Bitten by the bug..

I need to be more specific here. What kind of bug is it this time?

The 'love' bug: naah, that happened almost 5 years ago. And it continues to bite..sigh. You're kinda stuck for life with this one-for most folks anyway! Expect (and hope for) an overstay:)

The 'movie' bug: this one's a regular visitor. Has free will. Expect hectic activity in the summer.

The 'travel' bug: high-maintainence dude, this one. Needs you to be well-prepared. Expect severe 'bank balance' damage. And potential finger damage (with all the camera clicking).

The 'system' bug: unpredictable. Will crash in on you in the middle of a Live Meeting with ten people queued up to see your slides. Expect embarrassment and a sheepish retreat to 'please use the attachment in the mail instead'.

Finally, the 'trash' bug: attacks most on long boring weekdays and results in super-nonsensical, directionless meanderings. Expect brickbats in the 'Comments' section of your blog.

Bugger!

Somewhere in the world..

She walked around the house picking up the socks scrunched up into a ball, the Coke can emptied to the last drop, the newspaper rolled up to whack a fly, the dirty dishes wistfully holding on to traces of a red sauce.

She stood still for a moment, waiting for the thud of footsteps on the staircase outside. None yet..

Back to business then. The cat was out exploring. The kitty litter needed to be cleared. The plants hadnt seen water for a week-she should do that now, she thought. Thirsty tendrils yearning for life...they were helpless in their pots, stuck out in the balcony. She knew the feeling..

Something snapped. A twig on the tree outside? The elastic on the laundry bag? Her patience? All of them perhaps..

The footsteps-at last! She reached for the front door and threw it open...

For all the ‘Jack and Norma’s of the World..

Last night, I found myself howling all through the second half of an episode of The Wonder Years. It was the one about Jack and Norma-who are not just Kevin’s parents, but two people who still love each other and miss each other when they are apart. Two people who get through little hiccups like a broken stove and their oldest child demanding cash for a yoga mat. Two people who make you realize that love not just survives but grows with time, through the haze of providing for your family and getting caught in the banal everyday of things.
It gives you goose bumps- that kiss at the end of the episode. In black-and-white or color, it does not matter. Go look it up on YouTube if you have a chance. It reminds you that our parents are not just ‘Mom-and-Dad’ –a package deal we have been taking for granted ever since we first howled to be changed out of our diapers, but two individuals that had a life of their own before we came along and ate up all their time.