Concerned

Sunday 25^th April

Age is only a number when you are in love I know, but what is tried tested and accurate is that age is also ONLY a number when it comes to a genuine and no frills friendship.

With the fever dying off but yet the tiredness kicking in I couldn’t do much but BINGE on netfilx or read a  book.  To lighten things up I decided to call an extremely dear friend who went through the covid with her dad. She is more than a decade older than me but has attitude of someone who is a decade younger than me.  We chatted and laughed through it all. This optimistic approach lifted up my mood. I was happy I made that call. She had taken the test too as she was now flying to America  (Im not supposed to say when) and boy her escapades with all the documentation and the processes were hilarious. She’s witty and humorous, finds a silver lining to it all. In the midst of or very jovial conversation she said something very true to the given scenario. When someone is ‘concered’ as they say- they may be inquisitive or  intrusive and sometimes  irritating .

This could not be put more aptly in the given condition I was today. I was tired, starting to run a bit of a cold and ready for another round of fever away from my baby. People would call and call as they were concerned and trust me I had zilch energy after a while. Takes me back to the times I was preggo ! Every woman irrespective of them having a baby or even not, had to be 'concerned'. The thought of those endless aunty advise making me choke and gasp for air .

Talking bout gasping for air, one of the things  to monitor along with your temperature during these times is your oxygen. One needed a oxymeter to help you measure that.  We bought this tiny little device ,the mere size of a matchbox and had to be clipped onto your finger and voila you could know your heartbeat rate, your oxygen level and your pulse. Fancy yeah ?

Also..my phone needed oxygen in these tough times too..it told me to update to 'oxygen 11.0' 

PS : yeah hunk Roy called me , he said he was coming over. 

 

I am postive.. so I think !

A regular Friday night was turning out to be a bit iregular one.

The baby was put to bed the chores were done the prep for the next day? Hmm I couldn't there was a certian weird glitch.

An intch in my throat which was definitely not a regular one. Of course I get into my panic gear. what's happening ? Why am I feeling this ?

Just last night we watched the news (very bad idea)  and it had the alarm of high death rates , all time high in India's rise in cases. Of course we all know the story. It's 2021 and the corona still takes the lives of many.

Back to me. Waking up very early Saturday morning with the chills wasn’t a good thing and the Crocin I took didn’t help then. Was this really happening ? I didn’t go out, nor did I meet anyone, nor did we come into contact with anyone. So may be I’m just going to chum. But deep down I knew this wasn’t true. With the heaviest heart I woke up the husband who barely gets enough sleep. Quickly explained the situation and both decided to do the tests.

No lab was ready to send anyone over till Monday !! I couldn’t wait that long. There had to be another way. Lucky for us, we knew someone who helped us arrange for someone to come to take our tests enroute to his next visit.

In a couple of hours a very positive, calm and composed lad came to our door . His attitude calmed me and I knew I could get through some swabs shoved in my nose, even though the thought of it was disgusting.

The process was a breeze and we were done in 15 minutes. Within that span he received numerous phone calls and messages. One of which he answered with the uttermost calm to a person who I think was freaking out on the other side. This guy not more than 35 was pooped out, but yet here he was out of his way because ‘he gave us his word’ and also reassuring people who were blasting him with phone calls that things would get better.  

No he didn’t charge me extra, nor did he make a sneaky comment for a tip. He simply did his job with dedication and left. 

The rest of the day was a daze. In and out of high and low fever throbbing headaches and recording the temperature and intake of medication every couple of hours. That wasn’t the heaviest yet.

 I ‘isolated’ myself in our bedroom away from my son and husband. I had separate cutlery , towels, toiletries and so on. The heaviest part was the evening I woke up to my son crying as he just woke up . Motherly instinct kicked in – I opened the door, and he ran towards me crying reaching out for a hug and comfort . My husband quickly grabbed him and I had to shut the door. 

 

This was the contagious Corona BUT I AM determined to hug my son soon!

 

#33to33- Reading

After a bit of going off track and a bit of laziness I decided to get back to reading. Something I completely loved, something that took me out of this world allowed me to build my own cocoon of peace and harmony. Reading allowed  me to forget all that happened during the day and look forward to something new with every new chapter. Today picked up a book that I had left midway.  To set the mood I had the best accompaniments of chocolate milkshake and a tart to go with it. 

With the baby asleep and pin drop silence it was gonna be a blissful night.

Back in college I couldn't afford to buy new books. With little pocket money, I would buy books from the guy on the street who would sell second hand books or pirated books. I know many wouldn't support the idea, but somehow this guy on the pavement always had good books. After many buying on a regular basis, the guy set up a deal- I could read a book and give it back and he would offer me half the price for it. He was happy, I was happier :)

 Today I am blessed that I can buy any book  at full price and sometime I'm even gifted one.

The bliss of opening a book and flipping pages  under the dim lights and peaceful nights.

#33to33 greetings

Meeting and greeting 

A lousy post cause it was a lousy day, I just couldn't get my head and heart to think about me.

Well I did at times but it was all rot and negative.

I had to pull myself together to think of something to really snap myself out of the drama.

My instant mood fixer, my go to for a little happiness portion -is a ride to Bandra (rik-shaw) of course !

The sheer thought of it was completely bliss. Bandra has been the little 'city' as I like to call it my world ! My school , my college, my first office of 3 years had all there. My heart... Was there there. 

We set out to meet my aunt over a cuppa tea and boy what a good idea that tired out to be. We haven't seen each other which would now be close to a year thanks to the Pandemic.  

Old memories,flavours of Bandra PAO and snacks and catching up got us beaming ! To see the joy of meeting one another on everyone's face is something that can't be explained.

Tea time soon rolled on to dinner and there was no talk of leaving.

 With a lighter hearts and heavier bags we got back home ! 

Oh to be on Bandra ! 🎶

#33to33 - the universe

 was a rather rough and tough day and it only grew worse .

I didn't think I'd want to do anything for me today, I had my daily chores outlined, which seemed even more dreadful today.

I was close to giving up on what I should do for me to make me cheerful. I am excellent at psyching my self into various negative notions.

The mind is so so susceptible to accepting negative notions rather than a positive one. And it really take hard work and daily reminders to convince oneself about confidence and self esteem! 

But I'm guessing along with doing what makes me happy, happiness is also a state of mind, may also be a very conscious choice.

With my 33 to 33 quest, I knew I was forced to make time for me- something I would never do or else , but what ?

Minutes later into a video call with my family over a cuppa chai  , my heart was lighter and my mood brighter. This was further extended with mum and I reminiscing over the funniest moments of life when I was a child.

The universe wanted me to accomplish 33to33 !

I may not have done anything out of the way for today, but God knew how to put this  happiness portion there. He sent my mum :) 

She told me I was rougher and rougher !

#33to33 - leisure walking

A walk to remember 

Since I've gotten married I've always tried to spend alone time with my mum.A bond that developed differently with the different roles we both played over the period of years. We love to catch up over evening tea and share random conversations. 

Today my one thing to do was walk down the road with my mum. I had two goals to achieve, one  - get her to get over the fear of moving out in public and two- spend alone time with her . Since I moved to a new residence, we both had much to simply gaze at even though it was just down the street.

It was a role reversal stage. There were times where she used to hold my hand and show me around. Today it was the other way.

My mum isn't the type to gossip, talk about others or pass judgement. And yet, we have good conversations.

We walked together with our masks on our faces and sparkle in our eyes. We both needed the time off . Surprisingly we didn't have much conversation - but we were so content on our hearts.

The simple joy of walking with each other

 fully understanding each other

 with out exchanging many words with each other.

#33to33- Baking

 

This is going to be  short and deliciously sweet !🍰🍰

Last night I did sleep happy fulfilling my goal of doing one thing for me! However knowing me, I stressed about 'what next' , what should I do next ? will I have enough material to write about it.

By the morning I knew exactly what I was doing to do for me! Bake of course.

Baking for me is therapeutic especially late at nights.  My love for baking started when I just finished school. My mum got me enrolled at a local baking class and soon I was doing some sugar crafts too. She would allow me to use the kitchen after she finished with her share of the kitchen work. we didn't have very big kitchen nor tooo many resources , but her encouragement was enough to get the ball rolling. Sometimes she would bake with me, some times she would simply allow me to do my bit.

Late night baking meant a quiet house with the whirring of my hand blender, the cracking of eggs, the scrapping of the vessel and the faint aromas of freshly baked cake. I'd wait patiently reading whatever material available or clearing up the kitchen and the dining table checking on the cake from time to time. The sounds of the times always made my heart skip a beat - excitement and yet.. 'darn they better not wake up'. And at that very hour... where Id bake my cake, I would eat it too! :) 

Today I baked reliving all those memories and how blessed I am to have a fancy ass kitchen, all the necessary baking tools , space for 3 in a kitchen and yet the aromatic smells to fill my home! 

What special today ? Mum is here with me and she will wake up to the aromas of freshly baked cake!