❤ ..This Is How Mothers Are.. ❤

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This is my mother.

In our 25 years of togetherness, I have repeatedly given her each and every reason in the book to stop loving me... To give up on me... To stop rooting for me...
But, she would never! She absolutely refuses to!

Over the past 25 years, I've screamed at her. I've blatantly defied her. I've talked back. I've questioned her. I've done every stupid thing to put her in sorrow. 

I've made messes in her sweet home.  I've destroyed her peace of mind. I've been stubborn to no end. I've been rigid, and I've refused to understand.

I've made the same mistakes again and again, even when she asks me several times to rectify myself. I still play with chalks. I eat too spicy outside. I still wear funny things. She knows that I still play with chalks secretly. She never forgets to make all her efforts to stop me from doing all of that, but I resume it all again after sometime.

She still protects me from every bad thing in the world.
She takes it all, because she loves me.
She is my loving mother.

I cry and she is always there to listen. I'm hungry and she feeds me. 

I often feel lost, and she always helps me find my way.

When there is no solution, when I fail, she encourages me, and offers something way better; 

that's her unconditional love and support.

I take, and I take, and I take...

She just gives, and she gives, and she gives...

!!!...always...!!!

This pattern is bewildering, but fully certain so, since I'll never stop needing her. 

Be it any phase of my life and after.

In my weakest moments, when I had ceased loving myself; when I had given up on myself; when I had stopped standing for myself; my mother had always been there to tell me that she loves me, to tell me that she's proud of me, to tell me that I am capable enough to fight, and win every darn battle of life, to tell me that she will always be there with me, no matter what.

And with that, I continue to find my strength in her....to try again!

Her smile, that heals me.
Her touch, that brings me back to life.

Everything that I ever hope to accomplish in this life and in the life to come, is made possible because of this beautiful lady who is my mother, and for that, I am incredibly grateful!!!

Love you, Mommy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

..~..Respect Your Privileges..~..

After a super-hectic weekend, we went out for some shopping to de-stress ourselves. Evening is always the best time for that...the feel-good time! Well, somewhere in the middle of our way, shopping seemed to have become the secondary activity; our aim shifted towards having some delicious food at a famous nearby market. But, women are the happiest, when they get to SHOP..!! Yeah...they don't like to miss shopping! So, after a happy and colorful round of shopping, we headed towards the food-zone to have some delicious fast food...kind of a famous eat-street activity! You know, where there is a momo-outlet, the mouths of their lovers water! They are not allowed to ignore them. It's a sin to overlook your favorite foods. Isn't it? We went ahead and checked out the menu for something new. As always, our eyes were set on the variety of chicken momos... ONLY!

Steamed chicken momos were dragging our taste buds under monotony from some days, so we decided to try out fried chicken momos from the same stall this time. Believe me, those were the best fried momos we've ever had, extremely rich in taste and content but so light at the palate. Fiery bliss! But, can't tell you how long we had to wait for them. At a point, it started seeming like forever. Standing for about 10 minutes, finally we got that gleam of light in our eyes when those beautiful round golden momos arrived. The guy served them and we just couldn't wait a minute longer to gobble them up. Each of us picked up one and dipped it thoroughly in spicy chili sauce. 

It was about to plunge into my mouth when we heard a voice, "Mam, please stop! Those are not chicken momos." We were like, WHAT ?? what do they consist of then?? Pork?? NO! We were shocked and confused whether he had served us some other form of non-veg. In the midst of that current of confusion, another voice came saying, "Don't worry mam, those are veg momos." Uff, that gave us a moment of relief..!! Then what, we were again requested to wait and finally after 5-6 minutes, we got to eat them. Thank God; the excitement was not killed entirey. Anyway, the momos were worth the wait, totally!! They were crispy, juicy, spicy, rich in content; and the cherry on the cake was the smokey chili sauce, with the accurate amount of spiciness in it! I would give them 9 on 10. That's because I've saved the top position for the Tandoori Momos that my father brings for us every week. Nothing tempts me more than their mesmerizing sight. I would definitely share their picture with you soon.They are simply 10 on 10...!!!

While sharing our experience with you, I constantly had a thought coming to my mind.

..~..~.. A thought to ponder upon ..~..~.. 

"How lucky we are to be able to savor all our favorite foods. 

Not everyone in the world has this privilege of choosing what they want to eat. Many of us go to bed hungry. 

Not everyone is as blessed as we are. 

So please, respect your privileges and do not waste food!"

 ..~..~.. ..~..~.. ..~..~.. 

If I had a chance to have only one wish granted by the angels, I would have asked for adequate food for every stomach. How beautiful this world would have been if it was actually possible! I pray that a day comes when it would turn into reality. . .Someday. . .I wish!

Hmmm. . . after feasting on momos and finishing every bit of them, we went ahead to try veg cheese-burst pizza from another outlet. Well this time, it was not worth the wait. In one word, it was ...eeeeuuuuuuwwwwww....properly "uncooked" tasteless texture-less pizza it was! I would not even want to give it a rating. It spoiled our mood completely. I wish we never tortured our tongue with that strange tasteless thing served in the form of pizza. It was like a parody...a very bad one! Waste of money it was!

It was not enough folks. 

We decided to have some golgappeee to change our taste. But they were also average. Not that crisp, not that tangy, they seemed utterly plain in taste. Phew! They also didn't help us much in getting over from that horrifying pizza. After going through a struggle for taste, we were not left with enough energy to try anything else as the later two had already spoiled our evening to a great extent. 

So to conclude, what made us really happy was the shopping on that evening, followed by the yummiieee fried chicken momos!

It is very rare when mommy, sister, and I go out together on weekends. But, whenever it happens, that time becomes a part of the most joyous times we could ever have. Every single moment is zealous and cherishable.   (Papa is never free. He never gets time to have some rest..) 

..~..~.. We love each others' company to the Moon and back!! ..~..~..

..~..~.. Just LOVE those times!! Every bit of my family!! ..~..~.. 
   

˙·٠• Creating Yourself •٠·˙

"Hey dear life...Where have you been hiding?

My heart has been running to chase you!

My first quest, dear life, is you...Yeah..it's you!

Please apprise me of what's it like to be far from me.

Here I'm standing anxious to have a glance at you!"

(☆★☆ few lines born from yesterday's  boredom. . .)

　　　　　　

I'm supposed to attend my "In-Service Training" this entire week. Well that's not my concern. My concern is to attend every session attentively. Yes, being attentive! Trust me; that really gets difficult sometimes, or most of the times. The concern, that ends on futile trials. That's not because I'm reluctant towards learning; I'm a learner for life, you see! But, going through the same lessons again and again is really boring, and tiring as well. The training so far is seeming no different than the orientation training that we went through in the first month of our service; it's kind of a repetition this time. 

So, what does one should do to kill time in that scenario? Or I should say, what we actually do in that case? I know our answers are all same, wink! We mostly daydream, yawn, sleep with open eyes, draw lines and circles in our notebooks, check time on our cellphones, wait for the break, and pretend to be a keen listener. Right? 

In the midst of this boredom, I came across a quote on one of the social networking websites. It was:

"Life is not about finding yourself. It's about creating yourself."

Creating yourself! 

That definitely is the aim of each one of us. But how, when, and where do we start? 

I remember this beautiful Hindi song that we've grown up hearing. . . 

                   ~~~~~~

"Papa kehte hai bada naam karega...

Beta humara aisa kaam karega...

Magar ye toh, koi naa jaane...

ki meri manzil hai kahaan..."

                   ~~~~~~

Yeah! This song is about creating ourselves. What shape do we take, is decided by the path chosen by us.

So what is "Creating yourself"? I think, it's not totally about owing a big name in the world, a big house, big cars, or a luxurious lifestyle. It's actually about being an individual who is full of happiness and contentment.. No doubt the above mentioned things are desired by all of us as they help us meeting that contentment and happiness in life to some extent. Not being materialistic, that's a fact! 

To achieve it all, we start with studying hard since childhood. One of life's beautiful phase flies by in understanding it's meaning. Half of the youth goes away in giving life a direction; finding a desired job takes away the whole of it. In this journey of achieving something, we lose the sight of our destiny- A LIFE TO BE CHERISHED! Then, erasing the difference of day and night, we push all our limits and burn ourselves in the fire of  hard work. In the long run, a time arrives when we forget the actual purpose behind it; which was. . . to live a happy and content life. . . to enjoy life. I guess, that's why we were born!

We often tend to forget that our internal happiness is not dependent on materialistic things.

I think we all are aware of what is capable of giving us that eternal happiness. . .Yes, that is. . . LOVE of the dear and near ones; spending time with them; making MEMORIES with them. 

And, we don't need to be a millionaire for that! Do we? 

Life and Happiness are bound to time, and time, my friend, is bound to pass. So, make the best use of it. Not only by adding on to your achievements, but also CELEBRATING this beautiful gift of life. 

Remember. . . We won't get another one!

Hearts on the shore... ♡ ♡

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The skies are singing blue, soon they would rain,

amid the music of ocean, to kiss the shore again.

One longing so long, to gently clasp wind's hands,

is screaming and yearning, to drench the golden sands.

As is the rain of love, so is the breeze of life all new,

long ago a moment in time , had tied my being with you.

No words could voice our love, so zealous and deep,

love that floats, in the fragrant fumes of our dreams.

Hand in hand, we will walk along the mighty shores,

with the tender winds fondling, our rain-drenched souls.

Soon our footprints, will embrace the silky beach,

where the sparkling playful waves, will tickle our feet.

Sweet is the wish, to see an ocean shining in your eyes,

that draws my heart to rain over, like a cloud full of light.

Over the boundless ocean, soon that cloud would pour,

but till then, we will sit, and draw hearts on the shore. . . . .

PC: Google Images

                                                         ✽✽✽ © Vandana  Verma

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Once upon a Saturday..

Friday, Friday...

Getting down on Friday...

Everybody's looking forward to the weekend...

Partying, partying..yeah...

Fun fun fun fun... ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯

        -"Friday" by Rebecca Black 

No song could better sing out this universal tale that's gushed with the weekend excitement in our hearts !

Although I have only Sundays off, I'm still excited about Saturdays nearing. That's because I meet him every Saturday evening after work. And believe me, I get free from the unnecessary baggage of stress the moment I see him ! Such a magical smile he owns ! It kind of starts my weekend right.

We sit together and share giggles. We never restrain ourselves from being frank about the problems and resolving them together. We discuss our work and plan our future together. The world seems to be next to heaven in that moment ! We often get engaged in tittle-tattle and that's how Saturday evening turns out to be a stress-buster.   

Saturday evening is all about spending time with him. But that day, I stumbled upon a reason to observe the other side of the world as well, and, think !

Recently, we met at a commercial hub. The place as usual was full of food joints and cine-complexes. It was packed with people due to weekend. After having a round of eating and nice chat, we were on our way home. Moving ahead amid the crowd, we stopped to take a selfie as remembrance of the day. 

Along the exterior of the place, an elderly man was selling toys. It was not a shop, he was trying to sell them sitting on the floor itself. Unassisted, he was giving demos of his key-toys. The toys were not expensive. One could buy a toy at a price as low as Rs. 30. I found them cute so I bought one. 

The closest from that place were the food joints which were fully occupied with people. Families with kids were all around that area. I don't know why, but I just could not ignore what was happening.  Well-heeled people were coming and going, and many of them passed across that toy-seller. Some with eatables in their hands and some with shopping bags (all branded). Some of the kids were delighted by the sight of those toys. 

So the man started to give the demos frequently in the hope that some of the parents would purchase his toys for their kids. Many of them stopped to check out the toys. They asked the seller to give demo of several toys and he did so. After seeing all of it, they asked the price for few of them. 

Same  scenario was repeated again and again.  And the common iteration  was  
---->  "bhaiya 30 rupay bohot zyada hai, kam lagaao !" After performing futile trials, they all went away without purchasing any of them.

I mean, what were they expecting the price to be ? Rs. 10 ? I can't explain how the person's breaking hopes appeared on his face. 

This is something that I've never been able to understand. Why the affluent individuals demonstrate their art of bargaining in front of the needy (it doesn't include all street-side sellers, it just means "needy").  They are capable to pay all kinds of extra charges including the actual price of things. But when it comes to a toy worth Rs. 30, they say, 

"kam lagaao bhaiya"..