Mirror talk

Had i mentioned how awesome i was for managing without a full-length mirror for two years?






Now I have not one but two full-length gigantic mirrors to preen before. One in the hallway and one in my bedroom. It is H.U.G.E. For one who managed with one measly square of reflecting surface, this is enormous, so pardon the 'gush' talk. Besides this is temporary accomodation, so I am making the most of it.


It took me a few days to get used to the one in the hallway. It is at one end of a corridor and initially it was a bit of a shock to come sleepy eyed and see a scary looking figure walking towards you, when it was in fact you walking to yourself.


This particular mirror also sees some serious getting in touch with the inner self.

For instance,

A certain 'she who shall not be named' (forgive me, i just watched harry potter 6) sashays to and fro before deciding that the visit to the gym is overdue. Tucking in that stomach is getting to be a pain.



A six yrold is often caught making funny faces to himself and practising something which looks a cross between jumping, flaying arms around and moving different parts of the body in 4 directions. He calls it dancing.



The ubercool serious dude, soon to be 12, has been spotted coaxing those lil curls in front into a spike. and ofcourse a few choice soccer moves are mandatory.



The big guy has also succumbed to the charms of the mirror, there has been a fair amount of looking at side profiles and critical appraisals going on.



We may have just discovered narcissism, our inner selves and the fact that mirrors don't lie.

Woeful!

episodes from my everyday life
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Tring!tring! the phone rings...

"hello? Suma? V here" (a friend's husband )

"hiii!!! When did you ..." the younger boy enters within my line of vision wearing lime yellow on pale yellow, i blink away the image of a jaundiced jeetendra (why jeetendra, beats me!!), and amidst fervent sign language, manage to also scream "change your pants right now!!!

a squawking sound heard from the other end of the line brings me back to the phone receiver in my hand...


' err..V,sorry i didn't mean you. i was talking to my son..."

am i glad I didn't say "drop your pants!'

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The issue with having sons is that they are always playing with balls....

see?

...isn't it an issue when it is put like that?!!!! esp in front of people!

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Children have this homing instinct. The minute the phone receiver is in your hand they zone in on you and need to talk to you...R.I.G.H.T then...It's always an emergency worth hollering for...Now i hardly realise i have a phone in my hand... much to the dismay of the poor victim on the other line.

the other day

talking to my friend (of course she does not have kids)...after 5 minutes, she says...i'll call you later, 'sounds' like you are busy..

me: busy? no, i'm not ...

I look around...the boys are 'playing' and one is dangling from the bed in a precarious position, ... the noise is deafening....but hey this is normal

No..listen...i can hear you...hello? I say, realising too late that i'm talking to the receiver...

Coward, i mutter!!

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While househunting

a long day spent in looking at 5 condominium blocks...all scattered across the island...i look at the last one and tell G tiredly, i so hate this condom...let's try few more and see if we get a better one...
(*sheesh did i say that aloud? pls tell me i didn't?)

the house agent's face assures me i did!


and that's the history behind why I will always call it an apartment block and not a condominium...

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The intercom bell rings. It's the security guard.

'Yes, la, have you ordered a meal? '

I wish i had but sadly i hadn't so i reluctantly told him that perhaps the guy had the wrong block. 5 minutes later i hear a thumping on my door.I open it to find a guy with his hands on his waist and glaring at me, the way i do when i'm ticking off my boys...

i look at him worried

and he says' why? you don't want your mail'?'

me : what mail...?

guy, still glaring: the security guy said you didn't want the mail...

ahh so he's a courier guy!

so i have a hearing problem, but you would associate order and meal together, wouldn't you? right? how can i order a mail?

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I suffer from the 'wandering mind' syndrome. Simply put, if i'm in a group and the discussion's going nowhere, i have this ability to detach myself and immerse myself in my thoughts. In one such moment , i seem to have volunteered to organise games for the kids for the post diwali gettogether.

ideas solicited from the wonderful readers...:)

erm..okay...pretty please!!

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Guess you all had a great diwali and halloween!

Mine have been highly momentful, as always!

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All a matter of perspective!

It's been one of those days where I’ve locked myself into the room after having performed a series of exemplary acts...I’ve rescued my towels from the dustbin (courtesy an absentminded son) saved my lights from being broken by a ball and myself from seeing stars by being socked by it, screamed my lungs out, managed to finish my editing work dead on the line, got dinner on the table and still been alive at the end of it all...

Grrrr...its no fun being a gal in all guy household...I've been brought up with two other gals(my sisters)and life was cool...And then I marry a guy who ironically has only brothers(and three of them!!!)So far so good...minor skirmishes...all forgiven in the bliss of wedded life...

Many years and two boys later...life is a medley...and I’m still finding my way. I am a woman literally in a man’s world. I think I’ve learnt to look at my roles from a different perspective. I wear many mantles and every day is a rollercoaster of emotions. A bird’s eye view …

• They go the kitchen and holler out for me as if the sky is falling down…I rush there only be asked where the sugar tin/cookies are? Huh??????? So am i the organization expert? This where perspective comes into the picture. i just perceive things faster...

• It’s no easy task to decide nutrtious meals for the day, trying to suit three hungry stomachs for there will always be one unhappy soul not liking the preparation. I’m nowhere in the picture of course! I’ll be delighted if the food does vanish without threats, bribes or tantrums. So does that make me a food management expert? a nutritionist or a cook? sigh..don't tell me, it's perspective...

• I trip over Lego pieces and supermen and the ghastly faces they call masks, only to be greeted with war cries of murder. So I have to pacify two angry boys with concocted stories of why I was rushing to the toilet, as if my life depended on it. That strikes too close to home and I’ve convinced them it was worth trampling upon their toys. Lo! Behold! I’m a crisis management expert.

• Cricket and football are the bane of my life and one day I may just sue the creator of the games. On second thoughts, I may be lynched by the cricket crazy fans before i even think of doing that, so it is time for subtle tactics. I’ve also noticed it’s a brilliant time to ask for something which you’ve wanted because the hubby is so engrossed he‘s going to nod whatever you say or do, even if you were to say you’re umm..test driving his precious car!!! So trust me to recognize an opportunity and turn it to my advantage!

• It needs great skills to involve every member of the house into tasks they don’t enjoy, without them realizing that they are doing it. It requires the right blend of firmness, nonchalance and voice power. Of course when nothing goes, an incentive works fine, just fine. That makes me a human resource management expert or a plain nag. see, again a matter of perception!

• Saying the right things at the right time, without hurting anybody’s feelings gets my diplomacy skills to the fore. How else will you answer the plaintive complaint “You love him more than me. You hate me”? He gets to hear how much more I would have loved him if I hated him, so that he wouldn’t feel hated. Got it, no? Neither did I? But surprisingly it made sense to him. Confuse the issues so that he does not realize whether he had a good thing or he missed one! That’s a diplomat at work.

not to mention the tactics employed to maintain bonding between one belligerent adult, a rebellious preteen and a hyperactive 5 yr-old... well, whom am i kidding!

But the icing on the cake is, after all the screaming, ranting and raving done, I still get the ‘You’re cool/you're beautiful' badge at the end of the day. So every day is my second chance to get it right and get that badge, (assuming of course that i want it everyday).... It is the best incentive I get to carry on for yet another day of an imperfect mother and an almost perfect wife!!!

Ah well, it IS after all, a matter of the right perspective… mine!!

For the record…no feelings were hurt in the posting of this thought, except mine!!

P.s...gals, please feel free to add to the roles above...I'm sure you agree, i've just scraped the iceberg...

P.p.s..It also appears that my boys are the smart ones, having figured out how to manipulate me emotionally!...sigh
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this just fit in very well with the writer's island prompts...