Sunday, December 31, 2017

2017 - Our year in review

This year, we learnt that we don't need TV.
As long as we have internet TV. With subtitles. That can be watched on mute. On TV, laptop, tablet and phone seamlessly. How did new parents in the previous generations manage to take a break without all this? Perhaps, they slept.

This year, we learnt that we don't need sleep.
At least, that's what we tell ourselves. As we rub our eyes through the day ploughing through work, trying to get back home for a night of sleeplessness.

This year, we learnt about science.
Empirically. Over a period of ten months. Survival of the fittest, evolution, how humans grow as they grow. No Desmond Morris could have explained it this well.

This year, we learnt that only two things matter.
Scratch it. Three. Nopes. Four. Feed, pee, poop, and sleep. And were immensely gratified even if two of the four happened in a given day.

This year, we learnt productivity.
Prioritisation, efficiency, focusing on the things that matter. All the management and philosophical jargon came alive in front of our eyes, and made so much sense for a change. 

This year, we learnt to entertain.
A one person audience. With stories and singing, dancing and laughing. Who might, as an outside chance, give us a grudging smile in return. Or at the minimum stop crying. And felt very rewarded.

This year, we learnt to execute our longest and most difficult project yet.
We failed miserably. We succeeded immensely. Failed. Succeeded. Mostly succeeded I think. We get smiles, laughter, babbles, hugs, even kisses sometimes. Surely, that's success.

Friday, December 08, 2017

No touching, only seeing... and other stories

I have been a mother for over 9 months now. While motherhood has made me a happier and better person in many thousand ways, it has also made me a not-so-nice and frustrated person in a few thousand ways. While many things have contributed to the frustration (and those warrants posts of their own), some of the irritants have come from strangers and new parents alike. And, those are not channels I expected to have problems with, really.

You can read the rest of the article here.