M y four-year-old daughter asked me once it was her winter break in her pre-school class: “ Mumma, holidays mein kahan jaa ?” A getaway would have been an ideal way to escape the harsh winter of the National Capital Region, I thought, but I hadn’t planned a holiday yet. However, faced with working mom babysitting issues, I decided on a trip to my parents’ in Visakhapatnam.
The tricky bit was that it was going to be a long train ride, and once I reassured all of my sanity in accompanying a four-year-old alone on a 36-hour journey, we set off for Vizag, post-New Year.
I’m a self-confessed train fan as my father was in the railways and trains were on our daily conversation menu. I was armed with stuff to keep her engaged, fearing the worst. But the tricky tracks weren’t tricky at all. On the contrary, and surprisingly, it was lots of fun.
Darshika loved the sights and sounds, and with her curiosity piqued, her ‘why’ questions progressed from simple to several per minute. And answering the question, “Why is the train not going into the river when we crossed the Godavari?”, did get my creative juices flowing! Also, it’s the longest she has stayed without asking me about Peppa Pig or Baby TV, so I was thrilled with the technology detox.
Having successfully completed the journey, we arrived in time to celebrate my mom’s birthday. There she happily blew the candles, and with that began her holiday with her grandparents.
The breather
Getting a breather from Gurgaon’s chilly winter was my Christmas present from Santa Claus. We were glad to get rid of all the extra layers we had worn from Delhi, and the pleasant climate was heartening.
But it’s also new because she is now discovering it and I get to re-live the beaches, hills, the zoo, etc., in the picturesque city. So from making sand castles to visiting temples, from meeting relatives to gorging on home-cooked deliciousness, from flying kites to celebrating Sankranthi, Darshika had the best of times; those were the busiest two weekends ever.
But the best holidays are so because of a personal touch, and this I owe to her grandparents — amma and thatha, or mom and dad as she decides to copy me. Growing up, I was in a joint family, so having grandparents around was a given. But in a nuclear family set-up, it’s a luxury our kids don’t get enough of.
Seeing Darshika run to them, tell her stories and play a dozen silly games with them is sheer unbridled joy.
Likewise, seeing our parents being transformed into lovable grandparents is one of the greatest joys in life. Their love is unconditional and they are “made for each other” — she with all the questions and them the answers in their second innings, served with warmth and utter kindness.
As for me, I was not on holiday. Mom and dad were as a matter of fact bailing me out by being babysitters during the 20-day leave. I was working from home, a concept she doesn’t understand, so we created an unconventional “chamber of secrets”. I worked from a room in dad’s home; the official answer to her was that it was being mended and hence always locked. It was like mini-CIA stuff, mom coordinating her sleep and my meal timings so we didn’t run into each other at all.
The locked rooms had everything I needed and I’d get more food secretly sent when she was either feeding the pigeons on the roof or just playing outside. To keep up appearances I’d even ring the doorbell post-work to show that I was indeed coming back from office. When she grows up and finds Mumma didn’t actually go to office and was in thatha ’s house working but not playing with her, I am going to be in much trouble.
Until then, it was business as usual for me and a holiday for her. She would regale me with tales of her day’s adventures with amma-tatha once I was “back home”.
As all girls will vouch for, being at your parents’ is letting your hair down, taking it easy, times. This was me working the same deadlines but without a worry about how my child is because she was with family. It was welcome noise and chitter-chatter from her and the most innocent company my parents could ask for, which is a win-win situation.
This was me mixing business with pleasure without feeling guilty about it. When I heard her laughter or jibber-jabber with her grandparents as I went about my work, I knew I had found “work-life” balance!
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