Took Appa and S out to the Oregon Ridge Park while M helped getting things ready for Amma’s Shraadam. While at it I also got to test the new action camera that we bought last month. Quite a chilly and windy day. That didn’t deter S from having a blast at the playground. The ‘hike’ quickly turned into a playground outing. I wouldn’t complain. Amazed at how well she handled the low temps. ...
Diwali it is and I’m so lucky to be at AJ this year. Though most of the family is not here, I did want to get those positive light vibes in the house. Appa and I got the diyas out and lit them up like we’ve usually done during the years past. Brought back so many fond memories of celebrating the festival when we were kids. Starting right at 04:00 with Kitta Mama’s 1000 Walla, Appa and Amma’s push to get us that pre-dawn morning shower, the house bustling with activity as sweets and savories are consumed quicker than they’re made, neighbors drifting in and out exchanging wishes and gifts, kids bragging on the volume of firecracker purchase, bursting crackers near oblivious strangers in the colony, smoke of various hues of green and orange bellowing from that ‘snake’ firecracker, appa bursting the ‘lakshmi bomb’ using a pair of tongs, and amma -oh looking so beautiful- cautiously lighting the ‘sparkler’ while keeping an eye on all of us. ...
It’s about 2 AM and I am on a side bed in Sinai Hospital. Earlier today (yesterday) Meena and I brought into this world a sparkingly beautiful 7lb 5oz girl. I remember seeing Meena during the institute at TFI with some of her school kids and thinking she would be a wonderful mother one day. Eight years from then, as I see this little munchkin in the crib beside her, I am more than thankful for all that has led to this day. I’m thrilled beyond limits. ...
That day when we’re able to distinguish that line, I’d wish we’d figured this all out way back in 2000. It still bothers me that we weren’t able to figure out what was going on in that mind and if at all there was a communication happening… Bookmark: Is There Awareness Behind Vegetative States? Imagine that a loved one, let’s say your brother, has suffered a serious brain injury. After languishing in a coma, he finally “emerges”—that is, he cycles between sleep and wakefulness, yanks his hand away when it’s pricked, is startled by loud noises, and so on. ...
I get into my house, I believe from the side entrance. Looks like there’s nobody in there. It’s mildly windy. Possibly from an open window? There’s a barely audible calming music from MS coming out from the bedroom. As I walk in, I notice TVM in the bed cocooned in a blanket, her eye’s glazed and probing deep in thought. I gently tap her and ask her if everything’s okay. She turns around and I somehow know she’s thinking of Amma. Tears well up in her eyes as she asks if we did everything we could. I’m petrified. I don’t have an answer for her and I’m left standing there for a seemingly long time… All of a sudden I notice someone trying to open the window mesh and get the keys from the inside. Atchuth? I open the main door and see Nikhil, Sharath, Aparna and a few other kids. They say they’re back from Brueggers. I come back to the bedroom to check on TVM. She’s smiling as if nothing in the past really happened. ...