Life's little sacrifices

Hmmm....along the way, we often have had to make a few sacrifices. Life's little ones I should say...because in the grand scheme of things, these will apparently have limited importance. Let me try to list out the few sacrifices that I was forced to make:

1. My sony headset. It was an awesome gadget that would literally boom the music into your ears. My faithful companion during my early walking attempts. I didn't even have the time to process the loan request. With two sons firmly intent on making a scrapyard of my technical gadgets, the last thing I wanted to adorn on my ears was my headset. So it went out on a loan...and it has been about a couple of months since then.

2.My reading addiction - Since I am forced to remain addicted to the antics of my sons, my addiction to reading had to be sacrificed. What is the reading that I can manage in the course of a day? Some glances at the headlines...grinning to myself that I have read it all during the night and the early morn on google news. The horoscope section deserves my careful attention. Nowadays, I check my husband's daily horoscope too. Pays well to anticipate the mercurial temperaments of men which curiously seems to parallel the daily predictions. I tried the trick of spreading the newspapers on the dining table whilst I partake of my meals. Of late, my elder twin has developed the habit of sitting on my lap and partaking of my partakings. Classics are consigned to another day, while my collection of Wodehouse and James Herriot are revisited once in a while.

3. Cooking - Yes, I was addicted to cooking (to all those who doubt my culinary skills...ask those fortunate individuals who have partaken of my culinary creations) I was an amateur cook, managing my bachelorette days...but now...I can actually count the number of times I have made the evening tea in the past three weeks...a sure single digit. :-) One baby demanding to be carried, and another baby climbing the dining table chair...you get the picture? So technically, I am banished from the kitchen and have to grit my teeth in agony whilst my husband claims that indulging in culinary experiments relaxes him. :-)

4. My mobile phone - which is perpetually in three pieces. My sons find it fascinating to bang it to the floor, and watch in admiration as the display, the battery and the cover fly into three different zones. Thankfully they are not so bothered about the battery. And while I quickly dive to retrieve it, I can only thank heavens that my phone is a Nokia.

More sacrifices will probably follow...since much is expected from people on whom much responsibility is placed, right?

A Thank You Note

I tried writing this as a poem...(I don't even know how I conceive of myself as a poet) But this is one of those occasions when prose aids me better.
Two tiny bundles lying by my side...night after night...in peaceful bliss. My priceless diamonds as I call them, I never knew that they were going to come into my life this soon...and thrust on me the sweet responsibilities of motherhood. I don't curse the sleepless nights that I spend...just to be sure that I answer to they calls promptly. And the strange kind of pleasure that I feel in arranging their beds, decking them up for their walks, taking care of their diet and so on and so forth. Two years ago, if anyone had asked me on what motherhood means, my answer in all probability would have been clinical. Trust me on that. But today,...I fall short of words to describe. Yes, I have had to make a few sacrifices along the way..chief among them being the pleasures of my bachelorette days. But then,...the sense of pride that I felt in welcoming my twins has consigned everything else to the closet...never to be opened as of now and for some time to come.

I am indeed honoured and humbled to be called a mother. The first time I heard R mouth 'ammmmmmmaaaaaaaaa' and B following suit..... trust me...my heart skipped a beat. This is it....my proud moment as a mother. Thank you B and R for making my life so beautiful.

Touching Moments

I was reading a novel, lying down next to my twins. I had placed one of my hands on a twin, who had been difficult a while ago, and had brought the house down with his bawling. As I was lost in the memoirs of Sayuri, the geisha, all of a sudden, I discovered that my index finger was not available for turning the page. A quick look, and I found my twin clutching on to my finger with such intense ferocity. He was fast asleep, the very picture of a divine angel. Extricating my finger would mean waking him up. Quick decision. I decided to leave Sayuri alone for the time being and instead, removed my spectacles and settled for a nice nap next to my twin. When I woke up after half an hour, the little chap was still clutching my finger. :-)

An Incomplete Poem

For an honest smile,
For a happy sigh,
I need but a moment,
A moment that's mine.

For a light step,
And a dance and a skip,
I need but a place,
A place that is mine.

For the moment and the stage,
I search amongst the lanes,
My steps tread towards 'home'
But... nay...this is not the way.

Silent Nights

The nights are dark and long
The bliss of sleep denied
Dawn hearkens with its song
But the silence is not defied.

The only sounds that break
The shrouded silence around
The fan, air conditioner and
The whistles of guards on rounds

Silence gives way to solitude
Solitude to Self
Occupied with its vagaries
Oblivious to the world.

A sudden jingle...
Sounds like somebody's anklets
Inexplicable fear, a sudden dash
Destination - safe in bed.

On Happiness

Found this poem Happiness by Carl Sandburg in my diary.

I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered along the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children
and a keg of beer and an accordion.

Our hats off to the silent genius

I am no great fan of cricket, apart from a passing interest generally displayed on lazy afternoons. My insider's dope on the personal lives of the cricketers is next to nil and heck I don't even have a autograph. No cricket bat/ball adorns my room and if someone invites me for a game of cricket, I settle down comfortably into the role of an arm chair critic. But after what I saw yesterday, my admiration for one man has reached the zenith - Sachin Tendulkar. Look at his figures. My eyes were riveted as this man stood his ground and took those amazing shots wherever it was possible and made the impossible seem achievable. His team mates came and went and contributed next to nothing (except for the likes of Sehwag and Raina) while this man chased, ran and exerted himself to every possible extent to show that this was not just a game of cricket. There was lot at stake. Even if he had to go down, he had to make noise and show that the victory would not be easy as long as the likes of him were around. That is why it was such a pleasure to watch him defeat the well-planned strategies of Ricky Ponting. And that is why it was with a sad sigh that I watched him fall down as the exhaustion finally caught up with him. And that is why I watched with anger as the rest of his teammates destroyed what he had so painstakingly built. It was like Taj Mahal being built in a fast forward mode, and then being subjected to brute destruction. While the better known of his teammates hog the headlines with their adverts, their driving Hummers without registration, and their occasional forays into the world of fashion and glamour, this silent genius prefers to rise to the occasion, like a lion. Hats off to Sachin Tendulkar!