Lessons from Home: 3 yrs thus

It will be 3 years now that I have been settled in my Punjabi Bagh house and have seen things change and learnt a lot. Being at home has changed the social bird in me to the more homely and concerned type of girl. Somebody who notices the dirt around the vase, someone who checks if the veggies are fresh to somebody who  haggles with the dhoban about the price of an ironed sheet. Such are the lessons learnt by me during these 3 years. Take a trip inside the things I have learnt from home in the past couple of years:

1. You can work from home. I have learnt in the past 2 years that it is both easy and difficult to work from home. Easy: Because I can start working without taking a shower and can log off right before hitting the pillow.
Difficult: Because family obligations tie up work sometimes.

2. Things break down in the house.: This is one of the biggest lesson learnt in these past years. All the little nuisances that I never knew existed before crop up now. The leaky faucet, the broken shelf, the car audio: everything needs repair in the same day and everything has to be managed by you.

3. You can be a free Assistant for your husband: From booking his train tickets to depositing his cheques to paying all bills to getting his car serviced, it is all a thankless job. You are a free assistant to the man you married. Kudos to juggling everything.

4. Money flows at the pace of water: Outward flow, of course. As singles, one never knows how much money is spent in the daily working of a house. Well, now, after 3 years of trying to control finances, I realise there is no way to increase inflows and decrease outflows.

5. Parents are a blessing: Mothers, more so. This is something that all girls realise the moment they get married. For me, having a great mother in law slowed the process but the importance of parents hits you when the first fight happens and you are abandoned mid way.

6. Family and Friends, who to choose? : As singles, this question never crops up as friends are what you choose all the time. The equation changes once married and priorities need to be decided at almost every step of life.

7. It's all good at the end: The faulty kitchen sink, the work overload and the massive cooking strain, everything can be managed if the smile that matters finds you at the right spot. Yes, things look bright even if the daal you made was too watery because you had work on your mind if the one smile that matters the most makes its appearance. Perseverance, maybe has been the biggest lesson of them all and things fall in place for even the most turmoil of married lives.

Tigers! Only 1411 left! You kidding me????

I've been seeing the 'Save our Tigers' campaign for over a fortnight now and been thinking of writing something every time the little cub howls over the screen. But then as the ad ends, they would always claim that only 1411 were left and that we should do anything we can to spread awareness about saving them and that would tick me off!

I for one, am not too sure that even 1411 are left now. We all know how the Indian government machinery works. When its a crime scene, they divide the figures by 2 and present it while for something like the national animal going extinct they would surely be multiplying the figure by 2 and presenting it. After all, they don't want to look bad to the public. Its votes after all!

Anyhow, to the subject now. Last year, Mohit and I went to Ranthambore to see tigers in the National Park. We spotted a pair of male and female tiger on our second trip in the park which was denser and more wild than I expected. But when we saw the tigers, it was a feeling beyond any. The wildness seemed to fill up our hearts and we seemed to be braver than before.

There was a thrill like none before. I didn't feel like this even when I met my husband. Now you know the thrill I'm trying to express. The bravado of the big tigers who were in a playful mood seemed to fill the 50 odd crowd that had assembled to sight the majestic animal. Seeing the animal in its natural habitat with a fear of him getting angry and striking you coupled with the elation that his commanding stature presented was a feeling beyond any.

The 30 minute entertainment that the two tigers presented us on Terra fer-ma, aqua pura and hardwood alike was something I cannot comprehend in words. We came back overjoyed with a story to tell to people for the next six months to come.

Later I heard from one of the guides that we were lucky that we got to see two tigers. Most people cannot even see one in their full lifetime. Why? I wondered that time. The ads gave me the answer it. That's because there are only 1411(or lesser) for the whole Billion of us!

Doesn't that solve the mystery! I'm lucky I saw and know what a tiger is! Maybe my kids will think of tigers as we all think of Dinosaurs...Hopefully not...Maybe another tiger safari down the years will greet more and better fed tigers than the ones we saw. Maybe there will be more than the official tiger figures and they never have to say you're lucky that you spotted them.

Amen to that!

Maybe it is an Omen!

I have this crazy knack of losing track of the things I own. This includes my clothing, shoes and even jewelry. That is how careless I can be at times. Just yesterday while cleaning up a cupboard(a bi-annual feature) I uncovered a blue jeans that seemed to be brand new.

I looked at it up and down trying to figure out whose it was. Without doubt, I was sure that somebody had left it while staying with us and that it wasn't mine. I suspected it was Niti's who had left a fortnight back. Then I decided to probe further and dug into the pockets. There I found something that gave me clues pointing it to the owner.

While the back pockets contained some material inside them, it made me think if the jeans belonged to me. I don't know anyone else but myself who stores things in their back pockets and not the front ones. The right side pocket contained a yellow paper while the left side contained two medallions. The yellow paper when unfolded revealed a message : " The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I have to fear" Psalms 23:1.

I vaguely recalled having read this before. Then I gazed at the medallions. Both had Jesus blessing me on them. Well, finally I recalled where the things came from and who the jeans belonged to. The jeans were mine, of course. But the poor thing had been long abandoned by me. The paper and the medallions were given to me while in London by a missionary who was spreading the message of God and peace.

I had put the two things in my pocket and left the jeans out of sight since the trip. What did I benefit from this, you ask? Well, for starters some confidence cos the jeans fitted right. Secondly, I got 'his' message right. He is looking after me and I have nothing to fear. Maybe it is an omen for me!

The jeans now hold space in my regular clothing and the yellow paper with its message is pasted on the mirror I see atleast 10 times a day. Need to keep reminding myself that he is there!!

fingers crossed
Amen