Yet another birthday surprise!

Just when I think I am all out of energy and ideas for surprises, it so happens, that there is just one more way to try and do it. And thanks to the robust energy of a few close friends, my own was tanked up to set the stage for yet another surprise for R's 37th Birthday.

So much has been happening in life to claim my time and focus completely.So much so, that a lot of the things I would have otherwise made ample time for, had to be re-prioritised in the scheme of things. Simpler ways of adhering to the festivals, very simple everyday meals, definitely lesser time with the boys, and afternoons spent simply catching up on some sleep! R's birthday would have gone under the same guise of downsized living, had it not been for our friends, who in their excitement to plan something of a surprise for him, actually injected that much needed shot of enthusiasm into me as well, so that I too could be part of the discussions, and together we came up with a fool-proof plan. I can boldly say fool-proof because of that look of utter befuddlement on his face, as people started to pop up out of places, screaming out just that one word!

Winkie was in a dance program recently and I had to take him to practice on that particular Friday, the eve of R's birthday. He was home with Thambi, and in that quiet stupor that comes from a prospect of a weekend. Right after practice, at around 9:30 PM, our friends all congregated at a gas station close to home, to discuss the finer details of the PLAN. I would go home, as normal, having just come back from "practice". They would all enter the garage and hide behind the car. The lights would be off, as I walked in, suitably rearranging my face into a serious expression, as I proceeded to reveal to R how sometime during the practice, some person who had parked next to me, had made a dent in our car door, due to their carelessness when opening their door. And how it doesn't look too good and would be come and see it?

He, of course, would be suitably upset at the prospect of Buddy being hurt, and would most likely charge outside, annoyed with me and this whole incident. And how, just as he flicked on the lights to the garage to walk out, everyone hiding would converge on him instead, screaming and laughing.

There were several possible glitches of course that could happen. The kids would have to stay real quiet too, and we know how well that goes with young ones, who are super excited about something. I would also have to summon my most superior acting skills to deliver the dialogues with just that right touch of apology writ on my face. Smirks would have to be contained as I became the character of the penitent wife, guilty for the hand she has played, albeit unknowingly.

And as luck would have it, all these stars aligned just right for that perfect execution. The kids were in absolute stealth mode. I didn't hear a thing. And I walked in expecting to find R in the living room, but it turned out he was already upstairs putting Thambi to bed. Which gave me that much more time to compose myself. I told him the story of the car, and he was already annoyed, as he walked down the stairs, and opened the door of the garage, while also slipping into his slippers. And just as he flicked on the light switch, everyone jumped out of hiding, yelling and screaming, and perhaps one of the loudest yell came from R himself, as the surprise and shock of the ambush expressed itself. There are no suitable pictures for any of this, and even I missed that look on his face as I was right behind him, and our friends say it was the "ultimate". He looked horrified, and I'll just have to take their words for it, as you'll have to take mine. :)

Giving thanks for the long and much needed break!

Its 4:36 AM and the Monday after the Thanksgiving Weekend. I am sitting here at the computer after saying goodbye to the friend who came to visit and to spend time with me, winding down. We had this grand plan of keeping things ultimately simple. No gift giving. No elaborate food preps. No major holiday plans...other than to rest, relax and rest in that exact order. And what a grand success that was!

Today, I am glad it is Monday because the Sunday and the Saturday and the Friday preceding it was filled with soul soothing stuff. A get-together with old friends, good, solid karaoke fun, lots of afternoon naps, and movies and Harry Potter mania satisfaction, and books and games with the boys, their laughter and constant chatter and even the constant tears ringing the air with feeling and gusto. All simple normal, family stuff shared in the company of a friend who is family in disguise.

I've needed this kind of normalcy for a long time now. Because for the longest ever stretch that I can remember, life has been on this crazy fast lane for me. Involved back to back in some project or another, all fulfilling in their own ways, yet, they took a lot out of me, in terms of energy and enthusiasm. And left me feeling very very wrung out. I sort of fell out of the loop of being a regular mom to the boys, and turned into this super stretched multi-tasker, careening this way and that in an effort to make everything balance and work, and each day run as functionally as possible. So while each day was functional, it was not filled with some of the quality stuff that marks the moments of life. I stopped to smell roses, I hardly read to the boys, we were always rushing off to one thing or another, and the strain just continued to mount. Even family back home started to tell the difference, as phone calls started to dwindle, and those regular updates of the boys through posts and pictures which they had been so used to, stopped coming in.

Which is why I was looking to this Thanksgiving weekend as a sort of lifeline. It would be the one short spell where the claims on my time would be limited to just the minimum things of tending to family. And that was it. And having my friend's presence here would soothe some of those frayed nerves, as I talked through some of my stress and just c*h*i*l*l*e*d out.

Right now, I feel like I am able to breathe again. Slow, deep, leisurely breaths....as the prospect of a lazy December of a dwindling year is just around the corner. My favorite time of the year, my favorite month of them all. Holiday lights, birthdays, anniversaries, winter break, carols on every station of the radio, white, serene snow, wind and warmth, lots of movies, coffee every morning, a release from all expectations past, a breather from all the hopes and tasks of the next year, lots of writing (oh yes!) and chocolate from time to time. :) Yes, in just another day, it shall be all about that.

I have lots more little little stories to share. I want to break all the silence and talk to my heart's content, and I hope you will too, to keep me company. I want to tell you all about R's birthday and all the stuff that Winkie has faced and braved in school and all the things that are changing in him, and how Thambi (we have to change this nick!) talks nineteen to the dozen with a bigger accent than his simpleton brother, and how the sole mission of each day is to get in his brother's face as much as possible. And I want to do this one little contest on the blog, with a prize and everything. All that is coming up soon....so if you're still out there, reading me, please break your silence too and say hi and let me know that you are there.