Enemy.

Fortunately, I am one of those gifted people that would not hold grudges so I am about to talk about weight loss, my enemy for life.
Just around Aarti's first b'day, I thought I would lose 20 pounds by the time she is 18 months. Now she is 23, I mean almost 24 and where does my weight stand? Just 5 pounds lesser than what it was a year ago on a bad day and 8 pounds lesser on a good one. So I thought I should probably give up fighting with that enemy of mine. Or should I just change my strategy? Oh, wait a minute - It could be lack of motivation. Or is it will power? No matter what it is weight is here to stay and loss is, well....anything but loss of mass! The state of the art treadmill journeyed from the living room to Aarti's play room and one of these days, it'll probably carve a niche for itself in the garage. Right now it is being used as a station for drying towels, heaping Aarti's mega blocks before they reach the toy box and of course it also functions as a "wow" factor for all the girl friends that walk into our house. "Do you walk daily?" they ask innocently, like I'd suddenly appeared 20 pounds lighter. "Do I look like I do?" I make a joke of myself patting my post partum ponch.
And this enemy appears ubiquitous. All my girl friends barring one (that comes to mind instantly) are "pleasingly plum" like we'd started calling ourselves. We sit and chat incessantly about joining weight watchers, hatha yoga classes or sometimes even about going on a crash diet like the "cabbage soup" one. Some of my friends with the 'funny bones' go to the extent of calling their mass "takes the shape of the container" etcetera. We drool over size two jeans and cute spring dresses. We promise to stop one another when we are going for that extra helping of pizza or ice cream. We remind ourselves that we look at overweight people and think that they a)have poor life styles (or) b)are lazy (or) c)eat a lot (or) d) all of the above and some one who is watching us might think the same thing about us. we justify ourselves that being a little over weight is good in child bearing years.
Okay, so back to the enemy itself - so how do all those people on nutrisystem diet lose a whale of weight , like a 150 pounds? How does getting on the ab glider or rider or roller or what ever it is make you get post partum abs like that of Madonna? How does going on a weight loss boot camp or turbo jamming make you a fashion model? I have no idea - since I am the one that could not lose 2o pounds in a span of 12 long months.
Pathetic! Isn't it? well, may be not. I kind of think I am comfortable with who I am. Or may be I need to second guess myself. Okay, may be I am not really as horrible as I think I am. Or may be losing that 20 pound would make me look like a beauty contest winner or better yet would add a decade to my life. May be I'll wrinkle soon and weight loss really doesn't matter at that point in life. Am I really that vain? Gawd...I am vain! Oh, no I am not.

So...what ever the out come is, the argument continues and this self critical Virgo will go on criticising herself like billions of not so self critical women belonging to the other zodiacs. The bottom line....my enemy, weight loss and I, are going to have a long, unenduringly unending and fruitless relationship for life.

Riddle.

Here's a Riddle for you.

There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summersBut before he died,
I asked himWait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, Come over me
He said,"Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see... You will see.
"Then he said,"Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...
"Picked up my kid from school today
Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me
He said,"Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child sings a lonely song
So play with me, come play with me
"And Hey Dad Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...I said,
"Son for all I've told youWhen you get right down to the
Reason for the world...Who am I?
"There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see
He said... You looking for a clue
I Love You free...
The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is hiding over meSomething comes over me
I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you freeI love you freely
Here's a riddle for youFind the Answer
There's a reason for the worldYou and I...

Lyrics of The Riddle by five for Fighting. Catch the music video on Youtube.
Type "riddle five for fighting"

A new beginning.

A new year that is. Is it not amazing how far we got into the decade? Wasn't it yesterday that there was this hoopla about Y2K and all those super-paranoid friends of mine stocked up their cupboards with supplies like there was going to be an earth quake?
It was definitely yesterday that I became a mother and Aarti is already snapping back that it is "nauth funnie" when I laugh at her attempts to climb out of her crib. Yeah, she is in a toddler bed now, safe from those scary attempts to attain freedom.
It seems like yesterday that Bush Jr became the unexpected president and he is already at the end of his second term, almost! Now I am here wondering if I am a sexist or a racist in a confusion about Obama and Hillary.
It was yesterday that my little nephew Atul was born. He is eight today and attends a drug awareness class now and insists on not taking the cough medicine that has a minuscule alcohol content.
Assure me that it was just yesterday that I was this clueless young woman. Now I am into the third decade of my life with a eight year old marriage and two year old daughter.
Many more countless events happened just yesterday but we are half way through the first month of the year 2008 - which drives home a fact. Time passes by like whirlwind, taking away with it a lot of things. We all should live each day to its fullest, stop to appreciate our loved ones, tell our spouses and children that we adore them immensely, call our friends at least once in a while, have a connection with our heavenly Father (or Mother if you believe it is a 'she'), share our fortunes and blessing with the ones that are less fortunate and smile always.
Happy New Year. Enjoy each day, relish each moment because 2028 will be here tomorrow and 2008 will be a yesterday in the blink of an eye.