Thank you? Yes please!

How difficult is to say Thank You?  I am teaching my little one to say thank you - she is struggling and understandably so. With two and a quarter teeth*, you can't expect her to say sounds that require tongue to make contact with teeth for proper pronunciation (try saying Thank you without tongue making contact with teeth!). But what is our excuse as adults for not saying Thank You ? If you are like me who have been occasional victims of impolite behaviour and rude voices - a good place to start the change maybe at your dresser. Look at your self in the mirror and ask when did you really, truly thanked someone, like you meant it....

Most times I am a polite and friendly person that you will see walking in the mall or that you meet in your neighbourhood. But at times, I can be a little ill-tempered and experiences have taught me that even the most impractical task can be achieved with a polite ‘Please’ or genuine ‘Thank You’. Power of these words are amazing - I have got seat upgrades, free top-ups, countless smiles and have got out of a number of tricky situations using these magic words.

Now that I am getting to teach Smera, I am very conscious of setting a good example myself. However, in my excitement to set a good example I may have started using them very generously. On my recent trip back home, aside from showing of my improved local language skills, I profusely peppered the conversations with ‘sorry’, ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ to get my message across. I got a few what's-wrong-with-this-women stares especially from village-folks back home.

Sure, my recent experiment with my ultra-civility has landed me in some embarrassing instances - but I am determined to continue my efforts to set a good example.

Thank you for reading my blog. Please come back here often.

* Two 1/2-visible-teeth on the lower level and four 1/3-visible-teeth on the upper deck 

Image courtesy: Corbis.com

It's a winner !

It’s that part of the year when everything looks so dazzling, joyous and positive. Winters are back in Dubai, though it wouldn't match up to the standards of a proper winter, while this works just right for me. For all those who know me, would know how much I hate summers. High 40-45 degrees (Celsius of course) is definitely not my thing. I prefer going to the malls or anyplace that comes with a basement parking.

Winters make me a different person all together. I am in love with the Dubai weather these days - with glorious mornings, breezy afternoons, nippy evening, and mesmerizing late-nights. While the current weather in Dubai is nothing compared to the European winters or the one Delhi where I grew up.15 -17 degrees is cold for me here so I can't even imagine surviving the snow ever. What really makes the weather splendid in winter here is that we get a spell or two of rain but that's about it. 

I am very lazy most of the time during the year; however things are going to change now, doing things I really love - heading outdoors. I intend to make most of this winters and the approaching festive season as long it lasts.

§         Spend time more at the parks teaching Smera football

§         Barbequing with friends

§         Building sand castles

§         Put a swing for Smera in the balcony

§         Having friends and family to visit us

§         Start morning jogging routine (I hope at least this time the craze would last more 10 days)

§         Plan for UAE national day, Christmas and New years get-together

§         Visit the Ras al Khor wildlife sanctuary and Al-Ain Zoo

I will update you on how this goes on along the way. Till then Happy Winters !!

Happy Birthday Smera

It feels like yesterday, but it’s been a year today. Yes it has been a short 1 year, 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8760 hours or 525,600 seconds of constant anticipation and irregular intervals, numerous diapers and few disasters, frequent sleeplessness and occasional helplessness. I can go on and on – here is a starter for 3

1.     Smiley Frowns

Smera means smile in Sanskrit. However, in real life she frowns a lot. Many of our friends have been at the receiving end of her intense if not intimidating stare. If you manage to survive the initial test, you would soon witness how she lives up to her name.

2.     Who is crying and why?

What would you expect from someone who is on a high-calcium diet? Long finger nails, of course! The impact of long finger nails during the exploratory stage is a scratchy face. I finally managed to muster some courage to undertake this delicate task of shaping Smera’s nails.

After a number of failed attempts, I got her nails between the blades of the clipper – or so I thought. The next thing I heard was a loud scream, I obviously had missed the target by a millimeter – so instead of cutting the nail I had cut her skin.

The next thing Saju heard though is two loud screams – one of the daughter and then the louder version that of the mother. Rushing in to help he was at loss to figure out what had happened and who to console first!

3.     Smera, Sameera or Sameer

We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of finding the name, Smera. However, one of the problems of having an unusual name is that people usually pronounce it wrong. We have heard a number of versions, but the popular ones are Sara, Sameera and Sameer. This confusion has reached its peak after Smera got her head shaved recently giving her a boyish-look.

It’s been a great first year. Happy birthday Smera baby!

Image courtesy: www.specialtycakecreations.com 

Currently on Vacation

This is the reason why I have been away from the blogsphere for a while. I am currently on my three-city vacation to get together with friends and family back in India. It all started with Bangalore, just the perfect start to our vacation. However, by the fourth day my little one got dreadfully frustrated as her responsible parents kept saying NO to whatever she touched or wherever she went. I am not sure of the impression we might have left on our lovely hosts - soon to be parents this December.

On the fifth day we landed in Palakkad (my hubby’s home) and Baby Smera finally felt at home. The guilty parents now have stopped saying NO and the affectionate grandpa and grandmom just can’t stop smiling.

This is the first time Smera is visiting her paternal grandparent’s house. The house is in the middle of a coconut grove, with a pretty garden, a small pond on the front and a vegetable garden in the backyard. An army of farm animals dot the place - five dogs, four cows, one calf, ten chicken, twenty little domesticated birds and an innumerable other living beings straight from the NatGeo. 

Little Smera is lapping it all up.