It all began when the little one turned five. We owned a home in a wonderful locality town side, from where the little one’s school and the husband’s office were only a few kilometers away. We had been living there since the little one was barely a toddler and it was just the place a young couple like us needed. But being lucky enough to have found a place to live that was within a half hour’s distance to anywhere that mattered was such a huge blessing (especially considering Bangalore traffic) that we did not think that the place was entirely wrong for a child! And so it was, that when the little one turned five and the time came to let him go out to play, we realised it was time to build our nest in a different tree.
So the husband and I spent hours scouring the many
possibilities, but as is always the case, the wallet wasn’t always happy with
the choices the heart made and the heart did the same when the wallet decided
to steal the show. So after a lot of (virtual and actual) apartment visits, we
zeroed in on something that both the heart and the wallet would approved of. Needless
to say, it had a huge play area for the little one to unleash himself and of
course, it was as far as any place could be from the husband’s office. But when
your little one is in dire need of space and
company to play, you have no choice but to bite the bullet. And so one fine
day we paid a ludicrously exorbitant price to become the proud owners of a flat
that could host only half of our existing furniture, but thankfully all of our
memories, with room to spare for creating new ones!
It is never easy to shift a house. Every nook and corner has some special memory etched into it. So obviously, the last week before we moved out was extremely emotional for all of us. We decided on a day to shift and spent a week before that sorting stuff that could be carried and stuff that would end up with charities. We made the mandatory temple visit, we let go the cook and the maid, we made arrangements for the actual day of shifting and then finally, came the time when we had to actually move.
The tears that the little one shed then were equal parts happiness (as he was already in love with the new place) and sadness (which was expressed by him hugging me and telling me with tears streaming down his cheeks that he was upset because I am at work all day and that I barely spend any time with him – this, despite me being a freelancer working from home who has currently not taken up any fresh assignments as it is vacation time). I just hugged him right back and let the tears flow. It was necessary, it helped him. It was also necessary for me, and between the husband and I, we spent a stoic few days reminiscing the good times we had had in the old place.
And then, we moved out.
The move itself was uneventful, barring the few instances where we had to rein in the movers’ indifferent attitude. To add to the fun, it rained that day! This was considered as a good omen by the elders in the family who were telephonically managing the move from a different city. And so, we took their word for it, despite being the ones feeling the actual effects of the shower. Nevertheless, the move was without incident. The real fun though, began after that.
The first thing we found out the night of the move was that when you change your location, your food delivery options change drastically. Even though the apps remain the same, the choice of food you have is something you need to get used to. Add to it the fact that we did not know any of the places we were ordering from, and we were in for an anxious wait till the food actually came and we liked it (especially our little one, who is only now developing his taste buds).
Once that battle was won came the realization that we had no idea where we had packed the Good Knight and the mosquito repellant creams. Of course, I remembered I had packed them all together – the Good Knight machine and refill as well as all the mosquito repellant creams and spray – only, I didn’t remember what box they were all hiding in just then! And so we were in for a night of restless sleep while the parasites of the new colony welcomed us in their own special way!
The next morning, having survived the lovely welcome, we woke up full of (bite marks and) confidence that now we could take on anything that the day threw at us. The confidence that lasted only until we called up the maintenance guys for setting up the necessities. Turned out, intercom takes two days, yes you read that right, two days; as does the landline connection, to get set up. Even the cable guys need to "follow procedure" and thus currently, we aren't watching the live IPL matches (sadly).
But back to day one, our moment of glory came when the electrician informed us we had twenty-four hours power back up, with a proviso that if we used anything that consumed more then 15amps of power, the mains would trip. So then I asked him how things would go if my washing machine (which takes clearly more power than that) is working when the power goes as then it would automatically restart when the backup kicks in. I haven’t gotten an answer yet, but I will figure it out, hopefully…
Anyway, since the day was already going so well, I decided to take a chance and look for a maid. Now we all know how important maids are to our existence; and to find the one that will be a perfect match to one’s household is an extreme blessing! So imagine my joy when I actually found someone who agreed to come to work on my terms and seemed like a perfect fit. I was on cloud nine! Until she brought me back to earth when she said that the only time she could come, was at six in the morning! Nevertheless, beggars cannot be choosers and so I agreed. I reminded myself that early to bed and early to rise makes us all healthy, wealthy and wise; and this was my way of helping take care of mine and my family’s health.
Today, I woke up to the doorbell rather than an alarm; but I am building my health; and so, despite the vacation, I am happy to wake up in the morning. (Yeah, yeah, the real motivation is that this takes care of my day’s work and a bit of inconvenience of waking up early during the much earned holidays is a small price to pay.) So as the maid gets going, I sip my first coffee of the day and breathe in the fresh morning air. Another day begins in the new place. Today will bring more challenges am sure, but I am ready to face them, because as the future beckons and the past refuses to let go, we have to live our life in the present, one day at a a time.
Comments
Post a Comment