It's time to get 'puzzled' !

What's this?

It is a picture of two adorable kittens with a yarn of wool. It is also a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle being puzzled over by a six yr-old and his mother...

Yes! We are very smart, thank you very much! Much to the amazement of the resident snorter who thought we couldn't do it...(*i think he was just jealous)

Little S has always been fascinated by puzzles since he was almost 2 years old. He's spent many a rainy day with Kaleidoscope, the puzzle made up of colored little squares, which i love too. But jigsaws are his favorite. It's addictive and a great stress buster. Solving it teaches one about perspectives, about tenacity and is good exercise for the mind. This was the first time, though, that he tried his hand at a 1000 piece puzzle.

It is a fascinating thing to sit down with these odd shaped pieces and coax them into forming the complete picture. At first they are just meaningless shapes, and it's difficult to make sense of the mayhem. But we figured it out, me and my little helper. We started with the border, because the border pieces have one flat edge, thereby making it easier for us to start. It was not very easy because the fur looked almost the same. Sometimes, I would hold the piece the wrong way, and then lil S would slap his forehead and put it…right there where it belonged.

Every time S returned from school, he would wash up and bounce into the room, first to check how much i got done without him and then to try and beat me at it...

Sometimes it just wouldn't move forward. And then miraculously, when we tackled it after some time or the next day, we seemed to instantly find that missing piece. And everything would fall into place for a while. So much like life, isn't it?

Little by little, piece by piece, we finished it. And the look of satisfaction on his face when he fitted in that last piece was worth recording. He didn't know I had completed it hours before but had messed it up a bit, just so that he could have the satisfaction of finishing his very own "big people' puzzle.

And as usual because I just can't help it, I think of associations and memorable happy moments.

Of Scrabble boards.

Of incredibly lazy evenings,

Of worry free minds and easy laughter,

Of a family bonding over a scrabble game, which my sister would invariably win.

Of my mother using the game to improve her vocabulary.

I hope that my kids too would weave happy associations around certain things. I'm sure they could never look at a football without thinking of G, of all those evenings spent kicking the dratted ball or watching the games together. Maybe the 11 yrold would look at books and instantly remember the books devoured together by him and me?

And perhaps, jigsaw puzzles would do the same for my 6 yrold. Sometimes, I look beyond and see a young man buying a puzzle for his child, and telling him/her "See this? i used to do that with my mom".

Sigh!

*a happy Sigh!

There you go again, my wistful heart...why peer into a whimsical future when you have such a beautiful present....? 

So tell me, since I'm a curious cat sometimes....are there certain things which bring back an instant happy family recollection for you?

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edited to add:: Thank you, Blogadda, and imlee for this

This entry is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with imlee.com

"Look" says the little voice, tugging at her hand,

urging her to stop.

She's fretting because its so late,

they need to be home.

She's tired, it has been a long day.

"Look", he says again, "the sky's shining"

She wonders at the awe in his voice

and sees his shining eyes.

She looks upwards

And sees millions of tiny lights,

The glittering canopy takes her breath away

A cloudless night like this

can set the spirit soaring

she thinks, hugging the little body closer

as they stand together

mesmerized by nature's display

A cloudless night

A cloudless night like this,
can set the spirit soaring
Because it shows me
the beauty of the stars
Because it shows me
the light, even in the dark
It urges me
to be patient.
For, under that darkness
in my mind,
are hidden gems
waiting
to be sprinkled as glitter
in tales
yet to be born
Wait, it seems to say,
for the wind of change
Wait, it seems to say,
for the words to flow
Wait,  it says,
For the darkness to show
The magic that lies within.
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A spontaneous effort for the prompt "A cloudless night like this can set the spirit soaring' at Keith from Keith's Ramblings has come up an interesting prompt site, "Carry On Tuesday"
(This week our prompt is the opening line of A Walk After Dark by W. H. Auden
A cloudless night like this can set the spirit soaring
Use it at the start or somewhere within your verse or prose. .)

Indus ladies Mother's day Blog contest

I got a mail from indi blogger informing me about this contest for mother's day! I didn't have time so got out an old post of mine...

My entry for the contest...

A mother's perspective...

It's been one of those days where I have locked myself into the room after having performed a series of exemplary acts...I have rescued my towels from the dustbin (courtesy an absentminded son) saved my lights from being broken by a ball and myself from seeing stars, screamed my lungs out, managed to finish my editing work dead on the line, got dinner on the table and still been alive at the end of it all...

Bringing up two boys makes my life a medley of sorts...and I’m still finding my way. I am a woman literally in a man’s world. I think I have learnt to look at my roles from different perspectives. I wear many mantles and every day is a roller coaster of emotions. Want to see how?

They go the kitchen and holler out for me as if the sky is falling down…I rush there only to be asked where the chocolates/cookies are? So am i the organization expert? This is where perspective comes into the picture.

It is no easy task to decide nutritious meals for the day, trying to suit three hungry stomachs for there will always be one unhappy soul not liking the preparation. I’m nowhere in the picture of course! I’ll be delighted if the food does vanish without threats, bribes or tantrums. So does that make me a food management expert? A nutritionist or A cook? sigh..don't tell me, it's perspective...•

I trip over Lego pieces and superhero figures and the ghastly faces they call masks, only to be greeted with war cries of murder. So I have to pacify two angry boys with concocted stories of why I was rushing to the toilet, as if my life depended on it. That explanation strikes too close to home and I’ve convinced them that the excuse was worth trampling upon their toys. Lo! Behold! I’m a crisis management expert. •

Cricket and football are the bane of my life and one day I may just sue the creator of the games. On second thoughts, I may be lynched by the cricket crazy fans before i even think of doing that, so it is time for subtle tactics. So I could just get that junior to agree to a page of handwriting, in return for viewing rights! So trust me to recognize an opportunity and turn it to my advantage! •

It needs great skills to involve every member of the house into tasks they don’t enjoy, without them realizing that they are doing it. It requires the right blend of firmness, nonchalance and voice power. Of course when nothing goes, an incentive works fine, just fine. That makes me a human resource management expert or a plain nag. see, again a matter of perception! •

Saying the right things at the right time, without hurting anybody’s feelings gets my diplomacy skills to the fore. How else will you answer the plaintive complaint “You love him more than me. You always listen to him”? He gets to hear how much more I would have loved him if I hated him, so that he would not feel hated. Got it, no? Neither did I! But surprisingly it made sense to him. Confuse the issues so that he does not realize whether he had a good thing or he missed one! That’s a diplomat at work.

Add to the above, the tactics employed to maintain bonding between a rebellious preteen and a hyperactive 5 yr-old! I never knew what I had signed up for when I decided to upgrade myself into a mother.

But the icing on the cake is, after all that screaming, ranting and raving done, I still get the ‘You’re cool, Amma" badge at the end of the day. So every day is my second chance to get it right and get that badge. It is the best incentive I get to carry on for yet another day of an imperfect mother !!!

Besides, my boys may just be the smart ones, having figured out how to manipulate me emotionally! But I sure am loving it, every hour, everyday!

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http://www.indusladies.com/forums/blogs/phoenixritu/mothers-day-competition-1717/

What they say

What do you do
when you feel
a dread deep within?
and you wonder why?

What can you do
when you see
the black clouds which
threaten your sunlight
and you cannot blow them away?

What do you do
when you smile
but the eyes,
they tell a different story?

This too shall pass
so they say
but the agony
It is in the waiting
and not knowing

The agony is in
the searching
for an imagined strength
to mask your weakness

This too shall pass
so they say
But it's the passing
which is killing

Do i have to...?

"Do i have to" he asked, tentatively, unsure, eyes pleading...

yes, you have to, you know you have to

"but i don't want to..."

come on, its not that difficult, stop making it so hard for everyone...

okay, okay, don't get angry, i'm trying, its difficult, you try doing it.....

.
.
.
.


WILL YOU JUST STOP WHINING AND TAKE THAT TABLET!!!!!

splutter...did you have to do that, i was trying to swallow?!!!!!

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Sunday scribbling - prompt "DO I HAVE TO?"

Solace

Solace...is that what i find
when i take you into my arms?
Ready to go where you take me
wanting to be the one you want

Solace, i think that's what i find
in a book i read,
uninterrupted and free...
the mind gets ready for a timeless journey
the heart is set for adventure, love and mystery...

my books, that never ceases to amaze...
my books, in you i find my solace

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scribbled in a hurry for sunday scribblers
Prompt 'Solace"

update:: after reading such beautiful versions at Sunday scribblings, i wish i had taken time to delve deeper and come up with something more profound, something beautiful...

:)