Thank You

Friday evening both G and I were home from work at 5.10pm. We had no plans for the evening and nothing scheduled. Babs was with Pinki, her baby sitter and had plans to go swimming with them. We were asked to pick her up after 7.00pm. G and I sat down wondering what to do with the free time. His tennis plans got shelved as his partner had other plans.

So guess what we did? We went and played tennis. The last time I played any tennis was more than two years ago. I was just so happy to be on the court. G indulged me and I had a ball but I could not stand under the Texan sun for more than 40 minutes. I retired-tired. It was about 102F that day and I am sure standing on the concrete court it was more than that. We were both sweaty and nasty when we got out and drove straight to a Starbucks. Another thing we had not done in maybe five years.

G and I sat down, had a cold coffee each chatting about our life so far, politics, Babs, future, random stuff and we finally got the call from Pinki letting us know that they were back home. We had finally spent some alone time together, it was about three hours in all but enough to charge us up for the rest of the year.

There are lots of things we learn from becoming a parent, one of those is appreciating the small ways in people around us help. If not for people like Pinki, Pooja, and Anitha then raising Babs while still working in a country where G and I have to do everything (cook, clean, fold clothes, etc) and with G falling sick as well would have been a nightmare. So, I want to thank everyone, my baby sitter's, my friends and family for making my life fun.

Thank You,

ART

Babbi

I never put any video on the blog, but this one is special and thought I will share it with everyone...

Love

ART

25 cents

Usually people give you their two cents but my daughter gave her father 25 cents. She had found it somewhere in the house while playing with her cousin. She not only gives it to G but then tells him very seriously, "Papa, take this lot of money, go and take your friends at work out for lunch tomorrow."

G looks at the 25 cents, laughs heartily and tells her, "Sure Babs, will do that."

Babs nods her head and walks away to continue playing. G, me, her uncle and aunt all start laughing loudly, wondering how simple life would be if 25 cents was considered a treasure. All is forgotten after that and life goes on.

Next day, the three of us are sat in our favorite restaurant waiting for our food to come. Babs impatiently asks, "I want the yummy food now, where is it?" We explain to her that she has to wait, when a bulb goes off inside her head, "Papa, did your friends say thank you? Were they happy?"

"With what Babs?" G asks her bewildered.

"The 25 cents? Remember, did you or did you not take them out for lunch?" She remembered!

*************************************************************************

I opened the door on her feet on the 4th of July. We were going to go out for a walk and I was distracted when I opened the door. The poor baby screamed her lungs out in pain. The noise the door made when it opened on her feet made my stomach churn. While she wailed, I cried. G who was taking a nap, bolted and was next to us in a second holding his baby tight in his arms. Babs saw me cry and G concerned that in a couple of minutes she calmed down as I tearfully bought a Dora bandaid to her. There was blooding flowing out fast but I knew that a bandaid would calm her instantly.

As soon as I wiped off the blood and got the band aid on her feet, she smile, touched my face and told me, "It's ok Amma, it was hurting a lot then. Now only a little. It will get better soon."

To make her feel better, we took her to a Desi store, ate Aloo Paratha and then went swimming. Oh BTW, did I mention that she is a swimmer now? A good one at that? She has not developed a technique to breathe yet but she is fearless in water now. From trying out free style to breast stroke and back stroke, she is ready to experiment. She is also big into diving now. I am so proud of her. After her swim, we cleaned up and while I was making my dinner, she came and stood next to me, "Amma, aap ko samaj mein nahin aata hai? Ek choti bachi door ke paas kadi thi aur aap uske payr ke upar door khol diya?"

She had such mock seriousness in her voice that G and I burst out laughing again.

*************************************************************************

Love you a lot Babs,
Keep the cheer

Love
ART