Rekha's Ramblings

  When Do We Stop as Parents? Last week, I was traveling. As we were boarding the plane, I overheard a mother asking her teenage son to give her his backpack so she could put it in the overhead bin. Her reasoning was simple: if the backpack went overhead, he would have more legroom under the seat in front of him. He refused. She asked him again. And again. And maybe a third or fourth time, her voice getting increasingly frustrated. But he continued to refuse. I couldn't help but think about something that happened in our own family a few months ago. We were in almost the exact same situation. My husband was having the same conversation with our grown son. At first, our son politely declined. But when my husband kept asking, my son finally said, “These are my legs, and I'm fine having my backpack under the seat.” And there it was. A boundary. My son wasn't being disrespectful. He wasn't arguing. He simply made a decision about his own comfort and stood by it. My husband,...

I wrote this a few years ago, but a recent conversation with a friend brought it all rushing back. She had just driven her mother to New York City. It was hours on I-95, heavy traffic, construction, impatient drivers...the kind of drive that would make most people anxious. Her mother doesn't drive, so she was the only driver. She did it. As I listened to her story, I found myself admiring her confidence. Then I laughed and admitted something about myself. " I still don't think I could do that. " There was a time when driving long distances didn't bother me at all. Yet somehow, even after all these years, that confidence never fully returned. It reminded me of something I had written years ago. There was a time when I thought I was a strong person. Or at least, that's what I told myself. I believed I made decisions with my head, not my heart. I was practical, logical, independent. Emotions didn't dictate my choices. Or so I thought. Now, when I look back, a...

  The Odyssey movie is now in theaters, and my daughter sent me a funny reel about how my Honda Odyssey deserves its own movie. Honestly? She may be right. I started driving a minivan after the twins were born. This particular Honda Odyssey has been with us for 16 years and has close to 190,000 miles on it. It has been with us  through thick and thin. And we gave it as much  love as it did give us by doing it's required maintenance.  It carried three growing children to countless school events, concerts, competitions, piano lessons, marching band practices, college visits, and more. It has helped us move children into and out of dorm rooms, and even across state lines. It has crawled through I-95 traffic, survived the George Washington Bridge into New York, and taken us as far north as Acadia National Park, as far south as New Orleans, and on many road trips to Detroit and New York City. It has even crossed the border into Canada. When I think about it, I feel lik...

  Thank you all for your kind words, congratulations, and thoughtful comments on my last post. I truly appreciated reading every one of them. In case you missed the last post ,  https://www.rekhasrambling.com/2026/07/cultural-conflict.html  I realized that my post sparked an interesting conversation, and I wanted to clarify something. I'm not against celebrating accomplishments. Quite the opposite! In our family, we absolutely celebrate milestones when they happen. We celebrate graduations, birthdays, new jobs, and all the moments that make life special. What I was talking about was something a little different—sharing those celebrations publicly. I grew up with the belief that announcing your own good fortune too openly could invite bad karma or bad luck. Whether or not that's objectively true isn't really the point. It's simply one of those beliefs that quietly becomes part of who you are. The culture often reminded us about the phrase " Nazar lag jayeg...

  Sometimes life has a way of reminding us that we are never as alone as we think we are. Last weekend, after helping our daughter settle into her new home in another state, my husband and I began the long drive back. Like many parents, we were carrying mixed emotions. We were proud of her and excited for this new chapter, but saying goodbye never gets easier. A few hours into our drive home, our car suddenly started acting up. Within minutes, we found ourselves in one of those situations every traveler dreads. The car was losing power in the middle of the road. Somehow, my husband managed to guide it to the nearest exit and into a gas station before it completely died. There we were. In a different state. It was Sunday evening. Home was still four or five hours away. And we had no idea what had gone wrong. Panic began to set in. I walked around the gas station asking if anyone might be willing to help jump-start our car. Without hesitation, two complete strangers came over to help...

My daughter graduated in May. I've been meaning to share the happy news, but I hesitated. I grew up in a culture where there was a general belief that if you celebrated—or worse, bragged about—your accomplishments, you were inviting bad luck. You would jinx future accomplishments.  We were taught to stay humble, keep our heads down, and let our actions speak for themselves. Also, around that time, my sister was visiting, life got busy, and before I knew it, some difficult things happened. The bad news arrived before I ever got around to sharing the good news. I lost all interest in posting. Somehow, sharing something joyful no longer felt important. But as I've reflected on it, I've realized something. The good and the bad are both part of life. They come in cycles. Difficult times are going to happen no matter what, just as joyful moments will. One doesn't cause the other. That's simply how life unfolds. I've also lived in the United States for many years now, ...

  For the past two days, my heart has felt heavy, over the loss of all of our rose bushes, 12 of them to be precise. They once brought me immense joy.  Even today, I almost didn't step outside. But then something unexpected happened. My neighbor stopped by with fresh vegetables from his garden. He invited me into his yard to admire his beautiful daisies. We chatted for a while, and somehow, that little act of kindness was enough to get me out the door.                     So I stepped outside. It was hot. It was humid. But somehow... it felt better. As I wandered through  my yard, I did something I hadn't done in a couple of days. I looked up. In the midst of the sadness over losing my roses, I had forgotten that nature never puts all of its beauty into one flower. I had forgotten that nature has a remarkable way of making room for new beauty, even while we're grieving what we've lost. It's crepe myrtle season, and my...