Rekha's Ramblings

  Good morning! If you were walking outside and saw this, this bench surrounded by these beautiful flowers? would you pause? Would you take a moment to enjoy these beautiful  azaleas ?? For years, I wanted to, but I was too busy being the default parent of 3; or at least that's what I told myself. Ironically, it took a pandemic when things changed and I started pausing and enjoying the little things. I took this picture in our neighborhood during the lockdown 5 years ago on this day. Each and every time I passed by, I stopped, I paused, I soaked the beauty in. They were blooming for a while. They are in full bloom right now. Sadly, the bench is gone.... Now I stop by every flower I see, not just the azaleas and everyone who knows me , knows that fact about me. Now, I am never in a hurry. I hope you have found something that makes you want to pause and soak it all in. This week is "National Park week" in the US. If there is one near you, hope ...

  An Abundance of Flowers It’s   one of the writing prompts for April. Spring arrives , bringing with it an abundance of flowers. It’s   finally here in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means a world bursting into bloom. I grew up in a tropical country where there was no distinct fall, and therefore, no spring.  Everything stayed green throughout the year.  But now, living far above the tropics, I experience the beauty of seasonal change.  With fall comes the shedding of leaves, and spring brings a wave of colors. The first to bloom around here are the daffodils .  I had planted a few bulbs a few years ago  and happy to say that they have multiplied .            Before moving to the U.S., I had never seen a daffodil. There’s something about them that I can’t quite put into words, but their sight always fills me with hope and happiness.  Some years, we’ve had snow on the ground, and yet, these bright y...

 I started reading Braiding Sweetgrass a few weeks ago, and just a few pages in, I was completely in love, enamored with the book, with the author, with the way she spoke about nature. She described maple, goldenrod, asters, pecans and everything in nature with great admiration. As a self-proclaimed tree hugger, my emotions were all over the place. Then, my children came home for winter break and by then,  I was on the chapter about languages. I couldn't and wouldn't stop talking about it. My daughter finally said,  “ Show me what you’re reading. Whatever you’re talking about feels like I’ve read it before.” And what do you know? She had! That very chapter had been part of her college English class. We had our small world story. I love those moments—when life folds in on itself in unexpected ways, connecting us in ways we never anticipated. That chapter made me reflect on my own journey with language. English is not my first language, not my native langua...

 My daughter is home for spring break. Since I was gone for a while, ( I went to India for more than a month ) I had not really talked to her due to the time difference and all that. She asked me what have I been up to these days since coming back. I said, not much, I am just disgusted by the current state of affairs. She said, have you written anything lately? I know writing makes you happy. So, I looked through my bag of  " my writing stuff " and found this " March writing prompts ". I had probably gathered it from somewhere last year and forgotten all about it. The first prompt was " the color gree n" . Magic happens when I hear the word GREEN , not just when I see it, when I wear it. Here is what I wrote about my favorite color in the whole world. Sharing the March writing prompts, feel free to use. My favorite color is Green, it always was and will be, the color of nature. I grew up surrounded by a lot of greenery. No matter i...

  It's Friday, a day for Ramblings.  This post is going to be in many parts, call it my Friday Ramblings series if you will. Part 1- Back in November, one of my friends texted me asking my mailing address.  He said he was reading a book and he thought of me while reading it and he wanted me to read it. When the book arrived in the mail and I opened the package, I couldn't understand why he would think of me, it's not the genre I usually read, it's a non fiction, I almost always read fiction, he should know me better, why would he send me this book.... But then I started reading the book and I knew why he wanted me to read it and how well he knew me... I cried every night I read this book, some were happy tears, but most were sad. I was heartbroken while reading it . The author is a native American. If it wasn't for the Indian spices..... For those who do not know, Christopher Columbus left to find a sea route to India but instead arrived in the...

  This week, my sister and I visited a place where people usually tend to go, to seek PEACE , or to find solace if you will. The building's bright red pillars and the gold exterior seemed a little too flashy to my taste. I asked my sister, if such extravagance was necessary . She said," yes, it's called marketing. People are more drawn to flashy,extravagant things. " Me," but if PEACE is what you are seeking and if the place is offering it , why does the exterior matter?? " She answered , " It matters. Haven't you seen any commercials? The more bright and flashy they are, the more they sell their products. If they were to hold these peace sessions in a shack or a shabby hut, not many people will come. They are trying to spread their message and unfortunately people won't come even if it's for free. You yourself wouldn't have come here either if it wasn't for this flashy building and the facade. You were attracted by it too...

I'm visiting my hometown and ran into a school mate of mine. They asked me how come I was here for so long, how did I get so much time off. I said I quit my job during COVID, at least whatever little I was doing , I had not worked a full time job for a long time and I was mostly a SAHM ( stay at home mom) . They then asked how do I keep busy now that the children are gone. This conversation probably sparked my phone's Interest and it showed me a post from a parents group I follow, a question from a woman, a mom of my age asking the question " where did my life go "? It sent me in my own rabbit hole, where did it go? While others were busy building their professional life, I gave it up to stay at home to raise my children, it was my choice. Now I don't have a fulfilling career. I was always a high achieving straight A student. But unlike some of you, I couldn't juggle between a home and a career. Nobody who knew me could imagine the change of my life's path...