Rekha's Ramblings

 I very recently started listening to podcasts, in fact started listening to one just this week, it was a friendly suggestion by the AI of the music app I use; and heard one today with a very interesting message, the "power of silence", how it can convey what you want to say effectively, sometimes even more so than your words can.  I am not the silent type of a person, I am usually loud, I will butt in, I will interrupt, I want to be heard (why that is so is a whole different story, for another time). And while I may be loud, I am not stubborn. There is always room for learning , I am always trying to be a better version of me than I was yesterday.  I come from the land of Buddha, people who were enlightened by staying silent. So, now I need to learn how to achieve this new skill. How hard can this be?   And as I say this out loudly and narrate the details of this podcast to my family, they are rolling their eyes, like that is ever going to happen. ....  Bu...

As I sit here and look out my window, I see my little patch of happiness; the gladioli in my little patch of garden are blooming. They are my pride, my joy, and my happiness. I can't help but reflect on our journey together. An interesting story about the pandemic. I planted these gladioli bulbs during the pandemic. In the beginning, everyone around me was busy cooking, gardening, knitting; I am not into any of these. I don't have much of a green thumb; in the past I have planted a few things, but they ended up dying. So, this time I wasn't expecting anything, I found the bulbs on sale at a local home and garden store. I planted them as an experiment, as a challenge to myself. I planted them in mid-April and forgot all about them. However, to mine and everyone else's surprise, they thrived and started blooming in early parts of July, one after the other, in different colors. Seeing those colorful flowers take over my yard was like therapy, happiness at its source, t...

  When the pandemic hit and we were forced into a lockdown , the anxiety and stress levels were extremely high given the fact that my husband and I are both healthcare professionals.  We have three children; I had been working part time until then but decided to quit my job altogether not knowing what was ahead of us. It then meant lots of free time at hand; I am not much into cooking, sewing, gardening and I had to find something to keep my mind occupied. During the lockdown, we were allowed to walk outside, of course observing social  distancing. Up until this time, I was not much into any type of exercising . Hence, decided to challenge myself with walking, with a daily goal of 10,000 steps. The Samsung health app was already on my phone but had never paid much attention to it until now. I started walking in our neighborhood, in and around where we live. The first week was very rough, panting, knees hurting, barely making it to  even my halfway mark. But then, mag...

  I , as a mother of three children have always looked forward to summer vacations ever since my first born started going to school. It didn't matter how hard or the extra work I had to put in towards planning, packing ; I looked forward to those times  we spent as a family, the getaways from the daily grind. They weren't all necessarily elaborate, fancy trips each year. Some years, we travelled internationally when time permitted and some years, they were mere road trips within our state or to neighboring states visiting friends or family. But, year after year,  I treasured the times spent together , each summer had a story and like they say, travelling is the best education one could get and I wanted my children to have that education.  Last year, however, I was disappointed as we couldn't get away due to scheduling conflicts. This trip , had it happened would have been special as it was their last final year of school. I was sad, heartbroken. But then, magic happe...