A Day in the Life of Mom

Going to India seems to have unintentionally knocked some responsibility into my head. I don't know if it was seeing my two younger cousins dutifully helping out at the drop of a hat or what, but I know my Mom's happy about it. She's been after me for a while now to learn how to cook properly, and I've finally become genuinely receptive to doing so. I tried my hand at making some gobi pakoras (fried cauliflower appetizers) to take to Sumegha's house for dinner last night, and judging by the empty container I brought home, my first attempt seems to have turned out quite well.

But it's not just the cooking bug that's bitten me. Those who know me know I'm not the neatest, most organized person in the world. Going to college has only made me worse in terms of organization. Ever since I moved back in May my bedroom floor has resembled a minefield of paper piles. Every morning I wake up, take a look at the piles and say to myself, today's the day I'm going to clean all this up. But alas, there are just so many books to be read and so manyTV shows to be watched that cleaning just seems to slip off the list. Last night it finally got to me though, and after trying unsuccessfully for an hour to fall asleep, I got up and resolutely tackled the disaster. The more I cleaned the more I realized that I simply have way too much stuff. Old textbooks, folders full of notes, random fliers, half-filled notebooks; it was a never-ending flow of paper. After assembling quite a formidable pile of paper to be recycled, I tried going back to bed, but I was too wound up worrying about my intense case of pack-rat syndrome and what I could possibly do to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff I have, to fall asleep. So I got back up and resumed my cleaning. Sometime around 6ish, when it really started getting light outside, I realized I probably wouldn't be going to sleep.

Around 7 I had morning chai with my parents, read the paper and went on a walk with my mom. After the morning news update, I rolled up my sleeves and prepared to clean my bathroom. Now I know, doing chores like these, for most people my age, isn't a big deal, but I'll admit, I haven't been the most helpful of children. I do the work, but only after being reminded multiple times. That's why this time, even though Mom didn't say anything, I'm sure she's glad that I seem to have finally grasped the notion of helping out around the house. Although she may attribute my actions more to the fact that Sareena is coming over to watch a movie. Which I admit, it a big reason why I've gone on this cleaning spree, but hey, at least I'm doing the work, right?

Anyways, I had lunch around noon and then settled in for what I thought was going to be an hour long nap. Yeah, that definitely turned into a three hour nap, but hey, that's what summer's all about. But shortly it'll be time to relax and chill with an old friend, so the day isn't all work and no play.