A hug is ...

... two hearts wrapped in arms.

Packing

I say I travel light

but look at the

small mountain

of portable civilisation

on my bed

ready to be fitted into

the 28 x 21 inch roll along

Essentials as well as

things I need to take

just in case.

More of the latter.

Come evening

and my mountain

would disappear

into a geometery of storage

ready to be locked shut

and rolled away

into an aeroplane.

Make that three.

Oregon,

see you soon.

Morning

Morning.
Lazy. Undisturbed. Quiet.
Streetlights still lit
until at sharp six
they are gone.
The sun in the horizon
as if it has
one foot in the water and one in the sky
lighting up the world
one reddish gold streak at a time.
The stillness of the morning
broken as we walk
marketwards.
Pigeons fly in circles.
The night shift go home.
The boats roll
into the harbor
fish-filled and smiling men.
Bustling. Noise-filled. Productive.
Morning.

backyard stories

sitting back to back

under the jamburol tree

we tell our stories

on top of each other

words tumbling out

all at once into one heap

excited, eager to share.

how the evening had unfolded

as day shed its cloak

and night took over

how the moonlight lingered

over boats at sea;

how the air was fragranced

by the sweetness of jasmines;

how the bats circled overhead

their sinister senses knowing

what was soon to come;

how the giant wave

came out of nowhere

upturning boats

tumbling people into the sea;

how the screams and cries

filled the island

as it waited expectantly

for help to arrive.

What are you thankful for today?

Thankful that my little boy is all better

and getting his appetite back,

especially for all things cheeeeeeeeeeeeesy.

I wish for grace

“Gracefulness has been defined to be the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.”
~William Hazlitt~

humid days

bright july sun

burning down

through the blue sheet of sky

sticky humid heat

hitting bare bodied workmen in the boatyard

sweat running down

then

drip drip drip

onto scorching sand below.

Cutting onions

Like every other day,
she is cutting onions
at the kitchen counter.
The Bombay onions
of pinkish purpley hue.
Her practised hand
working the knife like a stern goddess.
A heap of discarded onion beards
on one side of the chopping board,
a baiypolhi of unpeeled onions on the other,
their dry papery skin half peeling
to reveal the firm layers of the bulb underneath.
Her eyes focused,
she stands slicing translucent perfect half moons
with the finesse of an accomplished cook.
She is always cutting onions -
this essential ingredient that makes us all cry,
yet remains the throb of the kitchen’s heart.
I wonder if the constant onion cutting
is her mask for covering up
her heartaches,
blaming her onions for the constant tears
than run down her face.
Tears streaming down her face
she continues cutting her onions.

***

One Shot Wednesday

The Gregorian and the Hijri

The good thing about following two calendars is that I end up with two birthdays a year. The bad thing is, people remember only one of them

(if I am lucky... because of course there are people who never remember!).

But I remember, and this is my wish for me today

(because I can be unabashedly selfish on my birthday, can't I?):

I wish for me

the development of thick(er) skin

so that my tears are kept in check and I am not so easily affected

by the words that I hear or the silences that I endure.

Thick skin ...

doesn't sound all that appealing, does it?

Kind of like elephant hide.

Hmmm ...

not very attractive at all.

But I am not looking for physical appeal right now.

I need something to give my tear ducts a break

and longer breaks between heart stabbings

to allow time for the fractures to heal.

And as I wait for my skin to become more elephant like,

I am going to take my friend Kathy's advice

and stop worrying

because I don't need any more greys either!

Smiles and hugs all around :)

Life is too short...

... to watch reality TV
... to resist temptation
... to worry about imperfections
... for sugar free desserts
... to hold on grudges
... for wrong decisions
... to have your priorities in a mess
... to read bad books
... to suffer silently
... to attempt to be in the mother-in-law's good books
... for the wrong job
... for regrets
... to give time for people who bring me down or make me feel inadequate
... for negativity
... to conform with the crowd
... for inaction
... to eat the same thing over and over again
... to live in doubt

Being busy

Being busy.

Do you use that as an excuse to avoid the things you'd rather not do?

I find the first things to get eliminated from my to do list

are exercise and folding washed clothes.

I am just too busy to fit those into my day.

(Any excuse, really.)

But however busy I may be,

I always make time for people/things that make me smile

and whom I hold close.

Because if I don't have time for those,

nothing else on my schedule deserves my time.

That's my thinking, anyway.

I believe in the saying where there is a will, there is a way.

What things are the first to get pushed off your priority list when you are busy?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Something that looks like a letter of the alphabet.

An island shaped like a C.

Weather.

Wind picking up.

Bling.

Preschooler in large sunglasses and gold jewellery.

Tangled.

A tangle of little hands.

Dark.

Cycling into the sunset.

Pity we didn't have more time for such rides, dho Saeedbe?

Playing along to this week's Scavenger Hunt with Ashley. Come join in the fun!

Majaa

Half ripe papaya

sweet-sour stone apples

chopped onion, chillies, lemon and thick fish paste

make an un-appetising looking

but extremely addictive concoction called majaa

which literally means FUN.

Trust me, it's delicious.

Comfort and snuggles

Returning after week away from home

to find my two little loves unwell

with high temperatures and all the discomfort of not feeling 100%.

Lots of cuddles and snuggling together

reading books and watching TV;

eating comfort food

and drinking fluids as much as possible.

How are you this weekend?

Forgotten?

“Vows made in storms are forgotten in calm”
~Thomas Fuller~

"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven."

~Tryon Edwards~

Images from the week

Black and white

Opposites attract

but

do they eventually repel?

Stormy weather

Gusty winds. Angry waves. Flooded streets.

Hoping for rainbows and clearer skies for tomorrow, for my return back home.

I have limited time online this week

which means few words here

and no visits to see what my blog lovelies are up to.

I will be around to visit soon ... promise! :)

Travelling

Travelling this week.

Working with more schools in a different part of the country.

Cooling down

Song in my head today

Time to eat

Breakfast - apple and cinnamon pancakes

Lunch - cabbage, apple and cashew salad

Dinner - beef curry, sambar and idli

JULY

What a funny thing time is.

When you want it to hurry along, it takes its own sweet time in getting where you want it to be.

When you want time to stand still,

it never does,

and infact, seems to rush past in a blurry whir of events.

With one half of the year behind us,

we begin today with July.

I am hoping

for strength to fight for what I believe in,

for clarity to show me the way ahead,

for bravery to be wholly me with not one thought of what they may whisper behind my back,

for laughter to surround me and lighten my load,

for luck to shine down on me,

for balance,

for love.

What hopes and expectations do you have for the month?