Rekha's Ramblings

  What is your idea of “live a little?” How do you “Live a little?” We were at a charity gala event over the weekend, I was standing in a corner holding on to a bottle of water, one person walked by me and said (after years of knowing me), “just water, where is your drink? have a drink, live a little. Even the children are gone now.” Those of you who do not know me, I do not drink. According to some who have known me, I should have had that drink, to relax, to chill a little, to unwind. According to them, I do not know how to live a little. I raised three kids almost by myself, two of them twins and sure there were difficulties, rough times, according to some," I need a drink" moments. I grew up in a family, in a society where social drinking was a norm. It never fascinated me. I saw my mom clean up enough vomit. May be that was the deterrent. I do not fit in anywhere, never did; but never had the urge to drink just so I could fit in. According to some, I should have, then ma...

 They came; my daughter, grown and flown, out of the nest, and a few of her friends from her university. They are part of a dance team.  They came to perform at an event locally. They came  to our house after the performance and spent the night at our house.  They ate, they talked, they included my husband and I into their conversation.  They went out on the deck,  the temperature was in the 40's.  They made s'mores, they started singing," down by the bay, where the watermelons grow".  My daughter told her friends how much I used to love singing that song to them when they were little. I had completely forgotten; the lyrics would not come back to me no matter how hard I tried ....  Then they came back inside, hovered over the kitchen island, had a long discussion whether to bake cookies or not, baked them, ate them.   Then they started  dancing to Just Dance. (They are part of a competitive dance team, I already told you that...

 Several years ago, when my parents were visiting, I took them to church for Easter Sunday mass. It was my first time driving after I became a mother second time around, of “twins” this time. They were less than two months old. I had not driven for several months at this time. I thought I could use the break from taking care of them. The church was not too far, I would be gone for at the most an hour and a half. Little did I know that it would be a defining moment in my journey as a mother. While at church, I just could not focus, they were at home with their father, they were safe, but that was the first time I had left them at home and gone somewhere. We ended up leaving before the final hymn. I was in a hurry to get home, only a few minutes from home. This sleep deprived and anxious mom ran “the red light,” the split-second decision costing me my confidence as a mother and a driver. When the police officer came, I had had a complete meltdown, bawling at the side of the roa...