Drunk Mommy

I visited my parents last weekend, across the country. Normally the flight always puts me in a bad mood because after most airlines decided to stop all Calcutta-Pune-Calcutta flights, one has to make a detour via Mumbai, Chenna, Delhi and Ahmedabad. Yes, those are the alternatives. Doesn't make sense to you too, right? What should be a 3 hours flight, now takes 5-7 hours, depending on what route you take/ get/ are lumped with. However, I did not mind the flying time because with time, come riches and flying biz, does tone down those rough edges somewhat. Also, no one was sitting next to me and that ALWAYS is a good thing.

Anyhow, we (parents, my sister's family) have a tradition of going out for dinner whenever my brother and/or I visit my parents. This time, my sister made reservations at some place that no one was over-enthusiastic about and when we started, we decided to go to Stone Water Grill instead. The food was great, not the desserts and a good time was had by all. I ordered a wine, a white Torres Vina Esmeralda, that my wine club had done a tasting of recently, and the entire clan liked it, no mean feat, I can tell you. Even my mother. Now, mom has started drinking wine recently after a holiday with her college friends, who she has reconnected with, after moving to Pune. This always leads to good-natured ribbing, because all these years Mom put on a holier than thou act and it took one holiday with friends for her to get on the wagon!

Anyhow, during the meal, I suggested getting Mom drunk and this tickled my Dad pink and he couldn't stop laughing.

My parents always crack me up. And now, I am all teary-eyed and choked-up.

Inconvenience Regretted

My parents sent this photo to me and my siblings and said, "Now that we are getting old, we know you three will be inconvenienced far more than we are comfortable. So, we thought this photo was so very apt."
Everytime I look at it, I cry a little. I am the middle child and I remember my father when he would carry all three of us (brother on shoulders, me and my sister in either hand) and my mother when she could dance for hours more gracefully and energetically than our entire class. I don't know what my sister's earliest memories of my parents are, and my brother sadly always saw them somewhat older and much tired. This photo is how I will remember my parents always. Having a ball, whatever their circumstances and always able to laugh and never EVER losing their sense of humour and dignity.