Imaginary Friends & Imaginary Worries …

While browsing through some old files I came across is incomplete/ unpublished blog …. I was fairly confused why this sat forgotten. Decided to publish it now with some reflection on what might have stopped me from completing this before …

Notes from sometime in 2012 when Aadi was 3yrs old ……

Aadi planned a picnic for his friends. He arranged plastic-ware in the basement. “Plastic-ware” in this case was all inclusive – there were plastic plates, cups, spoons etc and also plastic banana, pineapple, burgers, French fries and even a plastic bottle with plastic root beer in it.

I looked up from the book I was reading and asked him – “Are you having a party Aadi?”

“I have a picnic” – he answered, still intently arranging the settings and making sure the food was distributed evenly on all the plates.

“Who is coming for your party?”

“My friends.”

“Which friends?” – I was expecting the hear the names of kids from his day-care, the usual suspects….. Sahil, Pranshu, Sanghvi, Madhav.

“Orno & Shamina” he informed me.

“Who?????” – I never heard these names before so I was intrigued.

“They are my friends …..” he said without turning towards me.

(My mind started buzzing right away ….. he is playing with imaginary friends …. He is having identity crisis….. maybe he is feeling lonely ….  maybe I should spend some more time with him … do some more activities …. maybe I should start sending  him to preschool ….. )

Meanwhile Diya joined the party……I immediately roped her in ….maybe she can help him get back to reality

“Diya, Aadi is having a picnic. His friends Orno & Shamina are coming over” I looked at her conspiratorially.

“Oh …. Can I join too Aadi?” – she said without missing a beat and completely missing my gesture, maybe intentionally.

“I am not Aadi …. I am Indonama” – was his response.

Back to the future … April 2016

So, what stopped me from completing this before? What was it that I could not process at that time? Was I worried about my kids concocting imaginary friends, pointing towards lack of adequate social exposure / incompetent parenting / identity crisis … ???

Did I allow myself to get tripped by some imaginary anxiety over imaginary friends vs revel in the real happiness of my very real kids ...??

4 yrs later it makes no sense to me. May be I am growing up as a parent .. J

10 Wierd Things in Mexico

The 2016 Mexico trip was by far our most adventurous to date. We ventured out in the country and explored places outside the resort! To remember this trip, one evening we decided to write down 10 weird things each one of us experience or learned during the trip. Turned out to be an enormously fun and memorable family exercise - and the list grew to a lot more than 10 items - and included not only the weird and bizzare but anything that made an impression on our minds.

Here is the list in the exact words of each contributor:

Aadi

• Mayan people eat insects
• Ball game field echoes
• The shadow of the hoop the game jumps over to the other side
• Kukulkan lives inside Chichen Itza
• Aadi likes iguanas
• Mayan people had no electronics
• The toilet was blue in the condo we rented and we had to throw toilet paper in the trash
• It is so hot that the water in the water bottles becomes hot
• We did not see any barracudas during snorkeling
• There are 2 cenotes in Chichen Itza – one north, one south.
• Chak mool was in the temple of the thousand columns
• The public bathroom at Chichen Itza was HUGE. There were atleast 25 in a row.
• In the condo, the bathroom with the blue shower had the hot water, the bath did not.
• There was a floating bridge in XelHa
• Diya learned to bike in XelHa
• In Chichen Itza, I had to brush my teeth with bottled water
• I saw Minions movie for the third time
• Using the bidet felt weird
• I saw a very old TV in our hotel room
• I know what the inside of the Kukulkan temple looks like in Chichen Itza
• Mayans used hieroglyphics just like Egyptians
• Mayans were there 2000 yrs before Jesus Christ was born. They are still living in Mexico
• Mayans believe in 2 gods: jaguars, snakes
• The parasailing was 1 hr away from our hotel
• Now Jade beach water was very blue and it looks like a floating world

Diya

• Kukulkan can be seen on summer and spring equinox
• Mexican excavation had to stop because they ran out of budget
• People eat iguanas
• Mayan people used vulcanized rubber
• Chichen Itza echoes back clapping sounds
• We cannot drink the water out of the faucet. We have to buy bottles of water.
• You can bargain here!!!!
• There are a lot of cenotes in mexico
• The Now Jade hotel had a (locked) door between adjoining rooms.
• For the Mayans, feather around Jaguar claws and an open snake mouth represented a portal to the spiritual world.
• The sea looked different colors during parasailing.
• The shower in the condo in the bathroom had no curtain
• During snorkeling, I saw a fish which was smaller than my pinky
• While learning to bike in Xelha, I crashed into a tree. Baba laughed.
• I ate a muscle
• The blue fish kissed Aadi – during snorkeling
• Aadi learned to use the bidet – the proper way
• Ziplining ended up dropping us in the river
• Aadi saw his first wonder of the world. I saw my second.
• The Riu Palace has a whole in the building so the wind can blow through and storms do not damage the building
• The beach near parasailing was very white with very fine sand

Baba

• Mayan civilization is only civilization among the first 5 – that did not start by a river. (they started by underground river!
• The condo we rented in Playa del Carmen had little mirrors embedded in the walls
• The 20 L water bottle in the condo had a hand pump to draw water.
• Most of the taps in sink have lever in the bottom to make the water come out.
• Landing during parasailing was very gentle.
• The condo had a Jacuzzi in the bedroom with a shower in it.
• Fish therapy
• Exposed bricks on the ceiling
• We made a sand Chichen Itza at the sea beach
• The Mayan people used to import red macau feathers from Central America
• The house opposite our condo in Playa Del Carmen had 2 ATVs parked in the front
• I saw my third wonder of the world 

Mamma

• Diya and Aadi are in Now Jade explorer club promotional video.
• Now Jade staff has started recognizing us.
• Finally tried stepping out of my norm and did snorkeling and parasailing.  Got braids.
• Bargained with street vendors.
• Driving and parking in Mexico. Not so weird after all. Same as India.
• Got back in gear w.r.t personal safety paranoia.
• Got a heat rash all over – again L
• By complete accident, managed to arrange for us to visit Chichen Itza during the busiest/most wanted day – equinox – to see the shadow of Kukulkan. It rained. No sun = no shadow.
• Beer and water cost the same in Mexico. Drink more beer.
• Aadi learned to use the SLR camera. Diya learned to ride a bike. Both of these items were available at home.
• My travel fever to see all the wonders of the world is contagious. The whole family has it now.
• Home Away rules.

Mango - A New Perspective

After trying a few times herself, Diya asked me to draw the outline of a mango. When I drew the outline for her, she happily went back to her room to color it.

She came back a few minutes later to show the drawing. It was colorful and looking pretty. She even added a shine to it. But I was a bit puzzled when I looked at it more carefully. She added a stem to the mango, but it seemed to be upside down.

When I asked her she said, "But that's how the mangos are in the Costco pack - I added the stem to the 'top'!".

When I went to the kitchen and looked, the mangoes were packed upside down!