Sunday, April 19, 2020

Slow Down

As somewhat expected, my blogging has slowed down this week, and for good reasons. Last Friday night (April 10 night  in America; which was April 11, Saturday morning in India) changed a lot of things. My father-in-law met with a severe road accident in India, and has been in the ICU since then. We could not go to India because of COVID-related travel restrictions. He is stable now and his life is no longer in danger. But it is a long road to recovery.

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StayAtHomeDiaries

Day 28--Day 1 of week 5
When you go to the grocery store to buy food and the first thing you pick up is a bunch of sunflowers, then you know how much you need color in your life right now!




#
StayAtHomeDiaries

Day 31--Day 4 of week 5
#BreakKeBaad (translated in English to "After the Break")
I remember March 16 vividly. I remember the announcement in the middle of the day that the "shelter-in-place" order will take effect from midnight. I remember the madness all around to stockpile supplies. And the stillness that I felt, somehow convinced that things will be OK. Happy to say that one month later, today on April 16, things are OK. It has been an eventful month, and especially an eventful week from last Friday. So I decided to take a mini-break from writing my daily accounts. But sometimes the thoughts control you, and they wont let you rest until you give them a place in yours words. So here I am, acknowledging my thoughts--triggered by two concrete events today.
The first one is not quite an "event", but more of a silent moment. While taking my mid-day walk today, I noticed my 89-year old neighbor working intently in her yard, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. She had no clue that I was standing barely 6 feet away outside her green hedge, admiring how calm she is amidst all the doom and gloom. I didn't disturb her peace and simply walked back home--filled with reassurance that she is still healthy and fit enough to enjoy gardening.
The second one is indeed an "event", and quite a unique one. One of my colleagues is due to give birth in a few weeks. Her baby shower was scheduled for April 16 long before everything shut down. We decided not to back off and give her a "virtual" baby shower over WebEx! It was genuine fun. We even ended up participating in the typical baby shower games, including "Guess the price of baby items," "Mom or Dad" quiz, and "Guess the baby photo" contest.
The day simply proved that the force of life is much more than that of a crisis. And I am happy to break my streak of silence.





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