A sleepless, restless night. Running nose and continuous cough. The body all wearied out. Each cell screaming its existence to draw attention. The morning bell rings and I wake up with a soar throat,nose and head. All that the body desires is to get back under the quilt and laze. Alas! It's worthless as the aches,sneeze,sniffs,croup keep me company. The eyes glance at the clock and the soon to be readied school girls. Sob! No nerve today!
Some high priority calls to dial. The kids' respective bus drivers to be communicated about the no pick up today. Call at my work to substitute the day's schedule. And finally, the call to my father, our family doctor who saved me from the unmanageable queuing at the local doctor's today! The viral had crept in and fever followed. Husband got the prescribed pills from the chemist before he hurriedly gathered himself to leave for office. No breakfast and no lunch packed today! What was to follow would be a real rough day with the kids at home and their energies all high! Absence from school for no genuine reason would be a treat for the day!
The antibiotics could not be swallowed empty stomach, so a healthy breakfast was a must. The craving was for some hot,spicy soup. Some extra spicy noodles. Like the ones you get in a pure Indian customised Chinese roadside stall! But the consequences would be disastrous. Hence, the sane plan. Oh! How much I miss you, mamma! Had you been with me, I would have got a real healthy, nutritious home made soup to begin with. What would have followed is something I can only dream of now!
As I pulled myself together and made my way to the kitchen, the mother in me became the doer and priorities changed. I should first cook for the kids. There was fresh milk to be boiled. Some milk porridge to be steamed as kids wouldn't relish the 'dal ka daliya' which was on the menu for me. There wasn't any fresh stock of vegetables in the refrigerator. Express delivery by BigBasket was the saviour. No cash hurdle too. Thanks to the online payment options. Before the breakfast was ready, kids were up and ready to embrace their exciting day.
The curious elder had a set of queries to understand why the day seemed different and why a Monday morning appeared to be a weekend. Very patiently, in a husky voice, with numerous interrupts to the wash basin (Well! Am not a tissue person. Just can't hold the phlegm and feel completely dissatisfied until it's flushed under running water. That gives a clear picture of the frequency of visits to the washroom. Every three and a half minutes to be precise!) , a memorandum was set up for the day. Or so I thought!
The kids had a splash together in the bathroom, nothing lesser than their annual Holi festival! So, though the idea was not to strain myself bathing both of them, the washroom did demand a proper cleaning up to the seven feet tall tiled walls. Ignorance would complement the doctor's prescription and I quickly took a hasty shower, grabbed my porridge prepared with the humble 'moong Ki daal', a recipe perfectly nutritious and satisfactory to my taste buds (which hated anything sweet for the day).
I had my medicine dosage and sneaked under the blanket to rest.
The family protocol was clear and the kids knew they couldn't venture playing out of the house. Of course, there was no stopping them with the planned mischief in their room. Throat had given up and I was voiceless. The medicine induced the sleep, I guess as my restless mind slowly became incapable of keeping the mental watch on the kids' activities.
It had been roughly an hour when I woke up to an abrupt thud! I rushed into their room and thanked God the kids were safe. It was only a chair that had fallen. Poor children were waiting for a severe scolding. Thanks to the mute me, I could respond instead of reacting and whispered them to have their lunch. By now the body had gathered some strength and was craving for food. Fresh bottle gourd with a dash of lemon and some hot phulkas that didn't take me long to prepare left all three of us satisfied to the core. It was time for the kids to retire to bed for their afternoon nap and I took the R.K.Narayan's book, covering myself comfortably under the blanket. When did I doze off again, I remember not.
The evening approached with a sense of guilt for the home was all topsy turvy and the cook declared her unannounced day off! It was my turn to chop a lot of veggies for dinner. The restless me had planned pav bhaji and the season's first 'gajar ka halwa'. Husband dear returned home earlier than usual with some hot 'kachoris' that was just what the palette craved for. How would the day 2 pass was the big question to be dealt with next morning!
