Valentine’s Day came early for me.
We aren’t one for celebrating “days ” and more of impulse buyers for each other and ourselves around the year, I just keep terming things I buy or he buys for me as gifts while he hardly ever makes a Hoopla about anything he ever gets me.
I’ve basically been running around since my pregnancy. To be exact, since I was 3 weeks pregnant. That’s around when I started gearing up for my own business. I have yet to have a single day in peace. I’m thinking even in my sleep. I will sometimes turn over and blindly reach out for my phone to make note of an idea or something that needs to be done. No weekends, no evenings, that’s the typical entrepreneur’s dilemma. We never disconnect. Let’s not blame entrepreneurship. I am unhinged like that no matter what I do. The only way I know how to work is with passion. There is no other way. To not be madly in love with what you do and thus eat breathe sleep it. Which is what I do. With my toddler in tow.
In the midst of crazy work routine with the past few weeks extremely busy traveling on our own as well as together for work, this past Sunday he made sure I got my break.
Ran me a bath with the most gorgeous Lavender Bath bombs, Roses and Milk, an activated charcoal face mask and my favourite chocolate snack to go with it, he almost jammed me in the bathroom while he played all sorts of nutty games with Sass outside. I could hear her periodical “MaMAAA!” outside and him distracting her as I just sunk myself deeper in the bath and soaked the aches and pains away.
Somehow a nice warm Bath is the best place for me to think clearheadedly. I usually come up with great ideas to write about, craft, business innovations and even my festive baking that I dabble in, a few times a year.
Today however my thoughts were more wayward than ever before.
Just as I could physically feel knots unravel in my shoulders and upper back, warmth of the mini waves that crashed against me as I would keep popping back up for this thing or that, as usual unable to rest and let go, Ammi’s face popped up in my head. What would she have said at meeting Sassi?
“Sumbul ki Beti bahot pyaari hai”
Or would it be her politically correct silent smirk followed by a forced.
“Haan. Pyaari hai. Saloni hai. Humaari bityaa ka rang saaf rahaa.”
It’s funny how I would rip anyone apart at even lightly talking about complexion and any child let alone my own but I know for a fact my own Nani had those issues. And I still love her. Something I am Just not able to do for anyone else. Ever. No matter how close.
Ammi was by far the most politically incorrect, classist and bordering on racist person I’ve known. These are issues I eat people for breakfast over. Yet I love her like I haven’t known another way to love.
I guess grandparents bring with them a special kind of love for us which in turn elicits an incredible bond. One that stands unwaveringly in the face of obnoxiousness of the highest order. If we can get away with murder with them, guess what, so can they.
I laughed and cried like a fool, soaking in a bath tub, hair in a bun, lavender buds and flower petals stuck to my skin and activated charcoal mask slapped on my face.
Basically a pitch black face with white teeth and eyes popping, a bun on top of my head bobbing and a heart full of love for my Ammi whose dialect my Sassi seems to magically have picked without ever having met her.
Yahaan or here being “Iyyaa” (or hiyyaaan) and Fan being “Fine”.
Either way.
My favourite food was waiting outside piping hot, when I stepped out dazed with my painless shoulders after what seemed like a lifetime. A little vulnerable post all my Ammi thinking, my heart filled with unfathomable love when Sassu gave me a hug and I gave Faisal one.
“Thank you so much for this” I said with eyes welling up.
He of course looked at me like I had lost my facilities and then waved my burger in my face, “You eat first and I tackle kid or other way round?”
“Let’s wing it together today”. I said grabbing my child by her midriff and plonking down to have a meal with my significant other AT THE SAME TIME.
Yep. That’s a real party.
