Obsessivemom

12/01/201415/04/2017

Cold

The
icy wind, sharp as shards of glass, cut through his frayed blanket. He was no
stranger to winter on the streets. He remembered at least 10 of the 14 years of
his young life but it had never been this bad. He closed his eyes praying for
sleep.

Suddenly
… something warm against his back. He sat up abruptly, warily. Two large eyes
looked back at him, desperate, beseeching.

Strangers
in the night … they stared at each other.

Slowly,
he extended his blanket.

And
then they slept ..

curled
up together,

giving
and receiving warmth.

Strangers
no longer.

Boy and dog.

*******

Linking to Write Tribe’s 100 words on Saturday introduced in February 2013 on Everyday Gyaan.

This week’s prompt ‘Strangers in the night’ was given by the lovely Suzy Que.

10/01/201415/04/2017

100 Happy Days

Thanks to a blogger friend I stumbled across this site www.100happydays.com.

This is what you’re supposed to do – post a picture of one thing that made you happy each day for 100 days. Isn’t that a wonderful idea? I desperately wanted to be a part of it .. but the daily commitment scared me. There’s something about a daily challenge that I find very daunting.. and a picture at that! Even though I’m notorious for picture-clicking it’s tough to whip out your camera at every happy moment. Some of them are to just be enjoyed and stored away in your memory, aren’t they?

So I’m taking a middle path. What I can and hopefully will do, is post a happy post at least once a week.

Since something super happy did happen yesterday here I go…

A happy surprise!

Isn’t a happy surprise the best ever? Two days back I forgot my iPod in the gym and was pretty heartbroken – one because it’s such a lifeline to my exercise routine and two because it was a birthday gift from my sister. I’d given up on it what with the scores of people coming in and out of the gym. But wonder of wonders.. the cleaning boy had kept it safe and handed it right over to me the next day. By God I could have hugged him. He seemed pretty overwhelmed as I gushed out my 100 odd thank yous. (Wonder what he would have done had I gotten out my camera to click his picture :-D)
That was happiness no 1.

Onto happiness No 2..

…which is also at the gym. I’ve been exercising more or less regularly for over 15 years now. And finally I’ve found my groove, as it were. Zumba – a super cardio routine. It’s an aerobic dance that combines Latin and other international dance forms. Go here to read more. I’ve said it often enough that I’m not a dancer and so I was very apprehensive about the whole thing. But what absolute fun it’s turned out to be. That’s perhaps the only place I let go and have a blast, bad knees and all!

We’re a mixed bunch of girls/women.
– There are the really good ones who move like a dream.
– Then there are ones like me.. who just about manage to move to the beat without much grace – a 1, 2, 3, 4.. kind of thing
– Then there are others who don’t even get the beat.
– And finally there are some who should come with a ‘keep distance’ banner.. so uncoordinated are they. Hands and legs kick out in all directions.. off beat, off time.

I’m sure we make for quite a sight

But the thing is
It just doesn’t matter.

Everyone has a great time. There’s something wonderfully warm about being happy together. The icing on the cake is our super sunny-smiled trainer. Thank you P for a wonderful time each week!

Those were my happy moments. What made you happy today? Do share it here.
Cheers to a great weekend.

Linking to ABC Wednesday for the letter Z.

08/01/201415/04/2017

My Little Sister

He sat sulking, eyes straying to the clock, waiting his turn at the TV. He could hear the endless Barbie movie in the next
room. Ugh! Girls! If only he had a brother instead. They would have raced cars
and watched Ben 10 forever. He would trade her any day.

Or would he?

Would the brother call him bhai as sweetly as she did? Would he
make silly faces till he laughed after mum yelled at him? Would he hold his
hand at the movies, even though he wouldn’t admit he was scared?

Nope! He wasn’t letting her go, ever!

Linking to Write Tribe’s 100 words on Saturday for the prompt ‘My little sister’.

06/01/201415/04/2017

Here’s the first post of the year!

This New Year’s Eve was the most special ever – the first spent with family – with so many of our family. That night all of us were more than a bit drunk – some on alcohol, some on pure fun. And in that happy haze, amidst the chatter and the laughter, cheered on by each other we all made resolutions – wrote them down and signed them for good measure. About a third of them are to do with weightloss, two are would be marathoners, a budding author, a wannabe swimmer and from the kids.. the promise to do well at school!

Almost a week later, everyone has gone.. Cousins, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts – back to their homes, jobs, schools. That night already seems so far away. Which is why I need to reiterate my resolutions.

Two of them stand out – Weightloss and writing. Mercifully both are things I’ve been doing for a long time and can be reasonably good at provided I put my mind to it – and that precisely is where the catch lies – ‘Putting my mind to it’.

And so the biggest resolution of the year for me – I will put my mind to whatever I do. You can help guys.. push me, pull me up.. keep visiting. Your presence here is a reminder of all that I’ve set out to do.

Wishing you all a very very happy new year.

Linking to Write Tribe.

31/12/201315/04/2017

In the New Year

Aren’t accidents things that happen to others? Well yes.. Until they happen to you. We were on our way back from a wonderful holiday in Goa (where I also turned a year older but birthday posts do not come easily to me so this bit of information has to suffice) and it happened to us.

We were travelling in a convoy chatting.. calling, whatsapping.. 12 of us split into three cars. The road is twisting and narrow so we are driving at a careful pace. The Husband being the most careful brought up the rear. One minute we were joking and the next we see a car coming right at us at an alarming angle in a bid to overtake another one. ‘Gosh it’s sooo close’ was my thought before it crashed.. right into us. I barely registered the noise as the air bags sprung out. My first thought was my sister who was in the back seat with my daughter, N. They were thrown right out of their seats.

It seems like a miracle that we are all fine, in both cars, other than some bruises and muscle pulls. The Husband couldn’t get out because the door was stuck. N was a mass nerves and had a small fainting spell and that was as far as the damage went. The cars are however in a bad shape.

What happened was scary. The ‘What If’s’ were way more scary. What if my sister hadn’t been with N to break her fall? What if we had been pushed off the road to a fall along the mountainside? What if we hadn’t worn our seatbelts? On and on…

As I sneak away from the family (who are all writing down their New Year resolutions complete with signatures) to quickly type this last post completing my hundred for the year, I have plenty to be thankful for.

This laughter, this togetherness is the only gift I want to take with me as I enter 2014.

Happy New Year Everyone!