At Random [UBC Post 8]

In absence of any one particular subject to write about, I would write a random post today. And I love random posts because those are the most interesting ones. You don’t have to bother about the topic or the flow, just write what’s going on in your life and on your mind.

Here it goes:

• I finally finished ‘the Greatest Show on Earth’. Though it took me a while to finish it, I had a good time. It has also sparked my interest in this genre. A little bit of research led me to this book called ‘Stars from Another Sky’ by Saadat Hasan Manto. Next on my Wishlist. 
• That brings me to the books I ordered yesterday from Flipkart. I had a gift voucher of Rs 794. So, by just paying Rs 4 (since the order total was Rs 798), I ordered following books:
• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro by Jai Arjun Singh (part of my newly-discovered love for film literature)
• The Missing Queen by Samhita Arni (This has been on my list for a long time now)
• Selective Memory: Stories from My Life by Shobhaa De (I ordered this one purely for its sensationalism) 
• My little one is about to be 2 by the end of this month. No matter how clichéd it may sound, I don’t know where the months went by. Sometimes I have this surreal realization when I look at him ‘from where did this little man turned up in our lives and turned it upside down’ J 
• The little one’s Dadaji-Dadi (paternal grandparents) and Bhaiya (cousin brother) were visiting. He would tail atleast one of them all the time, mostly his brother. It was difficult to maintain his schedule since he wouldn’t easily go for sleeping, when he would be having so much fun playing with big brother! However, I managed. I am a strict mother that ways. One of the days, his grandpa was going out for some work and as usual he wanted to tag along. His grandmother told him that “Dadaji bhow bhow (dog) ki pitti karne ja rahe hain (showing him slapping gesture)” translated to grandpa was going for beating up the dog. After that he himself started saying the same thing whenever he would not find any person at home. He would say ‘Dadaji bhow bhow (then show slapping gesture)”. Now, they have gone back to Delhi. So, whenever somebody asks the little one where is your Dadaji/ Dadi / Bhaiya. He would say “Dadaji / Dadi / Bhaiya bhow bhow (slapping gesture)”. Many times he would say it without even asking, as if to sonsole himself. Poor thing! It is so heart-rendering to watch little kids cope with such kind of situation.
• He is unable to pronounce his own name yet, so he calls himself baby. So, if it is sleeping time and you ask him who is going to do neenna (sleep)? He would say “baby”.
• I have a diary where I try to write every once in a while about his development and feelings etc. I have kept space for pasting relevant pictures also, but haven’t really progressed on that front. I have seen many mommy bloggers who have chronicled their baby’s development diligently. I am always skeptical of posting his pictures on the internet. [Read my article on similar lines here] I am tempted a lot of times because it is so much easier to put everything on a blog, especially when you want to do cross-linking, uploading pictures and videos. I know, I can have a private blog, but I just thought writing it in my own handwriting will be special. But it is getting difficult day by day. I also have a folder in which I put souvenirs like museum tickets, first rakhi, letter from grandmother, messages from grandparents, uncles and aunts on his first birthday, etc.
• When I wasn’t a mother, I had never given a thought to how would I raise my child, whether I would be working or would turn a Stay-at-Home mom. But one thing led to another and to cut the long story short, the moment I discovered I was pregnant, I wasn’t working. So, I just thought to take a break. And now I feel it has been one of the best decisions of my life. If you are interested, you may read my post on why I decided to quit. When I am with my son the whole day, there are several little moments with him which are extremely special – just being there next to him when he wakes from afternoon nap, walking him around when he wakes up if he wants, many little kisses and hugs, when we just start running around the house with the sound of his laughter filling my ears and my heart….there are many moments which I cannot even explain!
• How many of you feel that motherhood can get lonely sometimes? Especially if you are a Stay-at-home mom. You don’t get a break which you do when you go to office. Of course, I would not like to change a thing about my current situation but many times I miss meeting people, getting a break from following baby’s schedule. It gets lonely sometimes because in weekdays hubby can be around only for a few hours. Of course, he tells me to go out during weekends but I am lonely with lazy. Deadly combination I tell you!
• I had a heart-to-heart with hubby today. We discussed about making time everyday for the two of us. In being parents, we are forgetting about each other. May be not forgetting, but iit gets pushed down the priority list. It is going to be tough because I have about 4-5 hours in the whole day when I need to read, write (blog), read on internet, respond to my mails (though few), and now we want to do something like play some games or generally talk about the day, have tea / coffee, etc. It is not uncommon to see people hooked to their computer / mobile / TV screens in their free time. And I am not talking about only my household. I want to change that. I cannot let technology rule my life.
• I want to lose 4 kgs. I wanted to do that before my birthday but that has already gone 2 and half months back (1^st May). So, now I am targeting my son’s birthday which isn’t too far either. I cannot do dieting. I usually don’t eat junk food on daily basis so what remains to be done is some physical activity. I am planning to re-start walking / jogging from tomorrow (the elusive tomorrow), skipping (I love skipping and I can do that easily) and crunches – one by one. I just hope I accomplish even one fourth of what I plan. That much will be enough.

Before signing off, I want you to guess my age. I hope I haven’t mentioned that already and needless to say I want to hear a number younger than what my age actually is. Don’t be mean J