Twin Tweens

My dearest darling daughters,

I sometimes think that your Baba and I must be good people when I look at how you both have turned out. I feel that we must have our hearts in the right place when I feel proud of how compassionate you both are towards those around you, how grateful you are for all the love and care you receive, how mindful you are of other people’s pains and sufferings, how careful you are  of your actions so as to not hurt people, how you are so easy to please even with the most trifle gesture and how you both have hearts of gold. As your Baba says, you both are truly fairies in our lives. You top the list undisputed when we count our blessings.

 

You both have been so keen on entering the tween club. I have been gung-ho about how your age is no longer going to be a single digit number. We had dreamt of having a nice party at our own home this year to celebrate this milestone birthday. But the plan somehow toppled over when all of us came up with huge guest lists and then we thought it would be no less than a wedding if we were to invite each one we thought cannot be missed at the party. So after a lot of brainstorming, we finally thought of not having a party at all. I told Baba that lets do something completely different or unusual this year. Whatever we plan has to be a surprise for you. I thought we should do something very memorable and special for you and us to remember fondly when we look back.

 

I suggest going for Hot Air Balloon ride early morning. We would be up in the air overlooking the picturesque Hunter Valley and watching the sunrise while on flight. All booking done and dusted, when we talked to you about not having party this year, you both were a bit sad but you took it all with a smile. But you did tell us that all you wished is to meet your old school friends from our previous suburb. We knew that meeting your friends would mean the word to you. So, we then booked a birthday party package for Sunday at a play place. We have now invited all your special friends in the old suburb and told them that it is a surprise for you. You have no inkling that we have planned all this. But let me tell you that these last few weeks have been the most troublesome for Baba. He had the hardest time keeping secrets from you. I, on the other hand, have been super duper excited and can’t wait to see how you will enjoy the surprise.

 

Enough said about the plans, coming over to how the last year has been. We moved to our dream home this year. The journey was extra special as we had you girls along. From selecting every single thing for the house to shopping for furniture, décor, lights, garden etc, you both have been by our sides every single step. You took the move very bravely. We know it was the hardest thing for you to leave your wonderful friends and teachers and move on to an unknown territory. From never wanting to miss school, you both switched to not wanting to go to school. Mannu, you cried on the night of your first day at new school. Tammu, you were sad too but tried to put a brave face for your sister and parents. But you both adapted pretty soon and how! You have been doing great, making new friends (although not as strong as your old friends) and learning new things. Thank you my sweethearts for being so flexible and going with the flow.

 

I think you both are now growing older and have started taking care of us in your own sweet little ways. You help sort the groceries, fold the laundry, removing the weeds from our garden, raking and picking dry leaves, watering plants, cleaning the house and many more. I feel guilty of not being a good mom when you both ask me what shoe I would be wearing and then pick the one I tell you and keep it ready for me when I get ready and come downstairs. Not only do you get ready by yourselves without any assistance from me but also pack your bags, and look after our needs too. You both help check if the doors are locked, if the gas stove is turned off, if the iron is off, if I have turned the security alarm on before leaving etc.

 

This year you have joined the Junior Girl Guides and you are having a grrrreat time there. We got you enrolled in Guitar lessons and Tennis classes. You have doing well in reading and writing. Your teacher’s testimony that in Stage 2, both of your pieces of writing stood out made me float on cloud nine. You both love each other to bits and argue and verbally fight with your tongues as if they were sharp swords of warfare. But the way you both reconcile as if nothing had happened and the ease with which you defend your twin against the world speaks volumes about that bond that started off in my uterus. I wish for the skirmishes to continue (as I believe that no siblings are worth their salt that don’t fight) and the love to be eternal.

Your Baba and I always wish for you both to be amazing human beings. We really don’t worry about your grades or studies. As long as your heart is in the right place, other skills can be acquired if you wish. Be happy and stay blessed always.

 

Love,

Mumma and Baba

 

 

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Blonde Hair

It just so happens that I picked up Blonde Hair colour on a whim. S and I went to buy something and we both spotted this great deal on Hair colours and we both picked one each. Just like a typical impulse-buy, I wanted to grab the super awesome deal with both hands but wasn’t sure of what colour I wanted. While I was contemplating on whether to go for maybe red or brown, S suggested I must go for highlighting. She reminded me of the highlights I had got years back and said that it looked good on me. She was also planning to do the same. So we both picked Blonde hair colour 🙂

 

I came home and Abbas was the first one to spot the hair colour. He was flabbergasted!

Abbas: “Have you lost your mind?”

Me: “Why? What’s wrong?”

Abbas: “Are you going to go blonde?”

Me: ” Yeahhh! What do you think?”

Abbas: “No, you’re not! I know you very won’t” (Still unsure, yet pretending to know me inside out)

Mannu and Tammy both heard the conversation by then and Mannu came rushing to me and held me so tight.

Mannu: ” Noooooooooooo Mummmmmma! You can’t do that”

Me: “But why?”

Mannu: “You just can’t! Are you serious?”

By then Tammu has already taken the hair colour pack and run away to hide it to avoid living with a Blonde mom 🙂

Me: “Ok Mannu! You got me there. I won’t, don’t you worry”

Mannu: “Then why did you get it? What are you going to do with it?”

Me: “I was so bored of having black haired daughters. So I brought this for both of you. I always dreamt of having blonde kids 🙂 ”

Mannu: “Nooooo Mumma. Come on! Tell us the truth now”

By then Tammu is also back with a victorious aura after having successfully hidden the hair colour out of her Momma’s reach.

Me (Taking a deep breath) : “Ok ok, let me tell you why I bought it”

Both listening with utmost interest….

Me (continued): “The truth is that it is for your Baba”

Mannu: “Whattt? He hardly has hair on his head!”

Me: “Yes ofcourse, it is not for his head. It’s for his underarms”

And I start chuckling like crazy…..

Tammu: “Oh my goodness. This is like the dumbest thing I have ever heard”

😀 😀 😀

 

To my Valentine

With the whole town painted red, with every second person holding a rose, or a bouquet or chocolates or stuffed toy or some other gift around us, with social media buzzing with mushy posts, we were unaffected this year.

*** Rant alert ***

Well, technically I was unaffected as I’m not in a mental state to do anything that requires question/answer session or comment/judgement. Not that my in-laws judge us or are the typical kind of in-laws that can’t stand our happiness. Actually very far from that. But I guess it’s the frustration of not having my own space for so long that makes me feel completely lost and absolutely unenthusiastic to be in my elements. We have been on our own for too long now that it feels annoying to explain every silly action of ours and be answerable to someone. I feel like it has been ages since I had a proper conversation with Abbas. Lack of normalcy is welcome, but only for a short duration. Prolonged abnormality makes me go crazy in my head. It’s not them, it’s just me for sure.

*** Rant ends ***

I started off this post on a good note, but as you see how my mental state is, I digressed to vent out my frustration. Coming back on track, Abbas did not get affected too as he never was, is or will be a person who would go and buy something just because the whole world is celebrating love on this particular day.

I sent him a message today:

Dunno know what I did to deserve you in my life. Being in your arms fulfills me. Your presence by my side gives me a sense of security. Your touch calms me down. I could keep looking at you forever and falling in love more and more. Thank you for making me your better half. What would I have done without you? Love you forever!

He replied:

I feel the same

I just couldn’t stop laughing at how unromantic he is when it comes to expressing his love. But when he messaged me while I was on train and then came to pick me up at station, helped me do the dishes, reserved the best pieces of mango for me and gave them to me on my plate, I just smiled and asked myself, “If this is not genuine romance, then what is?”!!

Happy Valentine’s Day my lovely readers. May you be showered with love and happiness!

 

Old habits

While I was relieved that I don’t have to post anything today, my day seemed incomplete without writing. Today I do have something I’m really happy about. Mantam were very nervous about going to the new school. Infact Mannu cried on the second day saying she feels very lonely and that nobody talks to her. They were apparently asked to form groups of three and nobody came forward to take her in their group. Abbas and I had a nice long conversation with them that night, it was more of a pep talk. The next day onwards, either things got better for them or they became more adaptive to the situation. They still have a long long way to go till they make strong friendships. It’s been two weeks now and they had their first assembly of the year today. To our surprise, both the girls received awards from their respective class teachers. It was heartening to see the gleam in the girls’ eyes when they showed us the awards.

 

Day 100 | Century

Oh my goodness! Completing 100 days of happiness challenge with this post. When Maya had messaged me about starting this challenge, I was really excited about getting back to blogging after being in hibernation for quite a while. I really wish lots of happiness to my dear Maya and hope that uncle feels better soon. Hugs to you sweetheart! Thanks to you for the nudge, this challenge taught me to notice the trifle things through the day that brought me happiness, it forced me to brush away the stress through the day that bogged me down and look for a positive ray of light and make it shine amidst the dark day. There were days when I failed to find any source of slightest joy and I noticed myself to count my blessings and be grateful for what I had instead of whinging about the not-haves. I learnt that I have an amazing bunch of readers who shower their love through likes, comments and some of you make me feel your love through the statistics even with your silence. Thank you for hanging around. I really appreciate you taking time out to read about my life, struggles and happiness.

 

I will try to be more regular with my posts. I always say that at the end of a challenge and then disappear into thin air, don’t I? I will try a little more to post often. I promise!

 

Apologies for being slack in approving comments. I was better this year than previous years but still need improvement. I will get to them soon.

 

Good luck to those who are still in the challenge, well done to each and every one that participated! Love the blogosphere and my blog friends. You all make it really worth it.

 

Day 99 | Blessed

To have my colleague cum friend S in my life and workplace

Yesterday after 5 PM, I was so damn hungry and wondering what to have at office when she brings out her dabba with the most delicious chicken wings and it was so timely!

This morning she messaged to check if I still had headache and asked me to work from home and not take the trouble to go to work

After reaching office, she made orange juice for me and we had it with sparkling water and a pinch of salt

This evening also I was so hungry and again while I was contemplating to buy some snack on the way back home to munch on train, she appeared at my desk out of nowhere and as though she had heard my tummy’s rumbling, she presented a dabba filled with Mathri and mirchi ka achar and what do I say? Loved every bite of it!

Not only am I secure with the constant supply of food but also with unlimited supply of laughter doze while hanging around with her!

 

Day 98 | Headache

I’m down with a terrible headache today!

Happiness score for today was when both my girls readily came to give me a nice massage on my forehead. Feeling blessed!