Letter to Santa 🖆

Dear Santa 🎅🤶,

Hmmmm , so to the world you live in North pole and come riding down your reindeer sledge with gifts galore on Xmas eve.. But for me, you show up in my life all year through. My loved ones, my family, my dogs.. Some days you come dressed as my boss who tells me 'I got your back' or my colleague who steps up with 'I got this.' On other times you visit as my dear well wisher who brings me a surprise delicious dish 😋 when I'm sick or my friends and neighbors who bring smiles with their calls 📱and impromptu visits. And at times as my fellow runners ,friends and coaches who inspire me each day to overcome mental barriers and stay true to my training. Some days you come disguised as my virtual friends across the world 🌍 who I haven't met in ages and yet connect like its just been yesterday...You inspire, awe , encourage and bring joy.

Always, Just a phone call, message or a doorbell away..

Thank you. Thank You. Thank You my dear Santa Clan for making my days merrier and bright!!!

Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to have
Santa show up today, hey...

and the doorbell rings....🎄🎅🤶

 

Morning Chai vs Morning Run

If my Apple Watch could talk,it would ask me “By any chance are u a different person?”😁

So, this year in Jan 2022,my apple watch got a new lease of life.After being obscure all these years,it suddenly was out in the open,being part of my trans-formative journey as I took to running(all thanks to my most awesome running club).

One of the most amazing things I discovered in this journey, were the benefits of early morning run. 

• In the time it took me to prepare and lazily finish my subaah ki chai, I could actually complete 2 miles and be back equally refreshed and energized.   

•  The excuses,the knee,foot,back pains just don't exist subaah subaah.

• Not much variation in diet in the wee hours so analyzing your runs over a period of time is simpler.

• There's no call from the Boss and no urgent meetings to attend

• A Random,still in sleep " Romiiiiiiiii(whatever!!! 😒)  or Mommmmmm" call doesn't count.... 

• Kuch toh baat hai subaah ki hawa main ( there's something special in the morning air) . Actually feels like being in love all over again..Albeit, this time with your own self 💖💖

• The GLOW 👸 On The Face is hard to miss when you log into your office 9 am teams call..

                  The Secret of which is not

                  Subaah ki coffee or masala chai ...

                  But an early morning run 

                  & a Blissful Runners High....

And the Filmy Bias Continues...

 So, Dads, I feel always get a raw deal .😞😞. 

All epic filmy dialogues like “mere paas maa hai”, "Maa Kasam","Meri Pyaari Maa" and Bollywood emotional songs  are mom centric 😂😂..Remember the Taare Zameen par song "Tujhe sab hai pata Meri Maa".... Kuch bhi kaho, Maa simply rules the roost in Bollywood !!! 

But I guess there’s nothing(even this unfair filmy bias) a Lowes or Home Depot gift card can’t fix for Dads!!! So, enjoy this wonderful and beautiful  day before the kids start asking again “Dad, Have u seen mom?” 😊😊 .. And alas, the favoritism continues.........

#HappyFathersDay

Happy Gotcha Day Chess

 So,three years back,this very day Chess 🐾 came along in our lives waging his tail and further adding to our family craziness 😁😁 quotient!!Now,which fur baby loves Aloo Bhujia and Imli Goli but my Chess does and dad obliges (whatever!!! )

I can't even imagine how boring my life would be,had it not been for the thrill of finding missing pairs of matching socks everyday.Miss Marple & her detective skills 🔎👀 are always in demand in Chess & Eddie Land!!!! 

#ChessChronicles: 

“Squirrels, Deer and Strangers beware😳.. 

If only you could get past my growl n stare ” 

 #happygotchaday629 #cutecrazycuddlychess #lifeiscrazilyblissfulwithyouaround

🐾🐾

#10kforyou

 why does a birthday gift need to be something you can see,feel,hear or touch?So this year I decided to surprise my dad with a unique birthday gift..I took a day off and did a 10k for his birthday..Well, as random as the thought seems,it wasn't random though..I started training for it about 4-5 weeks earlier..Pushing your body to achieve something you haven't done in years, leads you to a path of self discovery and self connect.The heart,mind,body and soul all are in a complete state of unison.

As I went about the 6.2 miles or 10 Km, my mind went back to all my childhood memories,all my growing years with him,his smile,his composure and simplicity.By the time I finished the course,I felt so emotional.I felt as though inspite of all this physical distance separating us,I had just hugged him for his birthday!!!

and somewhere I found the mantra for celebrating birthdays of all important people in my life..#10kforyou..A birthday gift for a loved one does not need to be something you can see,feel,hear or touch.It can be your path of self discovery and enlightenment which illuminates the day for them ..

Happy Birthday Papa!!!!  

The (I'm) Perfect Mom

 "Really, What... and then after a few seconds "Never Mind.." I tell myself as I go through the various posts on the likes of  "10 ways  to be a perfect mom or 10 parenting tips..." and so on....When my first child was born I quit my job to be a stay at home mom..and resumed back after 10 years.I thought replacing  the professional part of me, with the newly acquired motherhood status would be a good idea...

 When I resumed working and connected with my old self, I realized I was so much better and efficient at handling the curveball that motherhood throws at you time and again...Work life balance,in my view is a highly idealistic over rated concept.Both work and life go hand in hand. They are not mutually exclusive.At times when there are professional commitments, its hard to concentrate on family and then there are times when there are family needs,its hard to make commitments at work.. They go side by side...Though I wind up my work by 6 pm, it takes me about an hour(grab some coffee, listen to some music .. some "ME" time...like a still lake after the ripples) to unwind back to my family's whims and fancies.In that one hour,any talk made to me is to deaf ears as my mind slowly unwinds back to domesticity.

I am a perfect mom even when I order takeaway food 😋, get wrong supplies( I once got 4th grade school supplies for my son who was going to 5th grade.No wonder most of the supplies came back with a note from the teacher 😞😞) ,forget important dates,feign interest in my kids stories when my mind is elsewhere..Making mistakes,being imperfect makes me perfect...

I am a perfect mom when I take time out for myself to exercise,eat right,connect with my old friends,work on my professional aspirations,volunteer on causes I am passionate about,watch TV, shed tears while watching movies(ignoring my son's amusement on look mumma is crying jab 😢😢) .

I am a perfect mom to my 2 kids and 2 dogs when motherhood becomes another part of me,not replacing an existing part of me.

Happy Mother's Day to the girl inside us who still aspires to change the world 😇😇

Khatta- Meetha (Savory 'n' Sweet)

Spice Level : 😋😋😋

"Is that Mapro Kokam Crush, I see on the shelf?" , 😍  I asked my husband in disbelief ! He didn't share the same excitement as me on this Alexandrian level of discovery and retorted back with  just a  " Hmm". 😠  

As I held the bottle of Kokam crush in my hands , I felt like I had received some lifetime award for doing the mundane chore of  visiting Indian store weekly, year after year. My mind went back in flash back and 15 years of my life visiting the Indian Store came flashing by.. In the beginning with my husband, then with my infant daughter, then with 2 children in tow and finally now after so many years its just main aur meri Indian Store ki list...Its my idea of "me" time where I stare at the bourbon biscuit thinking "oreo main woh baat kahan"..only to be asked to move aside by some anxious shopper 

 Inspired by my Kokam crush find, next week my husband decided to find ram ladoo..To those of us who have never lived in North India,ram ladoo is a spicy little ball of  savory candy.He tried different Indian stores.Some tried to help while some gave him the "Hmm" look (karma .. ha ha ha 😏😏) . But finally he succeeded..

As I sat drinking the Kokum crush and he relishing the ram ladoo, we connected to our childhood . The days of our childhood when I used to have kokum crush after returning back from school on a hot day and he used to get ram ladoo on his way back from school. 

Both of us looked at each other with a "hmmm" 😋😋