Rekha's Ramblings

  This is what I wrote to President Obama and this is his reply.  Please keep in mind that I come from a land of a billion people where my voice would get lost in the bureaucracy, it's a big deal that I can actually write to the President and even bigger deal to get an actual response, an acknowledgement from the White House itself !!  Now that's what I am talking about, in my eyes, this nation was already "great". I had written it a couple of years ago but didn't mail it in until now, somehow I think this is the time to be hopeful than any other and hope that people choose the right person. My ramblings !!

  Coming from India and not ever having seen the snow, it was soooo exciting to see it , the very first year in the USA , that too in Atlanta ,GA, I thought I was "lucky"; able to go out with minimum winter gear. The novelty wore off quickly with one near death experience several years ago in the mountains of Pennsylvania (skidded off with several 360 degree turns ), had enough of the snow . Only time I ever venture out in the snow now is to take pictures on our street , walking , no driving and that's it ! Some of my family members who still have not seen the snow, said I was ,"lucky " when I sent them a video from this morning".... I got nothing better to do today but continue with my ramblings !

  On this Christmas day, filling a void & missing my family dearly.  Christmas wasn’t the same as it is here,there was no wish list,no gifts to exchange,no Santa clause, no cold dreary winters but just happy times with family, a feast of food that we won’t see again until Easter,new set of clothing to go to church for the midnight mass, with may be a new pair of shoes.  My mom, grandma & aunt would be in the kitchen from 5 AM cooking the many items that they would put on the table by noon, us children having nothing to do would be just singing some Christmas carols swinging on our front porch, munching on some of the delicacies being prepared in the kitchen that morning or would watch TV if we were lucky enough to have electricity on that day.  By noon, we would gather around the table, men with the beer in their hands. We were just thrilled to have all the meat such as chicken, pork & even fish, all at the same time. Later, would gather as a community, t...

  This year the children are demanding an American Christmas dinner, I have never cooked traditional American Christmas dinner that includes ham and different casserole etc., that’s because either we aren’t home for Christmas or if we are home, husband is vegetarian and prefers Indian food. I went to Kroger this morning, yucky rainy day, traffic jams, and packed store. I have ordered turkey for Thanksgiving meals from Kroger in the past so secretly hoping that they would be open on Christmas day; sadly they aren’t, so no readymade ham, I will have to make my own, I don’t blame them, they want to be home with their families so what if my husband has to work. I go around the store looking for ingredients to make the meal , Sweet potato casserole too demanding , too many things which I will never use again, crossed it off my list, made the children agree to scalloped potatoes instead (comes in the box), corn casserole check, green beans casserole check, ham check (evidently it’s alrea...

Reflections: I love reflections and reflecting. Reflections because they are just beautiful and reflecting because it allows me to be a better person, to better understand others, other situations and prepare myself for the things that I cannot change, change the things that I can change. I have come to do this a lot lately and I think have come a long way from where I was a few years ago. I always saw things as they were, as they appeared and said what came to my mind, I only knew black or white; there was no room for gray. But a few years have been added to my age, more experiences, some good, some not so good and have learnt to find gray areas, not everything can be black or white. I don’t blurt things out as I used to; have learnt to add a pause , think about what I am going to say . In most cases, I still revert to my old self but in some cases, I end up not hurting their feelings, I guess you could call it a victory. So, every time I see a reflection of something, I pause and...

Planned Parenthood is in the news lately and I am wondering, what exactly is Planned Parenthood ?  Is it really as the name suggests it is? Can one really plan and be prepared for parenthood? Certainly, you can plan their arrival into this world suitable to your needs but can you really plan the situations or circumstances they would be born under? You could probably plan which school they would attend, where you will take a vacation with them but can you really plan a parenthood? You can teach them right from wrong , teach them to respect other human beings, make them aware of all the existing world problems;  after that they are on their own. You would think and hope that you have given them enough tools to face the world, taught them the skills they would need to survive. But once they are out in the open world, they will make choices, decisions based on their own experiences, those experiences will teach them more and make them equipped for better or for worse to face more...

It’s thanksgiving, this is my twentieth year, and I am pondering rather sort of reflecting. We didn’t have this tradition of “thanksgiving” when I was growing up in India. I am not a religious person; I don’t celebrate festivals, religious holidays but this is one holiday we do celebrate. There is so much to be thankful for and I am glad that we have allocated a separate day just to do that, just like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Agreed you couldn’t celebrate a “mother “or a” father” in a day but we try to thank them at least on those special days.  We get busy in the routine, take so much for granted and then forget to be grateful for simple things that we take for granted ( I myself am guilty as charged ),not for just a roof over our heads and food on the table but for things such as freedom that many don’t have , 24/7 water or electricity, or the ability to see, walk, to go on Facebook and write what you want for that matter …just consider this my ramblings part whatever …take ...