Yesterday one thing led to another and I ended up reading old
posts on this blog. Really old ones, from 2004 and 2005. The most obvious part
is of course I used to write a lot then. Right now the posts take shape only in
my mind, they never get keyed in. I have said this enough number of times, but
being a primary caregiver to a toddler is a challenging and overwhelming job.
It is a wonder how I read and review a few books and contribute (though not too
frequently) to two parenting websites.
Coming back to the topic, my life has changed so much. I would
have never imagined in 2004 that my life would take shape in the way it did. I
was an MBA student then, this blog chronicles my student days, my fears,
getting a job, challenges and loneliness of living and working in Mumbai,
shifting jobs and cities, about my family, about getting married, married life,
my hobbies and my thoughts. So much of my life is here!
Since I am actually writing here after quite some time, not
considering the reposts of my write-ups, I want to write about some good
things:
- I wanted to read 35 books but I have managed about 20 or so. But I am glad I read some amazing books this year and I was more or less disciplined in reviewing each one of them. I will target 35-40 next year.
- I have been getting a lot of books from different publishers for review and that feels great too. What more can a book lover ask for, if not for a perennial flow of books! Of course, I am not able to keep up with the pace but I try my best.
- I still buy a lot of books and will continue to do so. I am not into jewellery or branded clothes or partying, books are my only extravagance!
- I watched a few movies in the hall. From the third trimester of my pregnancy till the time my son turned one, I had not seen any movie in a hall. So, in the last 3 months, I went for 4 movies with a friend (movie with hubby in a hall is not going to happen for some more time): Cocktail, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, English Vinglish and Talaash. I loved 3 out of 4 movies, and JTHJ wasn’t my idea.
- We went for 2 out of station road trips after our son turned one – first one to the Kashid beach and the second one to Ganpati Pule. The first one was with another couple friend, the drive was of 5-6 hours; while the second trip had just us and the drive was for 9 hours. Both went smooth and were quite a lot of fun. Both places have relatively unexplored and therefore very clean beaches.
- Doesn’t feel like it but we completed 5 years of marriage! We agreed we will not gift each other anything and rather buy something for home for memory sake. But I bought a watch for him from the Timex Expedition series while he got me the Philips Hair straightener. And hey, who does not like gifts!
- My son is at a very naughty yet adorable age. Every day he comes up with innovative ways to make my life miserable, no I mean, he is just curious but eventually it turns out to be a lot of work. And he also does such cute antics that we forget all the naughty stuff he does!
- This Diwali, we got a nameplate with his name too. It looks really cute.
- We also finally got a cute little Mandir for our home, just the way I wanted. Since our baby is only 16 months now, so there was no chance of doing Diwali Pooja on the floor, so I thought why don’t we get a Mandir, which we have anyways been planning since ages!
- I have given up watching TV, completely. It never occurs to me to switch on the TV even when I am raking my brains to think of something to do with my sonny boy. I don’t want him to get into the habit of watching TV.
- I had reduced to my original weight of 54 Kgs (without any effort from my side) but now I realise that I am again piling on some weight. So, I need to start my morning walks pretty soon.
So, the New Year is fast approaching and my resolutions are
going to be the same:
- Read More
- Write More
- Lose Weight; and two new ones
- Go slow, enjoy each moment at its face value. We have got so used to multi-tasking that we have stopped enjoying one activity for itself. We need to get back to the basics and start enjoying things more.
- Have patience with the little one
Yesterday Only I was thinking why have you not posted for such a long time. But I understand that with a kid at home and you taking full time care of him there is always a shortage of time.
ReplyDeleteYou know we both aree following similar time lines? We too got married in 2007 and even our babies are almost of same age ;)
And I am amazed with the reading you have done because with a baby at home it is difficult, I do all my readings while travelling, at home it is next to impossible.
And I so agree with your "go slow"...apne liye to we don't take out time na?
And yes kids at this age are fultoo entertainment! :)
P.S. "Lose Weight; and two new ones" What does the last part mean?
I need a crash course in Time Management because I want to do 100 things but get only 10 done :(
DeleteYes, it seems our lives are running parallel.
We are so caught up in trying to accomplish so many things at one time that we don't really enjoy the things we are doing. You know what I mean!
Ha ha ha ... the last part just means two new resolutions apart from the regular ones. Don't try to read between the lines ;)
After ages I found someone whose writing skills I have loved.. needless to say that is you.. probably I learn to express my thoughts as openly as you do.
ReplyDeletePS One Book review you should do and that is 'Shantaram'
will learn* (correcting the typos) ;)
ReplyDeleteWow, your kind words really made my day and has inspired me to come back here more often. Thank you so much for taking time out to read this blog and share your thoughts.
DeleteAnd well, that fat boy 'Shantaram' is sitting on my shelf since last 5-6 years now. I have soooooooo many books and they are all good - I have taken time to choose each one of them - its time hasn't come yet. But good you reminded me, I will pick it up as the first book of 2013.
The pleasure was always mine.
DeleteThe fat book sat on my desk too for a approximately a year but once I started flipping the pages, I never kept it down. The story is so beautiful that you will feel like re-living it again. And I know you will do a good job reviewing it. Will be waiting for it :)
I know, I have heard a lot about this book. It was just out of sight and out of mind. I am definitely going to pick it up soon :-)
DeleteGood one Reema, Kepp writing and sharing...
ReplyDeleteThank you :-)
ReplyDeleteOh Reema! Going slow is my new resolution too. Not only for myself, but to instill it in my daughter too!!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a whole post dedicated to slowing down: http://raodivya.blogspot.com/2012/12/slow-down.html
I am also going to keep a count of books I will be reading next year. Great goal to have in resolution list!
Hi Divya, so good to find you here :-) I saw your post. I am starting to feel that doing too many things together is a woman thing. As you have also mentioned in your post, your husband is not the one who is rushing through things, same with my husband. They do things leisurly and perfectly. We are always pulled in different directions so we never enjoy 'the moment'. Honestly, I got this idea through Femina. Recently they had an issue on this.
DeleteBooks are my passion. I have loads of them and I love, love the whole process of reading reviews, selecting books, ordering, receiving. It is blissful :-) but I read too few because of lack of time. A target keeps me motivated to some extent, and I push myself. I hope to do better next year!