This year has been a long and hard test of endurance. It seems everything that could go wrong did. Ongoing battle with pandemic, flooded house, school struggles, health challenges, ridiculous workload, canceled trips and even stuff as horrifying as shooting at a local high school. There were times that threatened to unravel us and phases that seemed interminable. There were spots of sunshine too - we managed to meet a lot friends and family after a long time. And somehow we made it through. The kids have shown amazing resilience in the wake of all this. And that is our only hope. This too shall pass and we will recover.
Holiday plans for trip to Austria fell apart and the year end frenzy pushed me into another bout of migraine. But the kids really put life back into what would have been a depressing end to a challenging year. So many holiday concerts!!! What a surprising treat to see them perform- despite never having met the whole band class together!! The music warmed our hearts and more than made up for missing Vienna Opera House - no one there was performing just for us :). Also Suvo whipped up last minute plan to go to NYC - did not know he had travel agent skills.
The kids put up the tree and somehow presents presented themselves and gifts got gifted and unwrapped today - 2 days before Christmas. Why now … Just because! I love this type of logic that kids produce. Have to learn to live by it more and more!!!
Aadi had managed to open all his presents before today -he is making a computer so all the parts arrived and he opened and started assembling already. The motherboard broke already and got shipped back for repairs. All before even the early Christmas we initiated. So he was somewhat crestfallen at gift opening- not expecting any more for himself since he already opened them all (as far as he knew).
But there were many little surprises and he was delighted. Diya too was happy to find a neat pile with her name on it. She had set up a gift registry or sorts with a live google doc and it seems Santa has internet access now! Everyone had one big surprise box, even Aadi, and he insisted we save these for last and open them together.
Diya got a Victrola - something she had been pinning for 4 years now (and a Norah Jones Holiday Collection vinyl for me! ) we are both such romantics. Suvo got boxes of premium tea - who doesn’t need more tea? And I got an air-fryer - clearly we need more kitchen appliances that we don’t have space for! We really need to stop being pragmatic and do things … just because 😋
But it was Aadi's reaction at his mystery big box that was priceless - a VR headset! He could not believe he got that!!! I wish I could have captured that moment on camera … but then I am glad I caught it live vs fiddling with a device at that time. Something’s can’t be digitized. For others there is a VR headset LOL.
We are now looking forward to heading out for NYC tomorrow (hoping my migraine will co-operate just enough so I can bundle up in the backseat with an eye mask, ear plugs … and maybe a puke bucket 😬). I will pack extra meds, little bit of hope and borrow a smidgen (this required Alexa's help to spell) of resilience from the kids and we should be all set.
I will try to leave behind fear (despite Omicron rampant) and ditch paranoia that something else will go wrong (despite the track record so far this year). I will hope and pray that this last week will be the best this year.
P.S. My head wants to explode. I need to go crawl under the blankets again and sing my migraine song -
(Mig)rain(e) (Mig)rain(e) go away
Don’t come back another day
Little Mommy wants to stay
Pain free just one more day.
I love nursery rhymes… they come in so handy to solve life’s big problems.
P.P.S. Clearly not thinking straight. Interminable excruciating headache will do that to you. Must stop blogging under these conditions.
P.P.P.S. Happy Holidays! (Let’s make them so …)
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