Just Because!

Babs: Mom can you spell "Aphrodite" for me?
Me: Why?
Babs: So that I can listen to that song on YouTube.
Me: Babs I have told you, you cannot go and use YouTube without me next to you.
Babs: Yes, Amma, I am only going to hear the song not see the video.
Me: Still...
Babs: But how do you spell the word?
Me: Nope, not saying it. Not going to let you watch a Ri Ri song without me.
Babs: Amma, it is Katy Perry, not Ri Ri.

Me: *Face Palm*

Ever since she learnt to spell I am worried about her YouTube use. Previously she would make me type the searches but now she can do it on her own. And most song she wants to hear, have videos that are not "Amma" approved. My old phone that is now her phone does not have a lock for kids on the apps. I am always afraid that she will see something that is not age appropriate but she is a good kid.

So she has learnt to bike, of course. Which is followed with intense practice every day. She is so aggressively trying to master it that it was difficult to say "Pack up" to her yesterday even when the wind was turning cold and the sun was setting.

I surprised Babs this week in school by dropping in for lunch with her. The look on her face was priceless. I was a little worried that she might be sad that I had not taken her favorite lunch (Chick-Fil-A) and instead made her eat her father packed lunch box. But she disappointed me by telling me, "I am happy you are here. I don't care about Chick-Fil-A." That was a proud Amma moment for me.

Babs has also promised me that she will live with me when she goes to college. Let's see if that holds up!!!

Love
Amma

Milestone!

I have kept small notes on when Babs rolled over, stood, or walked, or talked and other such milestones written down in a small book. Most of those were seen by her baby sitter before me but I refused to acknowledge those dates. For me, it was important when I saw her do something first. That is the only way a working mom can relate to those firsts. Babs has always been a super independent child. She was on her own from three months and to this date she rarely throws me into a guilt trip for being a working mom. Most of the trips I have are on my own accord. She always seems to understand when I say, "I am sorry, I cannot make it."

I digressed and now coming back to track. Yesterday, I witnessed a milestone. One that I can proudly say, "I was there when it happened, and this one, for sure, happened in front of me first!" My brother and I took Babs out yesterday for a bike ride. I had done this twice in the past few months. I am too lazy to bend down and hold her. So I had told her to scoot herself around and figure balance out. She is an ice skater after all and balance should come naturally now for her. While she balanced, she went through a lot of frustration especially if we were on an up slope.

Last evening was different, my brother was there. The 6'-2" brother of mine did not hesitate to bend down to Babs level to help her out. After three or four times of holding her bike, she put two and two together and biked. All on her own. We could not stop our excitement. She went around the big parking island in her school four times. She was ecstatic. She would fall off or abruptly stop and drop the bike at the end but she rode on her own. No one holding, self starting and pedaling with all the excitement in the world. Finally, another milestone has been ticked off and this was witnessed by me yesterday.

Love
Proud Amma ART

It is not Boo-Da!

You go through the pains of getting a tattoo. You are proud of it and flaunt it off saying, "I got a Boo-da on my left arm and a lotus on my right." And I cringe hearing it. I want to get up slap you awake and tell you, "Dumb ass, it is Buddha! not Buda, or Booda or Budda, it is Buddha." Looks like most of the people who want to show their "International" style or their love for everything pseduo exotic learn to say "Namaaaastey," with an annoying "yoga class" accent. Neither of them know what they are saying or if they are trying to say it right. If they only have to learn two words in a foreign language can't they learn to say it correctly?

I am tired of fighting the "Tumeric" battle and explaining that yoga is Indian but does not mean all Indians know how to do it or care for it as much as the yoga-mat-carrying-yoga-pant-wearing westerner. But, this is what 1 billion people can do, they can say Namastey correctly and know how to say Buddha without desecrating his name!

Love
ART

The Buzz, the Look, and the Swipe

Scenario: You are in the middle of a decent conversation. The one that you got a chance for after a long wait. It was the conversation that you were waiting to have. You are about to deliver the punchline, when you hear it and the other person feels it. In his pant pocket or her purse. They pick it up to see, while you wait hoping, please let it be a text. Your chances dwindle as they think a second to pick it up or not, in other words, are you important enough to ignore the call or not. Then they swipe to answer it and you are left to politely walk away giving the person their privacy to take a call.

That is how most conversations go. Thanks to cell phones, it is easier to avoid conversations. The smart phones allow us to stare into a screen while riding an elevator avoiding eye contact or politeness with other riders. It gives us a chance to be pull our anti-social self out. We let everyone know their place and our own. In a public space, staring into the screen gives you a feeling of  importance. In a conversation you let the other person know if they are important or not depending on your choice to answer or ignore the incoming call. If nothing else, you can pick up the phone, place it on your ear and act as if you are on a call to avoid someone.

Is this helping us? or not? I am not sure. Though I have done all of the above a gazillion times and I am sure I will continue to do over and over. Do I love it? Yes, when I do it and hate it when I got trumped by a phone. In spite of all the cribbing, this is here to stay, our future where we can have fun with our smart phone and people beyond the screen ignoring the ones standing right in front of us.

Love

Ignoring ART

Spring!

So glad that it is finally spring. Time to drop the jackets and resort to simple spring cheaters. There is some rain here and there and always a cool breeze. I brace up to it before it all vanishes away into the heat of Dallas. The mornings are still crisp but the evenings pleasant. It is not yet time for us to open a bottle of wine and sip it in the backyard by the pool but it is getting there. Babs cannot wait to jump into the pool and G cannot wait to grill. I on the other hand am praying that all the pollen allergies should disappear from the world.

As much as spring brings happiness it also bring sniffling, that leads to some infection, therefore fever and a headache (literal and metaphorical). The entire house is under the curse of the sniffles, sneezes and the cough. I am tired of replenishing the tissue box and the allergy medicines. I have spent two days at home sleeping it off and so did Babs. G on the other hand is braving it and making it to work.

I am so torn between being happy that winter is over and we have longer days now and sad that spring is the advent of nosies!

Oh well! Welcome Spring. We cannot wait to get in shorts and tees!

Love
Sniffling ART