Time tables
“Time for Amma’s darling to get up” I call out.
“Get up for what?”
“To go to school.”
“ I don’t want to go to school, I hate school. The teacher scolds me.”
“No, the teacher won’t scold you, she likes you very much.”
“No she hates me.”
“Okay , enough of this nonsense, get up at once or I will send you to school in your night dress.”
This is our early morning routine. We go back and forth like this till I lose patience.
“ I want to sleep.”
“See what happens when you don’t go to bed early.” He is cranky from lack of sleep. His eyes are burly and bed shot.
A ghee roast later, he is ready for bath. “The water is too hot.”
I mix in more cold water, “ Is this okay.”
“I hate school, the teacher hates me.”
I ignore that.
“I have an armpit ache”
Wow!! That is a new one.
Soon he is getting ready for school. More tears and then “ I hate you”.
I feel sorry for him he really is sleepy.
Waiting for the bus I show him other children going to school. He looks at the buses and tells me, “ They are not going to school they are coming back home.” I make no comments.
Soon he is in his bus, off to school.
Back home, Joe has a worried look on his face, “His teacher called. She wanted to know if he was an only child.”
“Didn’t you ask her why she wanted to know?”
“No, I just said yes.”
“Do you think he has learning disability or something? Maybe she feels we are spoiling him too much.”
“Are you going to the office today? How is your tummy?”
“Not decided yet. Make me dosas and then we will see.”
Seated in front of the dosas, he looks at the sambhar and asks, “ Where is the chutney?”
“There was no grated coconut, so I did not make chutney.”
“I hate dosas without chutney, that is the primary side dish, sambhar is secondary.”
He has everything done to a fine equation. Even the sambhar and chutneys.
I say nothing, though I feel like pouring the sambhar over his head and watch his shock and surprise at my reaction. I just wish he would finish his breakfast and leave. But then the tummy acts up and going to office is delayed further.
Sometime later he goes off and I am alone in my castle. I park myself in front of the computer and soon am king of the world surfing the web at will. I soon reach my latest passion the www.wikimapia.org site. It is the satellite image of the world and 200ft zoom I see my home in Kerala, Amma’s tharavad, Joe’s house, our school. I am happy.
A look at the clock and it is 12.30. I am late for everything, the lunch isn’t ready. So I rush around, manage to get everything done and then go downstairs to collect Thom. Joe joins me and then goes back home with Thom and me. Then he says he does not want lunch only buttermilk blended with chili and ginger. The fish is being deep-fried.
“Is the fish done?”
No, in a moment. Let me finish making buttermilk for Appa and will give you lunch.”
"Okay”
Then immediately, “Is the fish ready?”
He is hungry. I check his lunch box. There is one idli left over.
"Why did you not finish your idli?”
“The teacher closed the lunch box before I could finish.”
“That is because you took too much time finishing the first idli.”
After lunch, we try to get some sleep. But at 3.30 PM we are still awake.
Joe goes off to his office and I bathe and feed Thom early. Joe comes home and has his chapattis at 7.30Pm. We are all ready for an early bedtime today. 8.00 Pm and we are in bed, hoping to make up for lost sleep.
8.30Pm someone rings the doorbell. “Must be Reji.” Joe says.
He opens the door and it is indeed Reji.
“Its Reji uncle.” And he is off running.
At 9.00Pm he is gone and we are back in bed.
The bell rings again, “Who is it now?”
It is Sivan and we sit around talking some more.
Then he leaves and it is 9.30Pm and then I decide to take bath and then go to bed instead of waiting for Thom to sleep. I am finished at 10.00Pm one and half-hours after the hoped for bedtime and Thom is still playing, with sleep being the furthest thing in his mind. I get into bed and ignore all of them and go to sleep. When I wake up later I hear the blessed light snoring or the father and son and settle back for a peaceful night’s sleep.
“Get up for what?”
“To go to school.”
“ I don’t want to go to school, I hate school. The teacher scolds me.”
“No, the teacher won’t scold you, she likes you very much.”
“No she hates me.”
“Okay , enough of this nonsense, get up at once or I will send you to school in your night dress.”
This is our early morning routine. We go back and forth like this till I lose patience.
“ I want to sleep.”
“See what happens when you don’t go to bed early.” He is cranky from lack of sleep. His eyes are burly and bed shot.
A ghee roast later, he is ready for bath. “The water is too hot.”
I mix in more cold water, “ Is this okay.”
“I hate school, the teacher hates me.”
I ignore that.
“I have an armpit ache”
Wow!! That is a new one.
Soon he is getting ready for school. More tears and then “ I hate you”.
I feel sorry for him he really is sleepy.
Waiting for the bus I show him other children going to school. He looks at the buses and tells me, “ They are not going to school they are coming back home.” I make no comments.
Soon he is in his bus, off to school.
Back home, Joe has a worried look on his face, “His teacher called. She wanted to know if he was an only child.”
“Didn’t you ask her why she wanted to know?”
“No, I just said yes.”
“Do you think he has learning disability or something? Maybe she feels we are spoiling him too much.”
“Are you going to the office today? How is your tummy?”
“Not decided yet. Make me dosas and then we will see.”
Seated in front of the dosas, he looks at the sambhar and asks, “ Where is the chutney?”
“There was no grated coconut, so I did not make chutney.”
“I hate dosas without chutney, that is the primary side dish, sambhar is secondary.”
He has everything done to a fine equation. Even the sambhar and chutneys.
I say nothing, though I feel like pouring the sambhar over his head and watch his shock and surprise at my reaction. I just wish he would finish his breakfast and leave. But then the tummy acts up and going to office is delayed further.
Sometime later he goes off and I am alone in my castle. I park myself in front of the computer and soon am king of the world surfing the web at will. I soon reach my latest passion the www.wikimapia.org site. It is the satellite image of the world and 200ft zoom I see my home in Kerala, Amma’s tharavad, Joe’s house, our school. I am happy.
A look at the clock and it is 12.30. I am late for everything, the lunch isn’t ready. So I rush around, manage to get everything done and then go downstairs to collect Thom. Joe joins me and then goes back home with Thom and me. Then he says he does not want lunch only buttermilk blended with chili and ginger. The fish is being deep-fried.
“Is the fish done?”
No, in a moment. Let me finish making buttermilk for Appa and will give you lunch.”
"Okay”
Then immediately, “Is the fish ready?”
He is hungry. I check his lunch box. There is one idli left over.
"Why did you not finish your idli?”
“The teacher closed the lunch box before I could finish.”
“That is because you took too much time finishing the first idli.”
After lunch, we try to get some sleep. But at 3.30 PM we are still awake.
Joe goes off to his office and I bathe and feed Thom early. Joe comes home and has his chapattis at 7.30Pm. We are all ready for an early bedtime today. 8.00 Pm and we are in bed, hoping to make up for lost sleep.
8.30Pm someone rings the doorbell. “Must be Reji.” Joe says.
He opens the door and it is indeed Reji.
“Its Reji uncle.” And he is off running.
At 9.00Pm he is gone and we are back in bed.
The bell rings again, “Who is it now?”
It is Sivan and we sit around talking some more.
Then he leaves and it is 9.30Pm and then I decide to take bath and then go to bed instead of waiting for Thom to sleep. I am finished at 10.00Pm one and half-hours after the hoped for bedtime and Thom is still playing, with sleep being the furthest thing in his mind. I get into bed and ignore all of them and go to sleep. When I wake up later I hear the blessed light snoring or the father and son and settle back for a peaceful night’s sleep.
posted by Choomma at 10:56 AM
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