Few decades later ..

Recently A and I went on a surprise trip to my hometown to visit my parents. It was sudden plan that made my parents disoriented a bit. They couldn’t believe their eyes for a few minutes. I wouldn’t do it again, but it was worth it.

The timing of this trip was also aligned with the annual village festival. I hadn't attended it since my last year of high school. That was a few decades ago, met family/cousins/ far relatives/childhood friends too. I didn’t remember some of them, they looked familiar and I’m sure they felt the same.  

To top it off, my aged mum fell and broke her rib – that sums up the rest of the trip trying to make the house elderly-safe. My mum was not happy that me and my sister had to spend the whole week tending to her, but we were ok with it. It’s a shame she fell and had to stay in bed for a few weeks, but my mum wouldn’t sit down for a bit to chat. She would keep walking anxiously trying to make/cook something for us. This fall made her rest, and we could spend better quality time. I managed to catchup with my friends in the end, thanks to my sis who took charge most times.

Returned home now, A misses the family terribly and is feeling sad esp before he goes to bed.  He ask me questions that sometimes I don’t think about. He asked me between him(12 yr old) and my mom (76 yr old) – who needs more of my attention. This whole trip, most of the time he was on his own and he let me take care of my mom. I said I wouldn’t change anything about the trip if we had to go back in time.

His questions doesn't stop here, there is more to it

• How come you don’t miss avva/grandma and thatha/granpa like me?
• What do you do when you missed them?
• Why don’t you miss them? I’m sad ☹
• Do you prefer staying in India or here?
• What would you do if you missed your grandma now (who passed away 25 yrs ago)?
• What are your worst nightmares? A has top 5 (another post) nightmares
• Who taught you about life?
• How do you know everything?
• I don’t want to grow up old, can I just stay as 12yr old?
• I’m sad ☹
• I miss periamma’s (my sister) cooking
• I love you amma , thank you

I don’t have answers to many of these questions.. but one thing I can assure him is that I will be there with him holding his hands until he needs me... even after that, I will be supporting and cheering him from far. He doesn’t have to be scared for being alone. 

I'm sure my aged parents have a different set of questions and fears like A does. They grow faster than a newborn. Every week they grow older and look fragile unlike my 12 yr old who is growing taller and stronger every week. where do I stand in this growth chart? somewhere in-between. 

Life gets us all, we are in the middle. I’ve accepted my life as it is and I don’t have time to complain about my looks and being fat/thin. I’m happy and content to every single day and every single moment I spend time with my parents and A. They are my pillar of strength.