A Space to Pause

I have two reasons to write this post: I want to share the joy, and I want to register a milestone in my baby's life. A year ago, I was not a so happy mommy as I am today. I was really worried about the fact that my little boy was showing less interest in learning something through a formal education system. I couldn't understand the problem. I spent more time with him, sat down with him for longer hours, took many initiatives to drive this little wanderer. I was driving nearly 20 miles twice a week to take him to Kumon class. I thought that at least by looking at other kids he would get some interest in learning what is in a book. I took him to an Indian language class just to make him comfortable learning, listening and developing a longer attention span. Well, I did not see much for the efforts I had put. First thing, I am from India, and you know what that means when it comes to education. The effect was there, but I was so conscious not to overrule the rationale behind a

Beginning is half done! That was what we felt when we booked our tickets. We weren't sure how the weather was going to pan out when we visit there. Thinking about it retrospectively, the usual issues that I think now should have alerted me did not even pop up in our minds when we started planning. The itenerary was finalized, Eurorail tickets were booked, museum tickets were pre-ordered and Airbnb stay was booked. The actual expense list grew exponentially, but we made up our minds and moved staedy ahead. One more thing: how am I going to manage a 7 and 4 year old for 11 days in a country that I am visiting for the first time. Never mind! I have a reliable and strong pillar by me - he is going to take care of us! Shailesh spent hours after work, researching about the places to visit. He made a complete  list of places to visit in a city. We read books on Italy. Opened up the map of Italy, and learned about its history and geography. We watched videoas on food in Italy, the diver

I was in my 8th grade. My father built a new house, and we moved from a rented house to the brand new, dream house in which my parents still live in. The house looked huge from outside, but it was a compact yet a lavish one with quality materials such as rose wood and teak wood. The house was a huge commitment beyond his monetary capacity that he did not even choose to add any interior decoration. However, I was surprised to see him build a fancy, spacious cupboard in the staircase room. I asked him what it was for. He told me that he is building a library. I was fascinated! An array of books adorned the shelves of the cupboard. All those text books of my parents' college days lined up in the shelves. There was still room left. After  we moved in, one fine afternoon, two men brought two humungus, heavy cartons. I was curious to open them, and I immediately did. I was happy to see all the volumes of the Britannica encyclopedia. Those were years without internet, and when I started