Week 28

The official count is 55L infections. We had been so terrified when we were about to touch 500! The country was in lockdown and all those who could, stayed at home.

We took on as a challenge. Asked the maids to stay away. We told ourselves we could do this for our safety, for our family, for the nation. We cooked like never before and competed on social media to prove it. Those who couldn't, posted about the bottles they painted, the flowers they grew, the books they read and every Netflix series they binged on. That flood of posts has dwindled to a trickle now. Everyone is tired now.

Nobody thought this would last so long. Three weeks was fine as a challenge and then maybe a couple more. But six months on and now we are resigned to months or maybe a couple of years. Most people have called back their maids while many are making do with ready-to-eat stuff or dal-chawal. How long can you keep your MasterChef cape on? Especially when you have to focus on keeping the mask handy, and the face shield and the sanitizer too.

I am tired too. Very tired. Of waiting for some good news (stopped myself from using the word positive that's the scariest word now). Tired of food-talk, cooking, cleaning and well- of not knowing.

I am anxious too. About the whole uncertainty of when this will be over. What happens if we need to travel for work again? What's going to happen to the school term? To college admissions? When would be able to travel safely again? To meet friends and family with the scare of exchanging viruses? To go out for a movie or a meal without feeling apprehensive? To get the house help back-safely?

Of course, I am grateful too. Of the fact that the family could get together before the travel restrictions. That we are together for so long after so many years. That we are learning so much together. And that we have been able to stay safe.

This is after 6 months of staying at home. Wonder what would I be writing after another 6 months?

Week 27

I didn't write the weekly update on the weekend as I was coping with physical and mental exhaustion. Stress playing havoc with my cycles or perhaps it was the other way round.

I had to speak to a doctor.

Do you have extreme mood swings, get irritated over small things? The doctor asked.

Was she mad?

I have been cooking 3 meals a day for 4 people, every day, for the last 6 months. That with an ever increasing workload at office, blurring office and home timings, no cook, no househelp and then there are grumbles about food!

Irritated?

Maybe it was diplomacy or just empathy. She didn't probe any more about my moods.

I checked with the family too.

Irritation? Did they too think I was heading towards early menopause?

A long silence and meaningful looks later, the younger one cleared her throat. Not at all, Mom. You were always like this.

Nothing to do with the lockdown!

Into that heaven of normalcy

I wrote this in response to a 100 word Parody challenge on Momspresso, but it's actually a heartfelt prayer.

Where the mind is without fear,

 of a virus lurking around,

Where breath is free

and masks no longer abound;

Where we can travel and greet,

friends and strangers without fear;

Where we no longer reason over

how to sanitize the sanitizer;

Where we get breaks from dreary routine,

the house help comes every day,

Where we can step out of domestic walls,

and children go out to play;

Where a cough or sniffle does not

set alarm bells ringing;

Where being positive is

again a good thing;

Into that heaven of old normalcy,

my Father, let the world awake.

Image by Quang Le from Pixabay

Week 26

 Yes, another week to be thankful for.

Another week when ripples came closer, but we were safe and sound.

We had other challenges-cabin fever from the sense of being in house arrest, grumbles, and sulks. And we pulled along too. We were all so busy through the week and so tired at the end of it, that some of the quibbles got sorted out because didn’t have the energy or time to fight them out.

Good old hard work in the form of work from home, college assignments, school tests and no house help, does more for family peace than lofty words.

News came of my aunt who is very sick. I don’t know if I will get to meet her again. That is what this situation has done. Torn apart all sense of control, of predictability, of reaching those who are far away. It is a challenge to stay thankful as all the life we’ve known for all our lives is being altered beyond recognition. And all we can do keep up with the challenge, is to keeping learning, keep adapting, keep growing. No wonder we are tired.

India has reached the 2nd spot in the world tally, with no signs of giving up on the race. A feeling of inevitability permeates the society and it’s a tough challenge to stay safe and sane. Quite a few are giving up on the safety in the effort to stay sane. I’ve given up on sanity even before this began, so thankfully that’s one less challenge for me to face.

The new week has rolled in. Our tasks continue.

So do the prayers and the hope that the healing will start soon.

 

 

 

 

 

What I Wished For

I was one of the early proponents of flexible working hours/working from home, a decade and a half before 2020 coerced the whole world into accepting the norm-ready or not.

This was what I had been arguing for over the years. We shouldn’t be wasting so many hours commuting through the dreadful traffic. We could save so much of our productive time, energy and money. The environment could be saved from so many toxic fumes. The company could save on the real-estate cost.

While the whole world stood to gain, women trying to manage the home and jobs together, stood to gain the most. 

At home, I could do tasks in parallel. Run the washing machine while I reviewed a document. I did not have to settle for a maid who could come before 7:00 AM or schedule deliveries only over weekends. I would know what the kids were up to. And use the time I would have otherwise spent on commuting, in walking, chatting with friends, taking breaks. My life would be so much more convenient. 

Or so I thought.

Facts, I didn’t account for:

• Since I was working from home, and I was at home all the time, the corporate equation implied I could work all the time. And that took care of all the time I saved from commuting and some more.
• The convenient timings for the maid and cook ceased to be relevant when we had to ask them to stop coming altogether.
• The clothes would need to be dried after the washing machine completed its run. By that time work would have piled up higher than the clothes pile.
• The doorbell and the pressure cooker would follow Murphy’s law of ringing/whistling right when I had to unmute myself on client calls.
• With the whole family working from home, there would be always someone who would be hungry in between meals.
• For breaks, I would have to make my own coffee and clean the coffee maker too.

And a dozen other realities that are popping up everyday to remind me that I should have been very careful while wishing for this!

Week 25: InVerse

 

This week too was like the ones before.

The caseload increased even more.

With no controls in place and no cure;

there are no facts to reassure.

People are braver than ever before,

Since for safety they cannot be sure;

they have decided to just ignore,

the danger till it abates on it’s own.

They are hungry, tired or plain bored.

They’ve gone back to lives as before

The governments can’t control anymore

So it’s each onto their own,

To do what they can to ensure,

Safety for themselves and their home.

And to hold on to prayers and hope.