All things Sippy

Today while arranging my daughter's toy rack, I found few of her old Sippy cups. Their lids have been missing and they became her toy things long time ago. They reminded me of that day when we bought the first Sippy cup for her.

About an year ago...

It was time for my baby to try a 'Sippy Cup'. After getting the first hint about that from our pediatrician, we went to the local store and what did we see? There was an aisle full of colorful, vibrant, functional and unique cups. They were in so many different sizes. Some had straws and some had really cute handles. I almost heard them whispering... 'Pick me, pick me'.  We scratched our heads, weighed the odds and made our best possible judgment. We finally chose a Sippy cup. But more was yet to come!

The baby sitter informed us that our daughter always prefers a boy’s Sippy cup over hers. We wondered why. So one day we picked up that boy’s cup and carefully investigated. We soon realized our mistake. The boy’s cup had handles and surely it made it very easy for kids to hold it. How could we miss this usability feature earlier? Realizing our parenting slip we rushed to the store again and got a Sippy cup that had handles.

A day later we were told she is still after that boy’s cup. Surprised and challenged, we observed more carefully. My husband came to a conclusion. It is not the handle she really likes. Not the straw or the color of the boy’s cup. It must be the sliding lid which goes on top of the straw that she is crazy for. It appeared true. There was evidence that she tries to bite on it often. So, we went shopping again!

After searching a couple of stores, we finally found the cup with the exact same design. Proud and thrilled with our hard work we waited with crossed fingers. Our daughter accepted the new cup and was observed to be quite satisfied. So that was the ‘End’ for us but for all new parents I just have to say: ‘All things Sippy, can be very Creepy’, so take a deep breath and keep trying until the right cup chooses you:)

To last or to fast

The month of September had me thinking. It was that time of year again when the religious festivities of Hindu society are in full bloom. The month of ‘Sawan’ is considered very auspicious and has festivals spread all over it. It is interesting that most of these festivals are mostly about fasting for women. Be it the fast of ‘Sawan Somwar’ or ‘Vara Lakshmi’ or ‘Teej’ or ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ and in many places even ‘Janmashtmi’. I’m a believer that festivals enrich and infuse spirit into our lives. But is our perception of these fasting festivals in today’s time still accurate and up to date?

Women fast for the long lives and prosperity of their husbands or sons. That’s how our civilization has always been like. Few centuries ago when there were infinite quests for power and land, men were warriors. Most of their time was spent in battlefields fighting and exploring. Women were confined to households. If I was in such an age I can imagine how dearly I would miss my husband or son. I would be always worried about their safety and pray for their long lives. In the holy month of ‘Sawan’ I would be determined to please the lords. I would fast, spend the day happily in the rituals, sing and pray. Fasting blended most naturally in the lives of women in those times. The fasting festival not only distracted women of their worries, but also gave them strength and joy in the social company.

How very different our modern lives have become? Women are working in almost all areas where men are. Modern families are still learning to evolve around the fact that when a mother or wife becomes a working woman, the expectations need to change. The running of a household needs to be a balancing act.  So that is why, as a working woman myself when I think about ‘Sawan’ approaching, my worries appear. I check the calendar hoping that the fast I intend to keep falls on a weekend. If it does not, I look up my office calendar to see how many meetings and conference calls I have on that day. Do I have any session where I need to host and debate for hours? Do I have any presentations scheduled? Doing all that while fasting is a considerable mental and physical challenge.  Also, when I hear about a grandmother in old age fasting through numerous days just because she has been doing that all her life, it troubles me. Why hasn’t the society realized that surely our men of present times don’t need so much praying for their long lives and safety anymore?

Fasting is a state of abstinence, from food, from worries and from the complex web of daily routines. It is a state of conquer over the demands of our mind and body. So this ‘Sawan’ my prayers included a hope that as a society we loosen up on the finer details on fasting. And next time when an aunty in forties informs a newly-wed that all through her life she hasn’t had a drop of water on ‘Teej’, I hope the newly wed doesn’t bother if she can’t keep up. I hope she fasts till she can willfully last.

You and I, in this beautiful world...

This post is for you my dear husband for turning a year older. And I’m excited for the many more to come, as we continue to grow, discover, quarrel and love each other, even more every single day.

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It’s weekend. I wake up and look by my side. It is so comforting to see you there. Your gentle face is wrapped up in a deep sleep. You look so innocent and refreshing just like the subtle splashes of the cool breeze entering our room slowly. I get up and I'm all smiles. But then - The clock takes a 90 minute leap forward and you are still sleeping! My smile has given way to a 'Cmon get-up now' expression. It's when I’m thinking about my to-do list for the weekend, dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, grocery and rounds of laundry. If looks can kill my eyes just mean to do that. And there you are as naive as ever still dreaming. 

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A pair of dirty socks - I expect to find them every day or night at different places in our house. Sometimes they are stuffed on the sides of sofa or caught unaware beneath the stack of newspapers. Sometimes they rest in the corner of the TV table or just tossed outside the closet. There are days when I think, ‘Finally I'm done with all the cleaning’, and I pick my purse on the table to keep it away, and there they are –‘the dirty ugly socks’! This time I pick them up and throw them away and scold you. ‘What are these socks doing here?’ You look surprised and you pick them up and start scolding the socks, so genuinely without a second thought, ‘What are you socks doing here?’ And we end up laughing.

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You didn’t do it. You said you didn’t. One day when you were putting dishes in the dishwasher, a drinking glass broke. The other day you were transferring the wheat flour to a can and there was a white powdery substance all over the kitchen floor. Your half an hour cooking adventure in kitchen leads to my one hour of putting things where they belonged. But you don’t create mess or spills, you say you don’t. And yet there are things that go wrong in my absence. I believe it is just nature’s way of balancing the peace, quiet and beauty I want around myself in our house. Thank you! For without you, my world would be so imperfectly perfect.