making a paycheck

Back in the workforce-hence, the silence.
It takes some getting used to- I am feeling extremely rushed- drop off the kids- rush to work, hurry from work, pick them up, rustle up some dinner, hopefully healthy, bedtime approaches, make sure the kids get their baths, everything is set up for the next day- lunches and swim trunks and towels, and it begins anew the next day.
what I find really amazing and am rather indignant about is the asymmetry of responsibility. I am going to see if I can do something about it- maybe dear husband can do the drop-off.
Most women go through exactly the same scenario. I feel able to handle it but I wish I had more support.

How to juggle or .....not

Now that I am ready to enter the workforce, I have started to worry anew about humdrum things like dinner, laundry and housework. How do women do it all? Will I have time to read? On reading- I read a book called The Seventeen Traditions by Ralph Nader who I admire greatly as a consumer advocate. It was an easy read with a view on how a family could be raised. The times were simpler then, but I am sure I can learn a lot from his writing. While on Ralph Nader, a long time ago I saw a PBS film on him, very tellingly called, An Unreasonable Man. In this the election year, it is worthwhile to remember how much his activism has benefited us.
Also, enjoying my last few days of unpaid labor, this afternoon I saw a wonderful documentary called "The First Year" which is about the first year of five teachers in California. I am so in awe of teachers- the great ones leave such a mark on you. They change your life in so many ways and inspire you to be more than what you thought you could be.

A new beginning

So, I am probably going to go back to work next Monday, which is a fact that is alternately exciting and worrying me. The young kid starts daycare- which is always scary. Last Friday, we tried leaving him at the Y for date night- that did not go down too well- two hours later we got an apologetic phonecall- your kid has been shrieking the whole time, please pick him up. Not a good omen in my book. Well, he will have to get used to it- he will have a better parent for later.
I am especially excited about having a schedule to follow, my own time and my own money..yippee.
Will post later on how things go. It will be interesting- have not had paid work in over six months now.

Children of the universe

There have been so many interesting things happening with the Mars mission. Everytime my own life gets a little out of control, I like to indulge in a little astronomy- to get my perspective right and to think of all of us as made of the same stardust. Check this out http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/earthday_gallery/index_noaccess.html
The earth seems so vulnerable...I wish we took better care.....

Being Indian

I am very aware of where I am from and I am sure it informs almost everything I do. One of those things which always makes me upset is the way we treat women in India and more specifically, the abominable attitude towards the girl child.
Another news story about this http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7466916.stm

children's literature and songs

One of the better things about being a parent is the renewed exposure to children's books and music- although it still does not compensate for sleepless nights, limited time, no more movie nights, no shopping in peace, career harakiri- the list goes on and on, and I am sure you get my drift.
I am going to list my fave kid's books and songs- feel free to send me your top picks
-Most of Dr Seuss's books
-Folk songs
-Raffi songs
-Rhonda Vincent especially Bananaphone
-Books by Mo Willems
-songs by Keb Mo
-songs by Taj Mahal
As a rule of thumb, I will only play those songs that I can tolerate at least ten re-iterations of- thats how long I will have to listen to it before I lose the CD. I try not to borrow a book that I do not care for- although, it seems I am constantly reading books about stinky trash trucks and other means of tramsportation. I am sure at some point in time I wll get nostalgic about this as well.

Summer solstice

First day of summer here- in the middle of a heatwave here- but nothing a Kolkata girl can't handle.
Tried looking out for the moon on the 18th- was told it would be a really impressive moonrise- the kids and the location was wrong, so no magnificent moonrise for me. However, check out this link for a wonderful view
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080620.html
A bit of trivia- this structure has some interesting graffiti- Lord Byron has carved his name on one of the columns.