summer delights

It’s the beginning of summer madness and I am reminded of the many temptations that came my way in childhood.Temptations that I could never give into but wanted desperately to be part of.

 

It started at school.The raw mango and chilli powder and salt,the blackberries that oozed juice.The candy floss man who churned magic with his wheel so plenty of pink fluff kid of emerged from nowhere filled with sugary sweetness.The ice man with his block of ice with no clue to the origins of the water that made the ice.He crushed the ice,added tantalising colours some of them hardly the kind of food colouring that one would imagine but the trill of sucking of sweetened crushed ice was bliss.The candy man with sticky multicoloured candy on a wooden pole that he would twist around our wrists into funny shapes.

 

We were forbidden to eat any of this on the grounds that it was unhygienic (which it was) and not safe (true again).But when one is a child these adult concerns are irelvent.So when we had collected enough change we would indulge in these summer temptations.

 

Strange but all of them have disappeared.Today I find children being treated to junk food in air-conditioned comfort and its not so different really.The chicken in the kfcs are genetically modified,the bread is industrial quality devoid of all nutrients and for all the so called hygiene its isn’t very different as the junk in the food makes up for all that.Kids are today more prone to things which as children we didn’t know the meaning of.Obesity….what was that….rickets….it existed in textbooks.We didn’t suffer sun strokes despite being in the sun ,we didn’t get fat because we had too much running around to do.

 

I wonder what life as a kid in this day and age is like,computers,tv constant reality shows….well I guess the quality of life just gets worse every year.My mother still talks of her wild childhood and I would gladly trade places just for the fun of it all.But summer still has its charms.

Hospital visits

Because the Internet connection is still playing up,this is yet another futile attempt at blogging but one never says never so here I am.

Looking after old people is never an easy job at the best of times,but its worse when one has the added responsibility of having to do it all alone.Of course if one is saddled with someone like my mother one is not entirely sure if one is to laugh or cry.

Today was a review meeting at the hospital with her doc.The appointment was fixed for 10.30am and knowing the way my mom loves to sleep late,getting there on time is a huge challenge.I plan well in advance and get tea and breakfast done,get her to brush her teeth and choose the saree that she will wear.Considering her hand is in a sling this leaves us with limited choices as the loose fitting blouses are few and the sarees that match even fewer.She being the proverbial squirrel,has many brand new sarees stored in pristine condition which she refuses to wear(her reason being that they are new and uncomfortable,never mind that i point to the fact that if worn once we could soften if and wear it again....falls on deaf ears)This morning i choose a pretty pink saree and blouse to match.Objections are raised at once,for the reasons quoted above,so i get into commander mode and issue a direct order,this or nothing.Much sulking and planning of next move follows.I have won the first round so we proceed to wear the saree.Now anyone who has to wear this five yards of material knows how difficult it can be to do,more so when one has to get someone else to wear it.Well i thought i managed pretty well and had it all under control.Oh no,perfectionist that she is,she found fault with the length of the pallu(the part which is draped over one shoulder).Then the pleats were all wrong.Now the function of the pleats is just to make movement easier,but she doesn't think so.Twice I am made to redo the whole thing.The clock by now has inched to the ten o clock mark and we are still getting dressed.Back to issuing direct order.This time its agreed to and we are somewhere close to leaving.Then she decided to pay for the hospital visit.More delays while i search her purse for non existent money(she has used up her allowance this month but refuses to admit it,and as usual she suspects me of not searching properly).Back to third direct order.I will pay and off we go.Tedious climb down flight of stairs,get into the car and the long wait at the hospital,during which time her mood has changed and she is busy passing comments on all folks visiting the hospital.Once the doctor sees her my mother is all charm.No tantrums and quiet angelic(she like the chap).Off we go to physio therapy.Now this is one of her pet hates.She dislike the word exercise,convinced that it was invented for everyone else but her so I know that this is going to be a huge hurdle to cross.But as always miracles never cease and the young man who attends to us is good looking and charming.My mother is instantly taken in(she loves young presentable men and can turn on the charm with ease,and I thank god it wasn't some very professional young woman...she would have sulked instantly).When i get back after paying the bill,there she is like a lamb,doing all the exercises without a murmur.The young man is busy encouraging her and they are getting along like a house on fire.Well he gives her a schedule and we are back home.The mother rather pleased with her outing,her meetings with nice young men who are all charm and where does that leave me.....oh well I am still,the morose daughter,who turns commander and issues direct orders....but well as far as my mother is concerned.....in life one does have to put up with some inconveniences,even when they are daughters.I am still wondering if i should laugh or cry....she can drive me nuts.But I still love her and its time for her tea