We have it easy!!

Early morning annoyance it is today. Whenever the topic of household work comes up with someone back home in India - their first and prompt reaction is - "Oh but you have it easy there as you people have all facilities like dishwasher etc"

I cannot begin to explain how deeply it annoys me and drives me crazy. Does Having appliances means NO work? They are bloody appliances NOT robots who will go around doing things on their own. You still need to load the dishwasher. You still need to empty it. You still need to clean the dishwasher too every now and then to keep it working. You need to put the wash in the machine to wash clothes, take it out, hang it for drying, iron, fold and put them back. You still need to walk the whole house up and down with that vacuum cleaner. And then mop the floors. You still need to dust off the whole furniture and shelves and everything & don't forgets to clean the glass tables. You need to clean the windows - inside out. You need to clean the doors. You need to arrange cupboards. And did i forget to mention - you need to clean up the toilets and bathrooms - and that includes not just the floor but commode and tiles and taps and wash basin AND THERE ARE NO APPLIANCES FOR THAT WORK. And you need to work in your garden too (if you have one) And did i mention that in all this you still have to do - cooking, take care of child and work full time and do socializing. And Oh please keep your hobbies and interests going...!!

You can add or ignore "tiny" tasks - like cleaning fridge, cupboards, stairs, mending all your clothes, hand wash some clothes etc etc etc

Yes we have it very easy here as we have ALL facilities!!

Thanks!!

Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which are you?"

Read this on fb posted on page called Useful Info. Immediately felt like i had to save this... Perhaps the circumstances demand an answer from me.

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Carrots, Eggs, or Coffee; "Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter. [a little long but a good read]

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft.She then asked her to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked. "What's the point,grandmother?"

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity--boiling water--but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her granddaughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

August Marathon Blogging Day 7 : kyun

Shaam hai yeh suni see

Raat ka andhera bhi suna suna

Dil mein jhanka jab maine zara

Shor kyun tha itna bhara

Pal pal ko ruka dekha jab

Saans lagi thami thami

Band aankhon se mein bethi sochne

Zindagi kyun dikhe bhagti bhagti

August Marathon Blogging Day 5: Three things about myself, that I am proud of.

After a slightly sad self revelation in my last post i thought of focusing on the good. And what better topic than talking about things about me that I am proud of. I am taking this opportunity to pat myself on the back add to the feel good factors in life.

First thing that I am proud of myself is the creative side of my brain. I love digital art and all art things done with hand ... painting, crafting, digital designing etc etc. Its gives me inner pleasure and i get a sense of achievement even when i do some craft activity with my little daughter

Second thing I am proud of is my independent nature. Not that i live alone or can but i believe i am self sufficient to do anything i would want to do. 

Third - I believe in giving. I can go completely out of my way to give others something they really wish for. With time i have also learnt how not to expect but  rejoice in giving. 

So i guess i have revealed enough now. Self praise at its peak! 

Does this bother me? NO!! 

August Marathon Blogging Day 4 : Biggest regret of life

My Life has been quite a roller coaster ride ever since i remember. Everything - yes i mean every single thing - takes multiple times more than normal.

After schooling, i did my bachelors and started working. Everyone at home insisted i should study further but I tried to convince everyone that the better way would be to first work few years and then be sure what i would like to study. And obviously everyone had to give in...

I took up my first job...moved on to second and then third....all seemed to go so well.
I was working and growing well and also earning decent...so the next obvious step was to get married.

The urge to study died a slow death somewhere in between. And before i realized - I was married. Then came the task to settle down in new family ...in new role. I had to resign from my job as my husband was out of India and i was to join him. But as luck would have it -there were visa issues and those took around 3.5 yrs to get resolved. I was out of job for a year after getting married with the assumption that soon i will have to leave the country. Again - my father kept telling me to use that time and do some further study. I don't know why but i didn't pursue anything. He even kept giving me ideas. But somehow nothing hit me in the head. And time kept flying away before i could give it any proper thought.

I cribbed, cried, complained non stop for all the things not going as expected. I felt miserable but i didn't pay any attention to other useful things in life and how i could have used that time to my benefit.The pressure of settling and adjusting in new household among new people and without the partner alongside was too much to deal with. I can come up with ample amount of reasons for that but its no use.

After being at home for one year - I started working again. And i was back in office-home-office routine. The study part was nowhere in plan by then.

And then I was in Netherlands. Settling down in new life. Life kept moving on...
I got the job and started working. Then came kid. Life's priorities changed. Career, education and hobbies were put on the back seat...

Life is moving fast...with ups and downs of the ride only i can feel. From far away it seems the most amazing experience and turns out to be one too...but with lots of moments where one has to hold his breath or moments where one feels this is the end of it all....or the moments where one feels being at the top of the world...or the moment where one just feels like throwing up and choak to death!

Its all been there.
And its still going on...

In all this...my biggest regret will always be that i didn't study further. I feel it. I feel bad about it...every single day. I am not sure if it would have changed my life in anyway. I don't know how it would have impacted my journey of life. I don't know if it would have added to self  confidence. But I still regret.

I know its not the end of life and I can still go for it....but life's priorities always take precedence for some reason or the other.

August Marathon Blogging Day 3 : mindless

A troubled mind

A restless heart

Thats what i feel

At this odd hour...

Sleep not near

And worries never far

Am one confused soul

Whose dreams are ajar

This was not my dream

And this was never thought

Am i A wreck of a partner

And a parent who is distraught

Mindless hour

And mindless thoughts

Take you far away

If wishes were horses

I would hold sway...

August Marathon Blogging Day 2 - My Religion , My faith

Faith is the religion 

Or religion gives faith?

Am i confused

Or this is just not straight?

Praying is religion

Or is it just my faith?

Faith in the power

Or freedom of faith?

Religious freedom

Or in faith religion resides?

Is it to see the upper

Or to feel the underside?

Is religion an illusion

Or just a perplexed truth?

Is want of valour ...just a...

Want for religious faith?

Is Faith - the function

And Religion - the practice?

Or the continuous transcend

To find the inner self?