Morning madness

The day just did not start out right. Yes, I did get my 7-hr beauty sleep - these days that is a luxury since Ash entreats us with his inke chori (scratch here) and anke chori (scratch there) -while the husband got an extra hour. Tea and newspaper headlines later, I dip my palm in water and sprinkle it on the faces of the sleeping dad and his lil girl, a technique popular in Kerala. The daughter is roused up before 8 am to be readied for school in half an hour.

A few tantrums later - about when she should get up, who should brush her teeth, bathe her and what dress she would wear (she is getting more and more tomboyish growing up with a big brother, as she hates frocks and skirts and wants only clothes with pockets) - she is ready for her jam-and-bread breakfast (vetoing the idli-coconut chutney made for the kids).

But not so the husband. He needs a few more sprinklings to leave bed. Then he decides to shift base to the chair and stare at outer space. Proddings and entreaties dont work much. I cant get him angry enough to refuse to drop the child at school - in those 5-10 minutes I make a vow to go to the driving school to brush up my near-forgotten driving skills. But then, even if I do, I will take almost a year to be able to drive the 4-5 km to College Road. By then Mira would have finished her pre-KG and would be studying in a school with van facility.

It is 8.15 am by the time the husband is ready to move to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He then reheats his tea and settles down on the sofa with the newspaper. I eye the clock nervously, it is 8.25 am. We need to leave by 8.30 to make it somewhat on time. The school authorities keep the gate open till 8.45 am since there are many latecomer-dads like V.

I plan a trip to Ash's school on the way back to collect a fee challan; today being the last day of school I need to do it without fail. There is also a box of Kitkat to be distributed in Mira's school as a Christmas treat. We finally rush down the steps at 8.35 am, which is not so unsafe a departure time. But today we are not so lucky. The car doesnt start despite repeated revving of the engine. Disgusted, I decide to head back - it is too late to catch an auto.

A few frantic calls later - the Maruti 24-hr road service seems like 12-hour ones since the cellphone numbers provided are all switched off - a colleague brings a mechanic from the local car service centre. Rats have gnawed some of the wires. In half an hour, the car is ready for our next assignment _ Ash's UV and peadiatrician appointments.

But today the UV room has an endless stream of patients, so we decide to meet Dr. Thomas first. The blood tests from the other day are fine save for an infection, probably viral and not malaria or typhoid as suspected. Back at the UV room, we wait another 10 minutes before abandoning the project and heading back to our individual offices after dropping Ash home. It is too late to go to Ash's school, however V offers to have it collected in the afternoon.

Half our lives as parents are being spent at hospitals, I think. And the other half of my life if spent at bus stops.