To be humble is the way to be

Last week we managed to go to the office/day care on all 5 days and I managed to cook too. So that means things were getting under control,right?????. By Saturday I was feeling all kush about my managing skills and was all ready to anoint myself as superwoman. And then..... Dan woke up from his nap crying and was running a fever of 102F- just like that… Definitely to put me back in place, I am sure. We rushed him to the doctor and on that day the doctor had his clinic closed. For the first time in his 10 years of professional life, I bet. So we called him up and he prescribed medicine. Fed Dan the medicine, which of course he managed to puke all over me and the bed and all over him too.. And then he began to feel slightly better. Phew.. we managed to breathe again.. No, no.. Life cant get *that* easy for me, can it?? After about an hour the temperature shot back to 102.. He was moaning in his sleep. We sponged him and tried everything in our means to bring the temperature back to normal. And like all loyal couples we managed to play the blame game too. Well, what took the prize was Gin’s reason for him catching fever- it was because I am not taking enough fruits!!!!!!! Well, it is a fact that Dan is still breast fed. But then how can he catch a fever if my fruit intake is low. Beats me!!! Well, I managed to laugh even in this stressed out state.* Alish, please wipe off that knowing grin off your face…No, I don’t want you to affirm his logic.You both seriously need professional help in your loyal patronage for fruits and fruit juice.* And finally, we decided to take him to the hospital. Bundled him in layers of warm clothes and off we went in our night clothes.. When?? At 12:30 am. Thank God, the good doctor and the angel of a nurse, did manage to bring his fever down and stable in about 2 hours and we left for home. Did I mention that there was no current during all this time.. Yeah, sometimes my lucky stars manage to shine all together…

And while we were walking back, there was this woman walking in front of us, wildly thrashing and waving her hands in the air... She was mentally disturbed. It was no time suitable for a woman her age to be walking around all alone. Yet she was alone and the boldness in her steps and actions proved that she was really not here.. Unnerved by the surrounding, oblivious to what is happening around her. She was in her own world. A world full of violence that she has built for herself. A world of, stabbing and thrashing is where she dwells, I understood from her comments. Or someone/something has forced her to dwell in???? She was loudly commanding someone to be hit and someone else to stabbed. She was asking someone else to stop.It was all too scary. Her voice was loud and clear, piercing in the otherwise quiet night. And it had a dangerous edge to it. Does she see only violence when she is awake?? Doesn’t she notice the misty mornings and sun warmed noon and lovely evenings????

Don’t you think a middle-aged woman of her age should be lying down cozily on her bed, dreaming about her daughter’s wedding or worrying why her son spends too much time with his friends, annoyed at the husbands loud snores.. Not wandering cold and aimlessly on a dust strewn street.
Don’t you think a woman of her age, should have compassion and light in her eyes, a warm twinkle for a baby cooing at her. Not the stony stare or the cold lifeless blood shot eyes..
Don’t you think a woman her age should be have clean starched saris, vermillion smeared forehead and turmeric hued skin… Not the dirt crusted face or the torn and filthy sari….

That is the normal course of life. But she was pushed harshly off the normal road maybe by a cruel twist of fate. She is left out open and cold. with no emotions, no feelings. She is oblivious to all.. A sad sad state…

These two incidents made me eat humble pie. No matter how much of planning you do, no matter how careful you are, it takes only one second to shatter it all and life severs off the normal course… Then you are left scared and worrying or sometimes lonely and cold...What is there to be proud of?? Money, education, position, kids, spouse, parents?? Bah… Nothing..