Lucky mascots

Letting go of a vehicle that stood us in good stead for 5 years has been emotionally difficult. The vehicle is almost a family member, and V, who does all the driving for us, was the saddest to let our white Zen go today. The 5-year-old M-800 before that had been equally dear but had made way for the Zen because we thought our newborn (Ash) deserved a better vehicle. Maruti Truevalue , which gave us a fair price for both, hopefully will find a good customer who will take good care of it.
The other lucky mascots in our life have been the kids, especially Ash during whose gestation V landed his present job. And at a time when he gets another elevation in post and responsibilities, he cant but help attribute all his good fortune to his little son, who personally has not been so lucky about his health.

Just yesterday night, we realised how much the separation during the last summer vacation had affected Ash. As V casually mentioned another holiday for the kids in Kerala next summer, Ash began sobbing and said he didnt want to go to his paternal grandparents again on his own. He cried in fear about the induppu (rock salt) application that had been part of the ayurveda treatment during his two-month stay there. It took us an hour to console him, and he was still not convinced that the induppu experience was a thing of the past and that it would not be repeated.
Not that he loves his grandparents any less; but the trauma of the treatment has been so imprinted in his mind that he is terrified of going there again without our company. He is however willing to try my parents' place the next summer.