Weekend Stories, the Pramadh way

 

Ira and her Dino bag, in her happy space

The last few months, we have made a conscious effort to get out of home atleast once a month and go for a trek or a climb. This usually happens on a weekend. 

We have two of our friends who are our partners in crime. Depending on the place of the trek, which is decided and planned by Prashant, we also decide about packing breakfast and snacks. The food could be sandwiches, methi theplas or even carrot parathas, fruits and chocolate bars and roasted groundnuts also make it to the menu at times :). Yes, we are mad like that! 

These are our 4am mornings ( many of you had asked me about the 4am reference in my Gratitude blog). We generally wake up early. 6am is our regular wake up time. Ira has her alarm set and somedays need a bit of nudge, but she is also an early riser. On trek days, the nudge is just the term 'get ready for the trek' and our little girl springs from the bed and goes about getting ready. Bags are packed the previous night. Her trek bag will have some snacks, water, nimbu pani, first aid kid, soap bottle, sanitizer, hand napkin and her whistle. The rule is we carry our own bags. 

            Black and White and Happy Hues

Over these treks, we also realised that Ira likes to take photographs. She does that using our friend's heavy camera, adjusts lights and also has been learning how to frame the picture. Sometimes, random rocks and trees capture her attention and sometimes she asks us to pose in a particular way. 

            "Dadu, move a bit to the left please! "

Our January outing was a small climb. We went to Basadi Betta, also called the Mandagiri hills. Atop the hillock is a Jain temple. And beyond that is space to walk on the surface of the hill overlooking a beautiful lake. Baba also joined us this time! Ira was thrilled to have Dadu come along and the two of them began to climb the steps before any of us. While Dadu climbed fast, Ira at a point also asked him to slow down. She has been our trail-lead on earlier treks and takes her role quite seriously. 

                   Ira ke Papa and Ira's Dadu

It was a nice climb and the view from the hillock, looking into the lake was breathtaking. Lots of pics were clicked, a small photo session by some stone columns and the happy bunch of us then headed to Pavithra, Kyathsandra for Thatte Idli, post a snack of homemade green moong gugri! 

Just the perfect way to begin a Sunday Morning! 

                       Our Partners in Crime

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Hope, Anticipation, Gratitude and 2021

 

2020 is a year, that all of who have survived it, will talk about for years to come. A gratitude list from the Pramadhs for the year gone by. The list is selfish, because the list is about our survival. The list is with an acknowledgement that we had some privileges to count. The list is knowing that just listing it is a mere token for the deep gratitude that we experience. 

1. Thankful for the fact that we three and our close family and friends were in decent health, despite some small hiccups. 

2. Thankful that post an initial dip, both our work, my freelance and consulting and his business stayed afloat. 

3. Thankful that we love cooking and used this long stay at home time to create some culinary storms, providing the cathartic moments. Our plates and bowls of happiness and gratitude are testimony to that. Ira does wonder why am always taking pics. 

4. Thankful that our little girl is as much a foodie and became a part of all experimental pursuits and also did her first pakoras and helped Papa to bake some goodies. 

5. Thankful that the little human being was safe, followed the stringent no play rule for weeks on end and found ways to be creative and do her play at home. She flaunts her mask and the rules to anyone who would care to listen. 

6. Thankful that we embarked on this homeschooling journey to only discover new things about us as parents and how we parent Ira. Revelation is an understatement. 

7. Thankful that Ira took to homeschooling the way we hoped for. A total roller coaster ride, filled with high emotions, and some challenges too. But we wouldn't do it any other way. 

8. Thankful that being in each other's face, all the time, we managed to still find the me-time and the we-time. The coffee that he made with freshly ground beans and our reading time ensured a fairly good start to most of the days. 

9. Thankful that we were able to have lockdown celebrations in our own way, venture out for 2 short holidays and some treks on weekends. Our 4am routine is here to stay! 

10. Thankful that we focused on self, let go of what we couldn't control and helped the ones we could. In a year of 'no touching', we had friends who touched our lives in measures that can't be quantified. 

The picture above, taken a few days ago sums up the hidden joys, the anticipations, the wholesome drama and the hope that we feel as we embark on 2021.

2021, be kind. 

Happy New Year! 

A Pic taken on our outing the last Sunday of 2020.

#Us #Ira #Iraisms #IraAtSix #StoriesAtSix #Love #Happiness #Gratitude #Health #Hope #Survival #LoveDrama #Homeschooling #HomeschoolingParents