The Simple Life

Life !
The transformation of the girl inside me to a modern-day woman has made me realize the drastic changes over these years in my life. Am not talking about the relationships here! I have done enough with them in my earlier posts anyway. But, what am trying to pen down here are the little things we tend to forget in this maddenning, competitive world.

Technology has undoubtedly creeped into our simple lives, having its pros and cons. Of course, with the advent of new machines, life has become faster and more efficient. But yeah, it's a lot more complicated than the simple, old times.


---> Am talking about the good old times of our grandmoms, where unadultered food was one of the main ways of showing love. The aromas of home-made butter, the endless delicacies during festivals, and not to mention, the fresh milk from milkmen walking down their clanking belled cows down the road. Right now, for any modern day woman, the haven for food issues are ready-to-eat meals easily found in any supermart! I have to admit am one among them (for some rare evenings when my home-cooked food becomes a bore!), but I still crave for those yummy dishes my grandmom used to dish out for us as soon as we asked them for. Those were the times!

---> As a kid, I still remember writing letters to my old friends in another town. That was the age when the world wasn't totally acclaimed by the omnipresent internet.(in the early 90's). The good old way of writing letters! Don't you think with the exchange of the daily emails, the old-fashioned way of scribbling our thoughts with our own hands has literally gone with the wind? I strongly feel that hand-written letters are a sweet way of conveying one's love. I used to call the endless love-letters I used to write for my hubby as "Holy manuscripts" ! That was of course, during the golden phase of the engagement-marriage days, when email was still a very much not-so-common entity. They are still treasured back in my mom's place, and I just love smelling them, whenever I visit my mom. They just remind me of the good times, the forgotten funny incidents, and it also serves as a way to rekindle our old flames(just in case, we forget with our daily crazy schedule).
Don't you think it's time we revisit the post-office yet again? Not so regularly, but atleast once in a while ???

---> As kids, me and my brother had always been very much varied with our personal interests. He was a major animal lover, and literally cried until he got his very own puppy, at the age of 8. I was this not-so-friendly girl with the canine family, and one such addition to our own family was a bit disturbing to me. In the intial days of our home-coming puppy, I dreaded going back home from school. Both my mom and my bro took great care of the little member, while I just watched it from a distance. As time passed, I gradually started liking the pet, and more so it had become a part of our life too. I have started to like animals, and never got scared of them, as in the initial days. The cutie pie stayed on with us for a whopping 12 years( a quality time for a canine), before it succumbed to a fatal sunstroke. I still remember the day it left us forever. I cried more than anyone else in the family. Maybe, all the feelings I bottled up for it since childhood had just seemed to overflow. My brother, on the contrary, took it in his stride, and surprisingly just prayed for its soul calmly.
Now, with two sons and a not-at-all animal friendly husband, I yearn of having my own pet. Maybe, when my boys grow a bit more. I am still hoping for my younger one to cry and get a puppy home, ala his uncle. The good old times will start again!


---> I read somewhere about loving the nature around you. An European author wrote about people living in America, that they just don't seem to find time for anything except their routine. She got nostalgic about her earlier life in Europe, where people actually stop to smell the roses even during a busy day. Isn't is wonderfully romantic? Or to say the least, isn't it a nice way to love the nature?
When I was a kid, we had a patio full of plants in our house. My mom was this nature-crazy woman, whom you already are aware of her fondness for animals. And this was just another great hobby my mom inculcated. The art of raising plants. Having a living organism in your house puts a whole lot of responsibility on your mind. It definitely helps you stay alert. It can be just a pot-plant or a pet too. But, the goal my mom put us was to drill in more compassion towards others. And the charity just began from home. We were given the tasks of watering the plants, and walking our doggy, even as kids. Now, as I realize that I keep giving umpteen excuses for either having a pet or atleast some plants in my house, I remind myself of my mom and also the European lady who smelt roses on her way to office. Isn't it the finest tribute to nature? And it should start from home.

But, of course, as I started on... Modern-day evolution and it's impact on our daily life has its share of advantages too.
The first being the internet. How can I ever thank this great medium for letting me be in touch with all my old buddies at a click's distance. Would it have been possible to share my life's memories through pictures, videos and not to mention, this blog, without the internet's sprawling presence into our lives? Its definitely way much easier to reach out to an old friend, than in the old days.

Another important thing I realize being a mom is to have a better life now in the 21st century, than in the old times. Starting with the basic diapers, readymade foods, strollers, the list of making a mom's life easier is just endless.

And of course, kudos to all the scientists who invented the various electronic devices. I simply can't imagine my life without the basic stuff like, the washing machine, blender, or even the TV. Life would have been very difficult without any one of them too.

But, before you jump into conclusions that this post is a bunch of contradictions, I just wanted you to know my feelings towards the life we are presently leading. If you still find it contradictary, then you need to blame the life we are leading in this 21st century. Its a whirlwind of activities, spurned with the magic spell of modern-day technology.


That being said, yeah, I still dream of a small garden house, with my large dog looming around the house, and my kids bathing in the nearby pond. Well, am just dreaming now!! I have that much freedom. It's my idea of a "SIMPLE LIFE" !!
Whats yours ????