Back at the nest, feeling undeservedly blest...
Branches bowed down by the weight of pears...
Bright green bunches of grapes in the small grapevine...
Plump red and yellow tomatoes kissed by the sun...
Purple luscious plums ripening by the minute...
Racket of early birds gathering breakfast...
Unrestrained happy purrs and meows of the kitties...
Cozy favorite comforter spread out on the bed...
lift my spirits enough to not let
Overgrown brown grass and weeds,
Piles of accumulated mail,
Lingering litterbox odor,
Dust and disarray from months of absence
take away the elation at finding ourselves back at this little patch of Earth we call our Home.
Briefly breaking a couple of 12-hour naps to answer Nature's calls, nestled within familiar walls, Ana seems to be getting back into the rhythm of things today.
Happy with a few bottles of milk for nourishment, guzzled down in half-dazed state, Oggie seems to have managed the first 24 hours at home with minimal activity.
While some (read D) like to dismiss jetlag as made-up hogwash, my system seems to have succumbed to it, thanks to a fairly tedious 9½-hour flight followed by a 10-hour flight, with associated check-in/transit/security formalities compounded by dragging a groggy kid attached to one leg and a screaming infant dangling on the chest, not to mention the diaper bag, activities bag, snack bag and change-of-clothes-and emergency-medicine bag hanging onto various body parts.
On an aside, I find that getting back from India has caused severe desynchronosis than the other way round, for me. Despite the 24 hour onward journey with the associated challenges along the way, I managed to get to my parents', rest till a decent morning hour, freshen up and head out for a short shopping trip with my mom... not so now that I am back.
Possibly the adrenalin charged me up on the way over, and knowing I was not alone probably helped sustain the spirit.
Staring at the pile of unsorted mail held for about a month since D's trip across the globe, now that I am home alone with the kids, I feel a bit overwhelmed dealing with bills, juggling the unavoidable chores of grocery-shopping, cooking and laundry, not to mention taming the garden and making sure its bounty is well-utilized (read: canning tomatoes, tom.sauce, plums and pears; drying the mint leaves and Thai chilies, gathering the fennel seeds), and generally getting the house back in order...
In the confusion that ensued from having to set the baby loose, remove the baby carrier from person, empty pockets and send bags through conveyor only to have the ultra-sensitive detector at Frankfurt beep at the token Thaali that I wore for the India trip, as I watched helplessly desperately imploring for someone to please watch my loosed-infant running at top-speed putting a good 8 feet between him and me, several not-so-good things happened, the worst of which was that I left all 3 passports behind and didn't even realize it until after boarding the plane and strapping the kids in for take-off!
Well, long story short, the trip back was a slightly less harrowing experience than the onward one, and all I can say is that thanks to the sincere prayers my mom and dad sent heavenwards, I felt a divine presence by my side bringing us home safely.
This post would be incomplete if I didn't send out my sincere thanks to Dad for bringing us home from the PDX airport without much fuss... and Mom, thanks for staying an extra day to help us out as we recover... too bad you had to leave... Wish you could've stayed with us till your son gets back home...
Many sentimental and sweet thoughts from the India visit are ringing in my head waiting to get moulded into nice little posts, but, they have to be on hold for a little while longer till I can get organized here and handle the next few weeks alone...
As I focus on attending to things here, I am beginning to countdown the days till D comes home so the kids can settle down to a familiar and comfortable routine, knowing both Amma and Appa are there at hand when they need them. 'Til then, I'm sure all the fresh tomatoes from the garden completely justify eating salsa fresca for lunch with home-made chips (pieces of chapathi crisped in the toaster oven), and tomato salad for dinner, while feeding tomato soup and tomato rice for the kids every day till the bounty runs out...
p.s: I was trying to remember the last "vacation" and realized I had recorded it - feels nostalgic reading about it - Ana was just about 2 yrs old and Oggie wasn't anywhere around... it was sort of a relaxed tour but we managed to see a lot of new places and things... but I do remember it being quite a bit challenging traveling with Ana despite having D nearby.
Labels: india2009, random musings, vacation
posted by Sheela
8 comments
8 Comments:
Sigh. There's a sense of anticlimaz after any trip, but it is good to be back home isn't it? What ever happened to the passports? How did you get it back?
It must have been really hard travelling so far with two young children! Hugs! Settle in well. And yes I used to feel more jetlagged going to the US than coming to India too.
Dear Poppy, It sure is good to be home... just wish I didn't feel so alone - I've lived alone before, but, not having another adult in the house now, esp. with kids around, and no friends in town to call and meet up, it sure is a bit of a bummer after being enveloped in so much affection and interaction for 2+ months...
And, the passport: here's where I felt the divine presence - Lufthansa traced me to my plane - which wasn't at any gate as we were carted in a bus to the middle of nowhere and made to climb some 100-odd steps (seemed like it with kids and baggage) to be seated - this uniformed gentleman came and started asking my name and such like some interrogation and it spooked the heck out of me and then satisfied it is me, he handed my 3 passports and smiled knowingly :)
So Oggie wore Thandai after all(even though for Photo purposes)...
you know what, after all hungama i did when my mom blackmailed me into making LB wear his thandai, I felt bad removing it when he outgrow them. It was as if he was no longer a child. It pains to see him growing up so fast. Sigh, this motherhood.
Glad your return trip was better compared to the onward one. Stay in touch!
HI Lavs, you know, my athai insisted on getting that thandai for Og and I didn't have the heart to say No - so Og wore the thandai all through his stay in India. I took them off for the flight as I didn't want every security check to be a pain - took off their bangles and bracelet and such for the flight :)
Oh, and the picture was taken on Raksha bandhan day (also Avani Avittam) - Ana tied the little raksha on Og's wrist - it was a casual series of pictures I took on that day and they came out fine so I had to use them for the blog :)
I know what you mean about them growing up so fast - and why can't they make thandais in bigger sizes so we can stretch the sweetness, right?!
Oh...Sheela, it must be so hard to manage on your own alone after staying with family for so long. Especially the silence, the non-interfering neighbours, complete in charge of the kids must all be such a contrast to your life the past couple of months! Must be so hard, but we are great at adapting aren't we? Hope the two weeks fly and you are all together as one unit again! Take care until then!
Sole, just the fact that you take the time to leave me a kind note gives me enough strength to shake off this feeling of loneliness... you are right, the silence is deafening after constant noise for the last 2+ months... it sets a melancholic mood that I must discourage.
Cariad,
I am glad you're home and everyone is getting re-adjusted. Harvest time is started and that is always a good time to go to the farmer's market and get the bounty of nature. Unfortunately, I still have 3 weeks of hotel living.
--D.
D, sweet old D, practical as always - it was sweet of you to leave this note - emails and video-chats notwithstanding, your note here means way more to me, don't ask why! And, I am sure you knew it already :)
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