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in India
Here’s Your Strategy for Tests
Exam season is upon us. When we first moved back to India from the US, I was faintly amused, perhaps even perplexed, by the panic that moms experienced over their kids’ exams. They stopped going out. They cut TV shows out of their lives. They shared prayer requests about their kids’ tests at church. They ...
We’re To Do This “Above All Else”
If you were to walk into my apartment building, you’d probably be stopped at the entrance. A security guard would check your “gate pass”—a notification on an app that deems you’re pre-approved to enter the building. If you don’t have the gate pass, the security guy will take your name and the apartment number you ...
Marriage Ain’t About You
A couple of days ago, my husband and I celebrated our 19th anniversary in a rather “special” way. I use inverted commas around the word ‘special’ to convey semi-sarcasm.
We’ve always done something special (no inverted commas) for our anniversary. Even when the kids were screeching, red-faced hatchlings, thanks to indulgent grandparents offering to babysit, we ...
Your Plans May Crumble, But…
Have you ever had one of those weeks where absolutely nothing goes according to plan? If you’re a living, breathing human, there’s a high likelihood that your schedule has been fed through the shredder on multiple occasions.
As I write this little blog post, I’m sitting under the canopy of a magnificent Banyan tree about four ...
Your Regrets Are Not Irredeemable
Earlier this week, a record played in my ear. A record of my regrets. Some of them were of the ‘silly’ variety. Some were more serious.
I regretted that I wasn't more disciplined with my diet before my 25th college reunion this weekend.
I regretted that I had yelled at my teenage daughter for “disrespecting” me when ...
No Checking Necessary
I’m part of the 'check-before-you-call-someone' generation. We're the species that prefers text messages to phone calls. We opt to leave voice mails that don’t intrude on others’ time rather than “bother” them with a conversation in real-time.
When we have no choice but to use our phones to make an actual phone call, we are hesitant ...
How Can We Nurture Deeper Friendships?
There’s a meme making its rounds on Instagram that goes something like this:
“Do you know one of Jesus’ greatest miracles that no one ever talks about?
.
.
He had 12 close friends in his 30s.”
Whoever came up with that joke struck some solid truth: as we get older, nurturing authentic friendships becomes more difficult than we’d ever ...
You Have Permission For This
There’s a distinct point of time when I snap.
I don’t mean that I snap my fingers to a happy chorus. Nope.
I mean I snap like a dry twig. You can almost hear the cartoon-like crraaack.
My patience runs out. My face contorts. My tone hovers somewhere between irritable and infuriated. My words range from snarky to ...
Start With One Small Step
As I look out the window of the living room of my 9th-floor apartment, my heart skips a beat. A little girl, about three or four years old, stands on the 6th floor of a building under construction next door to us. Her mom bends over the cement blocks a couple of feet away from ...