in august, before i began blogging, i had an absolutely terrible day. a "friend" dropped by unannounced (you never call me back!) and three kids were screaming (sebastian chose to cling and whine) and the "Friend" said, "you always pretend it is so under control here!"
magnificent charles called with the news that he was heading back to india. he had returned from ghandi-land just six days previously. i was, to put it mildly, testy. but remember, bad day, kids, missing husband.
"oh, well, that's nice for you. room service, sleeping in, no interruptions. good." (must be said in a tight, rushed clipped voice.)
"tess, it is our fifth anniversary. come with me."
onetwothreefourfive.
"yes, i will."
and i did.
and it was wonderful. i walked and walked and walked and walked and loved being anonymous and alone. me and my map. the continual insistent beep beep beep of the vehicles. the smell, of wet dusty parchment that hangs over india, particularly at night. saris next to suede miniskirts. being endlessly approached by salespeople speaking the Queen's English. "excuse me madam, could i interest you in the finest cotton goods," jumping out of tuk-tuks in mid-journey when the driver explains that at no extra charge to me, he is going to take me to a ceramics factory, and then he will be happy to take me to my destination. relaxing. i slept in during the mornings, walked through the rain, slipped through muddy streets, found the only SUBWAY the city had to offer, manouevered myself around cows planted in garbage piles, and bargained with tuk-tuk drivers.
and you know that i loved the curry,the masala, the aloo gobi, tikkas, naans, clay oven food... that's a given isn't it, but i will say it anyway. oh man the food. although, get this, i had to request samosas. IN INDIA! maybe samosas are to the indians what fortune cookies are to the chinese, just not part of the menu unless you are in the western world..but come on. INDIA! i thought samosas would be carefully placed on the pillows when the staff came to turn down the beds, rather than the crap chocolate you usually get.
i was happy to go and happy to come home. i loved that trip, i loved my sanity, i loved that by being away from my four under three's, i was a better mum when i came home four days later.
five years ago magnificent charles and i saved each other from the insanity of singleton life and had married. among other things, we had promised to cherish each other.
five years later, he cherished me by temporarily removing me from the insanity of mummyville.
actions speak louder than promises.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
yawn. ( a stretchy one that hurts the sides of your mouth).
jasper did not have a good night. was up at 1.30, 3.30, and 5.45. and magnificent charles was up with him every single time. like i needed another reason to love him.
carys is snuffly today, the drippyness and congestion makes her look just that extra bit ethereal and wee, her eyes are huge in her pale face. but the minute you talk to her, she breaks out in a HUGE smile. especially if you mention to her that she has more hair than her triplet siblings.
sela is learning that sucking her toes (just call her sarah ferguson) is almost as fun as sucking her thumb.
sebastian is fathoms-deep in love with his new book on trains that we bought him the other day. his speech appointment is on wednesday. i so hope we can figure out what we can do to help him.
out of respect to other young kids our three share the creche with, we did not make it to church, which bothers me since i really wanted to hear the sermon today.
i have completed one of my two articles, and am getting ready for dad and pam to return from vietnam. my dad went to an ATM in saigon and was offered "boom-boom" (her words, not mine) by a young lovely. he turned red and started apologizing to her, then politely walked away. sister pam was torn between feeling sorry for the girl and laughing at dad. laughing won.
What a lovely story, what a smart man.
May today bring you many naps.
Is our time diffrence now 13 hours Tess? So it's 10:34 a.m. in Ottawa, it's 11:34 p.m. in H.K.?
Posted by: Lauren | October 31, 2004 at 11:35 PM
Loved your stories, Tess. Could 'feel' India as I read.
What a sweet Dad you have :-)
We are both so blessed to have cherished ones in our lives.
M xox
Posted by: Mum aka Mo aka Maureen | November 01, 2004 at 12:41 AM