30 minutes!
I got to nail this down this time, I thought. In fact I am writing this very lucid so my world doesn't wonder about how every 30 minutes given to me vanishes!
It was a weekend. We have plans for all weekends. Believe me, all weekends! And it is not about running errands... At this point, purpose doesn't matter. What happened to those 30 minutes is what matters.
Hmm! OK. Let's start the play!
11:00 to 11:05 AM
I was sincerely planning with no thought in my mind. Jus blank! Standing in front of the mirror. At the end of the 5 precious minutes, I felt my hair, realized it was dry and I needed to oil it.
(Effective use of first 5 minutes!)
11:32 AM
I glanced the wall clock! Gosh! It was past 11:30! 30 minutes gone! I also realized he was almost done with his activities! I called upon my sister, handed over my daughter to her and sneaked into the bathroom.
I got to nail this down this time, I thought. In fact I am writing this very lucid so my world doesn't wonder about how every 30 minutes given to me vanishes!
It was a weekend. We have plans for all weekends. Believe me, all weekends! And it is not about running errands... At this point, purpose doesn't matter. What happened to those 30 minutes is what matters.
It was 11 AM. He got up while we were still playing with the
kid, charting out day's plan... He warned (yes, with my past history and present geography, he warns!), ‘now the time is 11 AM. I'll take bath,
do pooja and be back at 11:30. Be ready by then'. I questioned casually, 'what
about the kid?'. 'Yes, both of you, ready by 11:30'
Hmm! OK. Let's start the play!
11:00 to 11:05 AM
I was sincerely planning with no thought in my mind. Jus blank! Standing in front of the mirror. At the end of the 5 precious minutes, I felt my hair, realized it was dry and I needed to oil it.
(Effective use of first 5 minutes!)
11:05 to 11:15 AM
Now this was kind of rough... I stepped out of our room in
search of hair oil. In our house, finding anything is always a game of Crystal
Maze (you still remember that TV program?). If the compass and map is
available (my younger sister), you may be saved.
Else, jus forget it! :))
I enquired my sister, "where can the hair oil be,
possibly?". Right then, my kiddo started screaming at the top of her voice
from our room. While I tried to be at my job of finding hair oil, her scream's decibels and persistence
kind of violated my threshold of indifference towards her. She won! I dropped
of game of Crystal Maze and ran back. 'Chinnu, what is it?' 'Mom, I want my
building blocks. I had it here and I don't know where it is now. I want it NOW'
I knew finding them could be next to impossible. So, my usual tactics of distraction
was employed. 'Chinnu, Dad is taking us out. What dress do you want to wear?'
Little did I realize that it is opening another Pandora's box.
11:15 to 11:30 AM
So, I opened the wardrobe and searched for a dress that she
hadn't worn for quite some time. And anyway it was part of the agenda of the 30
minutes given to me by my beloved. See, I was back on track. I pulled out a skirt
and a top and asked for her consent. She went for a frock. 'Chinnu, you wear
that every time. Let's try 3/4th and a top. You look beautiful and very
trendy'. She didn't budge. 'Mommy, I want a long skirt!' 'Alright, how about
this one (jeans)? Anu Chithi gifted you last time' (I managed to get only the
pants. Matching yellow tops couldn't be found!) Now guess what!? She settled
for the one with the missing tops!
I put my hand to the bottom of the shelf, pulled all dresses
on to the bed, with no result.
11:32 AM
I glanced the wall clock! Gosh! It was past 11:30! 30 minutes gone! I also realized he was almost done with his activities! I called upon my sister, handed over my daughter to her and sneaked into the bathroom.
11:33 AM
'You guys ready?' came the voice.
'Yes, almost! I will be out in a minute' (I replied while
applying paste in my toothbrush!) LOL!!
I leave it to the readers to conclude on what must have
happened after that...
