Tata Hexa – The Car With Sixth Sense

In one word, Tata Hexa is a car with senses of its own, or that is the man behind the wheel taking me on the exciting off road tour at Bengaluru made believe.

Being OK With My Grumpy Daughter Successfully

This incident happened a few years ago when Farheena (my daughter with special needs) had been at home most of the time, for almost a  month due to the shifting of her vocational center and delay in the arrangement of transport for her due to starting hiccups. She has either been in a Special School or her Vocational Center most of her life, giving me a gap of 7-8 hours to catch up with my personal venture or activities. Since she is home, I have to tag her along with me if I have to go out since she is not confident about staying home all by herself. 

On Tuesday, we both visited a hospital where I went on rounds of the Pink Hope Mitra Program. We meet newly diagnosed patients and talk to them, giving them hope since we are the survivors of the illness they are fighting. Farheena first refused to come and said she would stay back, then changed her mind again and came with me. She told me that she would sit in the front office and wait for me to finish my work, but she would not talk or make friends with anyone there. I said, "OK". Next, she sneaked in a biryani treat for her on her way back home. I agreed. 

As promised, Farheena sat in the front office with two staff ladies, and we went on our rounds. I called them once between work and was assured Farheena was comfortable and doing fine. The girl kept her promise and behaved in the hospital but refused to talk or make friends there. Also refused to eat anything in the hospital canteen. On my way back, I had a few more tasks to complete, and then Farheena got her Biryani Treat. On her way back, she wanted a selfie with me and gave me a big smile.

When Happy Lean Towards Mom

 Again a few days later when I told her I was going to meet a friend, Farheena said she did not want to join us since she had planned to watch some programs. At the same time, she did not want to stay back alone either. I calmly told her she had a choice: join us or stay back.. She requested that I cancel my plan and stay with her, and I calmly said, "NO." So Farheena announced, "I will come with you, but I will not talk, smile, eat, or drink anything. I will not say Hi as well". I was in a dilemma about how to handle this.  It becomes pretty awkward and embarrassing for me (and Rayyan sometimes) when Farheena ignores everyone talking to her and pretends that no one around her exists. Some people have even wondered whether they have offended her in anyway until I convince them it is not so, but just one of her moods. 

Like I did not want Farheena to hold me back from doing what I felt I should in the Pink Hope Mitra program, I felt the same here. If I allow her to stop me today, it may change her and me permanently which may not be in a positive direction. So I made the big decision: I will allow Farheena to be Grumpy and not be affected by it. 

So out we went to the Cafe. Every ten minutes, Farheena kept asking me, "Are we there yet?", trying out her first trigger. I answered her calmly, "Not yet," every time she asked her question. Finally, I got to say yes. As we walked in, she chose a corner to sit in and leaned away from me. 

        

When not happy, lean away from Mom

                                     

I asked her if she would like to eat something or drink juice or tea, "No" was the expected answer. I bought a pizza and chocolate Mousse and placed them in front of her to aim at temptation. No response. I had a good conversation with my friends and enjoyed our time together a lot. There were so many things we discussed we had interesting stories to share. We could go on forever, but then time was running out for all of us. Finally, Farheena did not say "Hi" or "Bye" or eat anything but sat grumpily, leaning away from me. 

I finished chatting with my friends, ate the food, and enjoyed the get-together without being affected by my grumpy daughter.  

As we sat in the cab on our way home, Farheena said, "I am sorry next time, I will eat something and talk." I was pretty excited and wanted to yell out something, but I remained calm and said, "OK." That day, I felt very successful as a mom by allowing my daughter to be grumpy and not be affected by her behavior. I cannot actually explain it adequately in words, but I feel a sense of pride within me. We always urge our children to enjoy everything we do: food, clothing, a picnic, or dinner out. When we see they are not enjoying themselves, we get angry and pick up a fight because we feel let down by them or see that they are being ungrateful to us even though we are putting every effort to make them happy. I could have started down the road, that took me down the path of "Why is Farheena being ungrateful even when I take her everywhere with me? She is so mean, etc. etc." but I did not. I realized that there are days when she may not want to enjoy no matter what I gave her. I just had to remain calm. 

I know some of you may find an urge to judge me on this, but if I am okay with a grumpy daughter, I am sure OK with judgment from anyone. 

I Went Cashless Way Before Demonetization.. I Support PM Modi

Painting Your Home Is As Easy As Putting On Makeup

It has been quite some time since I enjoyed a Saturday after as much I did on 10^th of December at the #BergerXP IndiBlogger Meet – Bangalore at Hotel Lalit Ashok. I call it the rainbow of bloggers meet with all the colors and fun involved. 

A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed

I have a pussy cat, whose coat is made of snow

When it rubs itself against me, it needs, love I know

But as I sleep with my dear ones when comes the cat

I shoo it away saying “Hey! Go catch yourself a rat”

SELF V, 2016 LIFE > CANCER

Yeah, it is back. Those three words can be dreaded at times, but here knowing that the yearly SelfV event is back, the same words can put a smile across your face.

Rather than saying SelfV 2016 kicked off, we should say it Vroomed on the silent Sunday morning on the roads of Bangalore when Ducati Bikers showed their solidarity for fight against Cancer on 2nd October. For past two years we have watched hundreds of self-made videos of people who have overcome cancer, sharing their stories in open.

Read More Here

Knowing Your Heart – Congenital Heart Disease

 Last year, when I felt my heart was beating faster than normal, I never knew it was something called tachycardia which can seriously disrupt normal heart function, increase the risk of stroke, or cause sudden cardiac arrest or death. I assumed it must be due to stress or something similar until my heart was beating rate of more than 220 per minute and I had to call an ambulance.

My Special SIS - Sister In Survival

We were without a cable or dish TV connection for more than 1 and ½ decades. Yeah, my children grew up not watching TV and they are fine, even though I assure you that it was not an experiment conducted on them so see if children can actually live without TV or not. It was just that I felt we were watching TV whenever we are bored without using the time for some creative activity or outdoor games. So, out went the TV from our lives and in came computers.

#YDSuccessStories - My Story

“My counselor did not criticize me like others; she was the only one to support me in my most important decision of life.”

Where it started?

Jamie, a 27 years old transgender from France was on the hospital bed, scared and perplexed. He was going to get operated in a few hours. It was the life changing operation. He was about to undergo a gender transference surgery and was missing his close ones.

Being a Mom - Reposting

One of the hundreds of loving moments which makes life worth living...

 When I was thoroughly enjoying Sidney Sheldon’s ‘Tell Me Your Dreams’, I was intrigued by the multiple personalities of Ashley Paterson. It was unbelievable that a person could have a diverse personality inside their psyche, that was until my own alternate personality took over me. My alternate personality was called ‘Maa’ and it was completely opposite of what I was. The advantage I had over Ashley was that, I was aware of both the sides of these personalities and could interact with them. I am spared the mystery at least! Whew.