A lazy mom and a busy ant

It is a Saturday evening. School holidays start in just 72 hours. Yippee!

Lassitude has set in. The kind that only a mom would understand; the laziness of not having to complete chores and run tight schedules of pick ups and drops, of lunch boxes and classes. I smile as I sit in front of my computer trying to write.I am in a relaxed frame of mind after all. I am waiting for the words to flow and clamour for attention at my fingertips.

As I wait for the deluge of words, my eyes are drawn to a scurrying movement on my laptop keyboard. I see that it is a tiny ant with a small piece of thread in its mouth, streaking across the keyboard, as if he has a flight to catch.

I am fascinated by this creature, who is always so busy and so full of purpose. All ants seem to be busy all the time. They seem to know the value of time. The ant is probably shuddering at how I am seated, sloth-like, and not putting my time to good use.

The ant looks for a way out of the keyboard. He rushes this way and that. After a while, he disappers from view.

He is one determined little ant, and I am sure he made it home in time, to put the black thread to good use. Bye bye little ant.

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Bliss between two lists

Once or twice a year, there comes a day, when I realize that all my work projects are done, that my ‘things to do’ list is ticked off, and that there is just ONE DAY before school holidays start, after which the children will rule my life for three weeks. 

Today was that day. I woke up lazily, plodded through my chores, ran a few errands (there is no escaping these), and then felt a frisson of excitement. I had nothing in my ‘to do’ list. All this means is that I am done with my old list, but mercifully  have not added the hundred other things that need to be done.

I think I was quite sensible by cutting off the list at such a point, where ‘today’ could become a reality.

Courtesy – Clipart Kid

I giggle at this absurdity of suddenly having four hours to spend. I decide to do a little bit of each of the things I love. I read, I watch some of my favourite shows on youtube, I stare into space and ponder about life, allowing myself to drift away with my memories, and sit down to enjoy a great cup of filter coffee, on my easy chair, watching the heavy rain outside.

In what seems like four minutes, the children are back, in a high state of excitement that their holidays are within touching distance.

I smile, as I ready myself to become a referee to their squabbles over pencils and space and air, in the room they share. I prepare to get started on packing for our trip. I prepare to hoard the refrigerator and stock up on food supplies to feed two children, whose constant refrain over the next three weeks will be, “Is there anything to eat?”

The holidays will fly, and the New Year will glide in, and we will all get back to the grind.

But such days, the one between two ‘things to do lists’ are pure bliss.