Today is Day 7 of the Write Tribe Festival of Words and the prompt today is to do a post on—’If We Were Having Coffee’.
It is a Friday and almost the end of the week! And what better way to catch up with you, dear reader, than meeting over coffee?
If we were having coffee, I’d ask you first—Tell me, how have you been all this while and how was your working week? I’d tell you how even though we’ve always met virtually I think, you and me—we share something in common, in that, we both look forward to catching up, don’t we? I know I do.
If we were having coffee, I’d begin with a piece of good news first! The Blogging festival I mentioned last time, went really well! I must tell you this —since I took your advice, things have been better for me. I managed to drown the voice of my inner skeptic every time it raised its ugly head and managed to complete the challenge, much to my own disbelief! Phew!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how writing has kept me sane at a time when the going has been really stressful—what with a sick parent who has been battling a series of ailments in the hospital in another city. The husband has been traveling and the strain is now beginning to show on him.With the illness going on for almost five weeks we are all mentally exhausted, not knowing what to expect next. The only saving grace is that there has been a slight improvement in the health condition and recovery is now a matter of time.
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how my gratitude notes have been helping me make sense of things around—they’re showing me the positive side to things and helping me focus when so much in life is beyond my control.
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how this week has been quite a tough one for the boy as well. He is only 13 and I don’t see why there should be so much pressure on him even though he has got a few more years before the board exams appear. Seeing him tackle the unbearable workload, with no time for play after school hours for almost a month now, I am now in two minds on whether he should continue in the same school. It is so unfair, I tell you! Where is the lighthearted carefree pace of childhood gone? He seems to be weighed down under the pressure of the books, just as much as the weight of his school bag is pulling him down!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you how I’ve been trying to live life in the most insignificant everyday moments—be it sharing a quiet cup of tea together with the husband sitting by the balcony garden, or laughing at a silly joke to cheer up the boy during a lighter moment when he is back from school. The other day, I actually felt good giving a day off to the sick maid who despite her illness had turned up for work and then, ended up cooking a three-course dinner for the family. Yesterday, I got a million dollar smile and the tightest hug there ever could be, from my boy for giving a special lunch especially when he was least expecting it. There’s nothing to beat the happiness that comes from making someone’s day a little special, what do you say?
And, then, perhaps, I’d ask you to share your thoughts and get to know how your week has been. What were the highlights of the week? The downsides, did you say?
I’d be all ears to listen to you my friend, and when done, ready to wrap up our date with a promise to meet you again—over coffee and life, a little bitter, a little sweet!
#Writetribe #Writebravely #festivalofwords
My other posts for this festival:
A Treasure Forever – #WTFOW#6 Day 1 (Write about a treasure)
Resources I have – #WTFOW#6 Day 2 (Write about a resource)
A Village Called Zermatt – WTFOW#6 Day 3 (Write about a map and a place either real or virtual)
All in a Day’s Work – #WTFOW#6 Day 4 (Write about a day in your life or someone else’s life)
A Letter to a Friend – #WTFOW#6 Day 5 (Write a letter)
The Easy Way to Zentangle – #WTFOW#6 Day 6 (Do a guest post/interview)
Written so well Esha……. A lot does happen over coffee!!
Glad you liked it! Love catching up over coffee! Let me know if you visit Bangalore any time. We must meet. 🙂
Absolutely…… I ve lots of friends in the city. Would love to meet you too
Keep me posted on your travel plans if and when you are visiting Blr. 🙂
Esha… We seem to have been through a similar week with illness plaguing the family. At times I really questioned why I was spending so much time a writing challenge… Did it even matter in the scheme of things. But at the end I think it really did matter a lot to me personally to be able to complete this challenge.
Wishing a speedy recovery to your parent and best wishes for your son’s exam.
I totally understand how you must have been feeling. I was about to quit on Day 5 but didn’t eventually! I felt happy to do the whole thing later in spite of so many things going haywire that entire week!
Thank you for your kind words Mahak. We too are hoping for a quick recovery for my MIL!
Esha, I’m so glad that you stuck to the challenge, even when you were under so much stress. Super proud of you. Keep going. 👌
Thank you so much for your kind words, Apeksha. It was lovely to discover your blog and meet you virtually over the festival. Lets stay in touch beyond the fest as well. All the best with your book too. 🙂
Thank you so much Esha. Would love to stay in touch with you.🤗
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I enjoyed reading your posts. You wrote really well. keep writing more.
Congrats on completing the fest. It was a fun ride with you all. Stay connected. 🙂
Thank you so much, Sheethal. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts over the last few days (barring a few pending ones!) and must say it was a pleasure to connect with you! Congrats to you as well. Lets keep the motivation going even beyond the festival. 🙂
Frankly, I never thought i would complete the blogging fest successfully without amiss. It was possible because of the inspiration i took from you all. I loved all your posts. I am sorry to hear about your parents. I hope they get well soon. I feel great that i was able to share this space with you in blogging fest 🙂 I hope we stay in touch so that i am learn even more from u lot 🙂
Thank you so much, Keerthi. It has been so much fun connecting with so many new bloggers each being unique n their own way. I do hope we all stay connected this way and continue to stay in touch even beyond the fest! Do keep in touch Keerthi! It was so lovely meeting you virtually! 🙂
sure thing Esha 🙂
Esha I felt you were writing on my behalf. I so hear you😍 My mother is also battling illness for years now. And when you talked about the study load on I could so relate to it. My 9 yo who is in the fourth standard is suddenly bombarded with a huge syllabus for her first exam.
I’m not too sure if this education system works anymore. It has to be a nice balance of studies and extra curricular.
I hope to meet you for coffee some day soon…
Hugs Natasha! I know how you feel with your mom being ill as you say! I hope and pray she recovers very soon. In my case, it’s my MIL…things aren’t looking up as of today but we’re still hoping she will make it! Stress is the real killer if you know what I mean. I perfectly see your point about the abysmal failure of our education system. But sadly, we have very little say in the matter, even if we feel so strongly as parents! The balance of work and play continues to elude our kids. Tough one!!
Yes, would love to meet you, Natasha!
It would be an interesting coffee session for sure! I hope we can meet sometime .
I’d love to meet up with you someday, Sunita. Thanks for stopping by. Will hop over and read the rest of the posts from you by this weekend.
Hope your parent is feeling well now.
Yeah even I don’t understand why kids need to be pressurised so much. They need to enjoy their childhood.
Take loads of rest after the challenge and keep smiling at silly jokes 🙂
Thank you for your kind words, Rajlakshmi. Things are improving on the health front but very slowly and plenty of complications too. We’re just waiting and watching now over the next few days. Your words make me feel better now. Yes, looking forward to the break now…the challenge was pretty intensive but thoroughly enjoyable.
Hope your parent is better soon.Take care of yourself too.Stress takes its toll .Children need to play hard too!Maybe you could play with him !I have no clue what 13 year old by like though.Will meet for coffee soon.
Thanks a lot, Amrita. My MIL is recovering but the pace is still very very slow! It is hard on all of us to see her go through so much right now. You will know what I mean when your little girl reaches middle school, Amrita. The pressure is just too much these days. Would love to meet for coffee someday!
Yes definitely Esha .It’s a deal !
Happy to have celebrated the festival exchanging words with your Esha. I have always been a fan of your writing and this fest has just brought me closer to you (or does it feel so)?
Sorry to hear about your parent being ill; I have been going through the same with my dad and you have my sympathies and empathies on this one! The ride gets a little rough emotionally and physically too!
A bif hug to your LO; sorry I meant teenager!!!! Studies do take a toll on the chjild and then the parents too – I th ink kids just need to settle in their stride once this change form 7th to 8th class happens – work load suddenly becomes too much and then settles down into a rhythm – I hope its so for your child too!!
Cheers to a hot cuppa in your balcony while trying to capture the sunset colours 🙂
Someday I will do this with you together!!!
Thanks for being there to cheer and support and share your thoughts on each of my posts through the festival and even beyond, Shalz. You are amazing ad you never fail to inspire me with your stories, your upbeat crisp writing and your style quotient! You rock Shalz and I love to read your comments on my posts coz they are so warm and encouraging always! I think we should continue to cheer one another even beyond these 7 days and I’m waiting to have you over for a steaming cuppa over tea and enjoy the sunset! Can’t wait for that day. 🙂
So glad that your in-laws are recovering. At the same time it is disheartening to read about the pressure on Arjyo. School life should have breathing time. If it is also as consuming as adult life, then where will be the fun. Were you thinking of pulling out mid way Esha? If yes, then I would say you did very well by coming till the last day. And, yes, our ginger tea is pending. Same place in Koramangala, close to Truffles. What say?
Still a very slow progress Anamika. DIL is better and back to action but MIL still critical. Still not stable so we need to watch out for the next few days. Also concerning is the fact that work pressure is gradually increasing a lot for Arjyo as I see that his play time is getting reduced drastically from the last year onwards. I feel I should do something about it. The “chai-pey-chat” is overdue for long, Anamika. We’ll fix a time and a date very soon.
I would love to meet you over coffee..it is always a pleasure to talk to you.
Same here, Tina. Long overdue…onek din bhabi tui jodi ekhane thaktish toh koto bhalo hoto! Miss those KC days!!
Me too miss KC
Feeling all warm and fuzzy after reading this post Esha. Indeed, we’ve managed to surprise ourselves by completing this challenge, haven’t we? Feeling a bit numb now…I have so many chores piled up over the week, yet the need to read all the wonderful posts is overwhelming. Hope your parents get well soon. I can understand the tension your son is going through, mine is in the 10th this year. Sometimes we surprise ourselves with impulsive gestures, that is so refreshing, isn’t it? I would love to join you regularly for a cuppa and share some bitter-sweet thoughts.
Thank you so much dear Kala. It has been my privilege and pleasure to read you and share my thoughts with you on your posts. I’m so overwhelmed by the support and love you and the others from the group have shown throughout this festival. I was almost quitting the other day but your words made a difference to me and I owe it to you to have completed the 7 days, so thank you from the bottom of my heart, Kala. Thanks again for the wishes for the parents! Fingers crossed, hoping for the best. Best wishes for your boy for his 10th…can only imagine how much he must be handling! And the Coffee date is overdue, Kala. Will be so lovely to meet you face to face someday! 🙂
I’m glad that the festival went well for you, and that you didn’t give up when you felt like. 🙂 It’s a bit of cheer in what seems like a hectic yet eventful week for you.
Happy to have read you through the week, Esha, and to have had your company in our smaller Tribe. 😀 Thank you.
Thank you, Vinay! I enjoyed reading you as well as the other tribespeople! I was somewhat unsure on Day 5 and it was very difficult to write anything at all! Thankfully, Managed it. A great deal of motivation I owe to the group that you kept motivated all throughout the challenge. Let’s hope we all continue to cheer each other up even beyond the festival. 🙂