image. Please CLICK HERE for more.)

Just a thought – Kids

I am not taking care of my kids, they are taking care of me – with unconditional love and positive spirit!

Image courtesy Google

5 Dirty Secrets of Mothers!

Yo mothers! I know all your dirty little secrets since I am a mother too. We lead a life that demands constant activity, sacrifice and 24×7 caregiving. Our everyday battles involve commotions, screams, tantrums and hullabaloo over silliest of things. 

So if we have some dirty secrets, we need to be excused! Shouldn’t we?

1) If the baby is sleeping near our closet, we often wear anything from unwashed nightgowns to hubby’s worn out t-shirt after bathing rather than taking the risk of waking the baby up.

2) We excel in eating messy leftovers of kids. This saves food and our energy. After all, eating is important for us not the style.

3) The rule is – never put your hand in a mother’s handbag! You may get revolted on touching used wipes, toffee wrappers and spilt juices on the inside. It is full if tidbits which is there just for satisfaction sake. 

4) Another rule is – watch when you borrow a mother’s phone! It may be battered, greasy or simply discoloured. It often is smeared with  cooking oil, baby food and spices. Most of the time, it becomes non functional and gets reduced to being the favourite toy of the baby.

5) We may have uncountable clothes in our closet but our complaints about ‘nothing to wear’ is justified! One quarter of our clothes are stained with baby poop, food or oil, other clothes are either too big or too small due to changes in our bodies within a span of few years. Some clothes are not ironed and others are simply not washed.

Mothers do many circus acts and perform shortcuts too to multitask. Often, a day seems too small to finish our chores. We need to be celebrated even if we look sloppy, unwashed with messy hair as long as we are bringing up a healthy family. Shouldn’t we!

So, three cheers for all of us! We may be chubby, messy, greasy and at times, overwhelmed and saucy but we are doing the noblest of noble jobs. Please accept our slovenliness for some time and applaud us!

Images courtesy Google

First post by my lil one

First post by my one year old!-

 Uu💐😥🗾🗾😀🍨😊😋❤️🍰❤️😀😬😆😇😇😀🙃🙈🙈🙈🕶🐔🐔🐔♓️📳♉️📳.

He was playing with my phone when he did this mischief. Initially, I thought of deleting it and then stopped. 

You all must have guessed about the author on seeing the content of this post. I have saved this post to show him his doing, when he grows up! 

Now, can you decipher this code? Well, I cannot!

I think, my baby wants to say hello to you all. Or may be he just wants to bug you all a little.

Anyways, lot’s of love and have a great weekend my dear friends.And yes, sorry for any inconvenience caused!

See you soon.

Two years and going strong…

  (This Valentine Special is a guest post by my friend and blogger Mini Singh.)

…I told him, “ I love you “. He was too busy checking out the new wheels and didn’t answer. I was dumbfounded! I waited for a few more seconds and then I said with little more emphasis on those three simple yet most important words, “I LOVE YOU”. He gave me one long look, which went right into my soul. I noticed him taking in my chunky nerdy glasses, dishevelled hair and a tired looking face. But he finally lisped the sweetest words, “I ove you”.

I couldn’t be more happier hearing these words. My little boy has turned two this week. He can’t yet pronounce words with letter ‘L’ in them and tends to say lollipop as ‘wayapop’ and love as ‘ove’. The only L-word he has mastered is ‘Lets go’, perfect to remind us that it’s time to go out for a walk. He likes spinning things, pretty much every thing that he lays his eyes upon and is always on the move. He can be especially seen in our wooden corridor near the entrance as the house is fully carpeted and the little explorer has already understood there is less friction from wood than other surfaces. And after spinning every new object, he turns around seeking an audience, and then our eyes meet and he beams with pride borne out of great accomplishment. I feel great to be a mother at moments like this. Motherhood is indeed blessed!

I have learnt with time and maturity that endless love comes only from a child and all they need in return is time and attention. We need to nourish them well, nurture them into fine human beings and try to be there always. Because they are what we will leave behind.

Have a look at my little beloved, who has changed my life forever!

  

The Epic Awesomness Award

  
I’ve been nominated for this
award title by my dearest blogger friend Millie Thom, whose works are always on my must read list.

She is a versatile writer, who packs creativity and information masterfully in her works. Her castle explorations and travelogues are memorable works, fit to be included in study courses. Do peep into her blog and you will know not one word here is an exaggeration. I am very thankful to her for nominating me for The Epic Awesomness Award. It is awesome to be referred to as awesome by a blogger as awesome as Millie…!

Before I begin about this award in particular, allow me to apologise to some of my blogger friends who nominated me for various awards, but I couldn’t accept those due to time constraints, sicknesses, domestic duties. Nevertheless, I have been very very thankful to them for  encouragement and support.

This particular award is special as it allows flexibility to ramble and there are not many specific questions to answer. Here are the rules:
1. You are awesome; tell us why.
2. You are my friend; tell us about other friends.
3. Be creative, but it’s ok if you are having trouble with this one.
4. There are no direct questions to answer; let yourself run wild!
5. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
6. Notify your nominees.

Here goes my answer:
I believe that I am Awesome simply because I believe in the power above me. I am nothing, He makes me special. I am not creative, He gives me ideas. I barely get time to express, He schedules everything for me…It is Him that makes me Awesome. Earlier, there were times I doubted myself all the time…even now I seroiously doubt my abilities and skills. But gradually, I have learnt to surrender my works, my actions to Him. I just need to work hard, He takes care of the rest. I am just a body, He is life. I am still learning that miracles do happen when you least expect them… and that there is something magical in our existence…the most important thing is to have faith!

I haven’t reached the stage when I consider myself a part of Him. I am a very ignorant seeker. However, I am happy being in His company. We are friends😀.

I am lucky and so very grateful. People around me have always been awesome. First, my parents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunties, cousins, friends …all of them were and are wonderful part of my childhood in small town India. And subsequently, my job years, friends, colleagues all were lovely in their own ways. And now, my kids, my husband and the new family – awesome in a myriad ways.

Last but not the least, my readers and fellow bloggers, are totally awesome people! Everyday I educate myself with your posts… get motivated by your likes and responses…and write to seek your company and feedback. Sometimes a message… a feedback… a like makes my day!

Here is a list of ten general things that make life awesome for me:
1) Cuddly babies who look so magical ( Cheers to all the newborns this year)
2) The ever changing pattern on the sky
3) Sound of laughter
4) Sinful icecreams, cakes, sweets
5) Unplanned outings to explore the world
6) An unexpected and sweet message out of nowhere
7) Genuine smile and nod from a stranger
8) Colourful and vibrant festivals
9) Books
10) WordPress
My Nominees: It is time to nominate some of my fellow blogger friends whom I consider as fabulous and awesome (I would be glad if you accepted the award but if you are unable to… no issues at all). They are each gifted and special people and I love their posts. Here goes the list:
Lata Sunil
Susan Langer
Sherin Skaria
Ritu
Nimi Naren
Louise
Just Maria
Yinglan
Draliman
yarnspinner
Vibrant
Indira
Oliana

Baby Boo and the Teeny Weeny Sandal

One fine evening, Baby Boo, the toy infant escaped from Babyland to look for adventure on Earth. He jumped out of the trampoline clouds, slid through the rainbow and landed on top of a cheerful flower in the garden of old Miss Daisy. All the while he shrieked with joy and sang at the top of his voice.

In case you have forgotten, let me introduce Baby Boo again. You must have seen him in one of your sweetest dreams as a child. Baby Boo is a playful toy from Babyland – the place where all kids in the world go when they dream. Babyland, nestled in trampoline clouds, is the fun place to be. They say it has ice-cream mountains, pizza valleys, juice streams, chocolate trees, plenty of slides,  characters from fairytales and magical toys like Baby Boo. The Baby God reigns over the land. He often admonishes his favourite toy, Baby Boo because he transcends dream in search of adventure on Earth.

Now back to this little adventure trip of Baby Boo, the toy infant. At the time of Baby Boo’s joyful arrival, Miss Daisy was tending her beautiful garden. The delightful singing of Baby Boo startled her so much that she almost dropped the hose. Now, dear Miss Daisy doesn’t like surprises too much. She adjusted her round glasses and looked around for the mischievous trespasser. Lo and behold ! Baby Boo was perched like a butterfly on her precious flower. He tried to hide from her. He knew the old lady when she was a naughty little girl. Like every child on Earth, she had been to Babyland in her dreams. And she always took special pleasure in pulling his ear then, but of course now, the ninety year old did not remember a thing.

Unfortunately, Miss Daisy spotted him. Her eyes weren’t too good, so she couldn’t see the form of her former friend. She thought Baby Boo was a sort of big bug, destroying her beloved flower. So, she rigorously shook the branch that held the flower. Away went Baby Boo, flapping around to regain balance but fell down with a thud. Thankfully, he fell on a tiny wayside sandal, thus his cute back was saved from scratches.

Now, the sandal had a sad story to tell. She belonged to Baby Vir and she had accidentally slipped out of his feet while he was enjoying an outing with Mumma and Little brother Adi. She had been lying on the road for about fifteen minutes contemplating her fate. Any moment a passing car could run her down!

Baby Boo hugged the sobbing sandal and promised to reunite her with Baby Vir. Boo is said to be great at making a sad soul smile!

On the other hand, Vir’s Mumma was still unaware of the missing sandal as they took a walk along the winding pathway. She was busy informing her older son, little Adi about rabbits and birds. She was a little worried as her baby Vir had been inconsolable. What she did not know was – Vir had been crying for the missing teeny weeny sandal. He had been struggling to point out to Mumma that his favourite sandal had fallen near Miss Daisy’s house. But grown ups seldom understand a baby. Vir’s mom kept patting his back but did not notice his bare pink foot.

But thankfully, along came Baby Boo – the rescuer! He took the sandal in his arms and flew using his magical power. From above, he saw Mom and the little ones walking toward their apartment. He dropped the sandal right in front of little Adi hoping he would notice.

Little Adi was busy recognising numbers on the number plates of the cars. He stumbled on the sandal but did not look down. Adi moved on and woefully, Baby Boo’s attempt to unite the sandal with Vir was wasted.

Baby Boo flew down again and gathered the little sandal in his arms for a second attempt.

By this time, Vir wriggled his legs so much that his mother noticed that one sandal was missing. They started looking for it as Vir wailed louder and louder. Mumma called up papa and informed him about the missing sandal. The other pair of teeny weeny sandal was shedding tears too. It was a sorry sight!

After a while, they gave up looking for the missing sandal as it was getting dark. They were about to enter their apartment when Baby Boo aimed and threw the sandal right in front of them, just a few feet away. Adi ran and picked it up. He delightfully shouted,” Mumma, here is the missing sandal.”

It was strange that the sandal was found on this side of the building. They had not taken this path on their way out, Mumma wondered.

However, she shrugged and put the sandal back on Vir’s feet. The united pair of sandals tapped each other and smiled gratefully at Baby Boo. Vir baby stopped crying and looked up. He found Baby Boo hovering on the sky. He chuckled, clapped and laughed showing his two tiny teeth.

Before leaving, Baby Boo waved and threw magic flying kisses at them. The kisses tickled the kids so much that they laughed and laughed. Mumma had no choice she laughed too! And so did papa, when they reached home.

This is the picture of the magical toy infant, Baby Boo, clicked long ago. Stay blessed and stay glued for more adventures of Baby Boo. Till then, bear hug to all kids and to those, who refuse to grow up!

3 Days 3 Quote – Pain

The chirpy Ritu of But I smile anyway has challenged me…
The challenge is about posting your favorite quotes or your own quotes for 3 days in a row.

The rules of the challenge include:

Thank the person who nominated you

Post a quote a day for 3 day

Each day nominate 3 new bloggers to take part.

  

I have created the above poster. I completely believe in the thought that…if you can laugh at it, you will bear it. Hope you like the quote.

All my blogger friends are highly creative people with individual expertise. Today, I nominate three gifted bloggers to take up the challenge:

http://www.fropper.com/zones/Yarnspinner

https://serenaglow.wordpress.com

https://thestorytellersabode.wordpress.com

My Grand Uncle and the Mother Goddess

One of my great grand uncles was a deeply spiritual man. A great devotee of The Goddess Kali, his life was one long prayer. Born in a royal family in Orissa (India), he had distanced himself from luxuries and riches of life from an early age.

His sole purpose in life was self realisation through invoking the Mother Goddess. She was the world to him. Early morning, he would make adorable garlands and perform elaborate ‘puja’ by decorating the idol of Mother Kali. His royal room resonated with mantras of the divine Mother. In the evenings, he would sing devotional songs to please the Mother. He would cry and beg Her to visit him once.

His siblings would often make fun of his ‘obsession’. Some people called him mad and all this worried his parents.

But one day, something happened that brought a huge impact on everyone in that palace. My grandmother often recounted this story to us and would end it with a message. I shall convey my grandmother’s message towards the end of this real life story.

One day, few of his friends thought of pulling a prank on him. It was a mean thing to do. But they thought that he needs to be jostled out of his devotional stupor. They paid money to a fierce looking dark Harijan(formerly known as untouchables) lady and asked her to dress up like Goddess Kali and materialise in front of my uncle. She was not to touch him.

It should be remembered that in olden days, caste system was rampant in India and touching a Harijan meant defiling one’s religion. They were not allowed inside the temples and lived in the outskirts of a town or village.

The dark lady was coerced into doing this and she relented. Adorned in red sari and overladen with jewellery, the lady hid herself in my uncle’s prayer room. She had painted her tongue red and looked quite intimidating. On the dusky evening, my uncle arrived for his evening ritual.

He did his customary Shashtang Pranam ( it means that eight limbs of the body, namely, two hands, two legs, two arms, chest and forehead, touch the ground while saluting. A form of complete surrender and letting go of the ego). And then he raised his head to see the lady sticking out her tongue in the form of Kali. For a moment, he just laid there too stunned to speak. It was a horrifying sight for a non-believer.

But he experienced an unspoken joy within him. He washed her feet with tears, took her hand and made her sit by him. He looked like a little baby enjoying the company of his dearest mother.

Meanwhile, the Harijan lady was too uncomfortable to speak. But seeing him in that state she was transformed. She actually felt like being his mother, his goddess Kali. She touched his head and cried out of affection for the pure soul.

His friends soon entered and shooed the lady away. But my uncle was in the state of bliss. They told him that he had been fooled. She was not Goddess Kali but a low class Harijan. He was defiled and needed to be purified by a priest. He just thanked them and said, “You don’t know. I am pure now. This is all my Mother’s doing.  She came to me in the form of that great lady”.

My grandmother said that great grand uncle immersed himself all the more deeply in prayers after this incident. People left him alone to his worship. His faith remained unshakeable till the end and some say that he achieved enlightenment.

My grandmother would sum up the story by telling us, “People had laughed at him for touching the feet of a Harijan lady, but they were fools. He was actually touching the feet of ‘his’ Mother Goddess. He had actually seen ‘his’ God. It was the integrity of his faith that mattered.”

People say and interpret things according to their own convenience and perspective but what matters the most to a person is his own faith. Faith really makes one do and achieve the unthinkable!

Tell Me The Story!

It is time again for Mondays Finish the Story challenge by Barbara Beacham. Here is the picture prompt and the link:

https://mondaysfinishthestory.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/mondays-finish-the-story-march-23rd-2015/

“When the team heard the dam explode, they knew they had limited time to make it to safety.” PAUSE!!! The baby hit the pause button on the remote, so, the film stopped.

I tried to take it from him but too late…he had dropped it behind the heavy sofa. I sighed and he gurgled.

Squatting on all fours, I tried my best to retrieve the elusive remote…my mind still on the thriller. I wished the team could make it to the shore..Or the hero’s family would be shattered.

Somehow, I retrieved the remote but the TV had auto switched off. I wanted to restart but the baby had a messy diaper and he started wailing. The stupid part was I didn’t remember the name of the film or the channel.

The film was no longer there on any channel when I switched on the TV. I missed the exciting film. But, I am sure, you readers might have some ideas..why don’t you tell me what happened next to the rowers?

Why Breast Feeding is A Miracle!

I have been reading a lot of articles on blog sites…some good, some excellent and a few I would like to put in ‘must read’ category. Adel Landman’s blog is in the must read category for new mums – http://paddastoel.wordpress.com/2015/03/06/why-the-men-in-your-family-dont-want-you-to-breast-feed-and-how-to-do-it-anyway/.

It is a detailed analysis on breast-feeding…it will be a great help for new mothers and mums-to-be to study the same. I really appreciate Adel for publishing the article as it has some invaluable information.

I commented on her article that breast feeding is not only good for the infant but also for the new mother. I have breast-fed my older one and currently feeding my baby. It has been a wonderful experience for me. It makes me feel so much closer to my baby. After the birth of my child, when I used to feel emotionally and physically drained, feeding my child not only nourished my little one but also strengthened me.

Breast feeding is a two-way process. It is mutually beneficial for the mother and the child. I think the breast feeding takes away depressive thoughts, it makes the moms happier and I think, prettier:).

So, be encouraged to feed your child. It is quite harrowing in the beginning but a miracle after you get comfortable! I hope everyone manages to enjoy this beautiful aspect of motherhood.

Thank you Adel for addressing this great topic. Looking forward to reading more on your site 🙂