13 Hours of Rain

You become a product of where you live and whom (or what) you love. Yes, nature takes a part in your character development and value placement. But, how you are nurtured, along with the object of your affections, hones who you are. We recently concluded an action packed week with your Mausi*  and her family. The time was sweet and precious. You cousins concocted imaginative adventures. Tummies were fed mostly "Canadian" fare with dollops of ice cream now and then. And us adults played many, many board games while laughing and sharing over chai and chocolate. Your Mausi and her family live in another region of our world, where the climate and food is hot and the culture is more patriarchal than ours. And as I listened to the differences between here and there, and pondered how your Mausi and her family live a life that is quite different than mine, I couldn't help but ask myself, "What 'Western' values are worth holding on to? And what 'Eastern' v...

We are into summer now. Our days are filled with catching up with tasks we've shelved during the year, tending our yard, biking, and swimming lessons. There are some family get-togethers here and there. Plus a balanced dose of literacy, including numeracy, to keep your grade levels up. This is the last summer before both of you enter the world of school. I too will dust off my teaching skills and enter the classroom as a casual substitute teacher. I am looking forward to the change. Yet, I hold my breath during this moment in time, cherishing this stage of full-time homemaking, which will soon be past (for now, anyway). There are still days when I do pause and reflect on whether or not we could have extended this season of preschool parenting. We are a two-kid family, a decision that was not accepted flippantly, but rather with much deliberation and disquietude (especially on my part). In spite of the permanency of our decision, those uncomfortable moments do arise, when the co...