life's routine

it's been a hectic and interesting couple of months.. from my dad's sudden surgery, to our trip to iraq, to ashera, to family wedding. H and i were both exhausted and in need of a break, so our recent weekend getaway with the twins was lovely. not only was i ecstatic to get out of the city (and the apartment!), but i was also thrilled at seeing the twins so happy to be out. we took them to the pool for the first time, and they enjoyed it, thinking it was a variation of their daily bath :P. the beach was a hit too: m was happy to sit and play with his bucket and spade and fling sand everywhere (sigh), while a was in awe of the huge expanse at his disposal for speed walking.

i was very sad to return to 'real life'. not only am i unexcited in getting back to the daily grind, but after having so many events to anticipate for quite awhile, i suddenly have only an empty canvas of time staring at me. it doesn't help that the holidays are coming up, with me recalling that last dec 31 saw me on a plane with my parents and the twins to singapore and hk.. how can i possibly top that this year?!

when i was complaining about this to a friend, he responded that, 'life is routine'.. and that reminded me of another friend, many years ago, saying that happiness was nothing but the stretching out of a few moments of bliss (or something to that effect).. so, instead of being upset at the larger 'routine', i will take joy in the little moments that make up this routine: waking up next to H, the twins' countless smiles, gurgles and hugs during each day, the short but touching whatsapp messages that connect me to my family and friends far away, chocolate (!) and so forth.. :P

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having just finished hidden buddhas by liza dalby, which was one of those unputdownable books, i am finding it hard to get into something else.. i started moth smoke by mohsin hamid, but realized i didn't want to read about pakistan's degenerate elite right now.. similarly, the characters in barbara kingsolver's the lacuna also are not enthralling me.. ugh. a decade ago, i would solve this problem by simply reading 3-4 books at a time. now i am lucky if i can get through one book in peace.. most of the time, i know what i want to read and it is a painless experience to transition from one book to the next.. when this is not the case however, it is a huge pain, and i get quite irked..ugh.

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on a more positive note, i came across this amazing poem on facebook yesterday, 'shrinking women' by lily myers, very much worth a read (or a listen)