A New Home
A long while since I wrote anything at all and when I say anything I actually mean it- nothing at all- No to do lists either! April was spent in packing and shifting to a new house which feels different from all the transfers and shifting of the past, which I have seen since childhood owing to my father being in the IAF, followed by me and then my husband! Well, this time we move into our own home, not the usual rented accommodation. Also, this time I shall not be moving in a hurry and I plan to stay put for a long, long time- unless of course the Lord Almighty has other plans!
We moved in on the 26th of April and are nearly settled, ‘nearly’ being a word that can be stretched at will. My husband and I were determined to keep this new home of ours basic and devoid of clutter but in the fortnight that has gone by, I realize that it is not minimalistic at all.
A major change to our current set up is colour! I have always been turned on by hues of various kinds and ironically our homes till date have only dabbled in beiges, browns and dull gold with maybe bits of maroon here and there! This time around we have generously allowed colour into our lives- greens, blues and yellows in the bedrooms and oranges and browns in the living room! I do love the way our home looks. I have been striving to stick to wood, glass and metal and getting rid of as many plastics as I could- the latter has secretly invaded our lives though making us dependent on it but the fight to reduce it is on.
So, is everything perfect? Yes and No. YES because there is plenty of water (TOUCHWOOD)! NO because my old friends are back with a vengeance! Dust is everywhere and in abundance, as the construction in houses around ours is still on and with my husband’s penchant for cross ventilation, dust is a family member albeit an unwelcome one!
The second hitch is that I know too many people here, which was not how it was meant to be!! My mother would give her arm to be around people she knew and interact with all and sundry- I have been told that most people are that way-but I am what you might call an aberration! I am petrified of staying outdoors for long lest I bump into somebody I know! The friendly neighbour thing gives me cold feet! And strangers! I have this quirk, if you might call it that, to smile and converse with strangers (safe with the knowledge that we won’t cross paths again) because I basically like people a whole lot (sounds contradictory, doesn’t it?) The whole problem is that I dislike when they get clingy and for me clingy is seeing people I know every fortnight or month even! I cringe if I have to meet people more often than that but my training has been to smile and so I smile even though deep down inside I feel I would burst! There have been a few exceptions to that rule and they are the ones who never leave formality out of the window. I feel extremely uncomfortable without some formality.
The domestic help scene is too early to comment upon since I am still feeling my way around. Walks I have started in the morning and I find people are really enthusiastic to make friends (not my kind of strangers), which of course stops me from being regular!!! Not for long I know. I gladly announce the impending arrival of our new family member by end June, around the 20th. Joey! Our pup to be! Details when he arrives!
I am in a happy space right now- life hasn’t been smooth sailing but it hasn’t been all that bad either and God knows we have had reasons to celebrate. Aren’t we all in the same boat? I am grateful that we have now created this space which we shall strive to keep brimming with positive vibes and that will require nothing but a promise to keep changing our thoughts towards positivity every time the chips are down or our thoughts creep towards fear or negativity.
An excerpt from a Sanskrit mantra, which I was made to repeat by my Yoga Guru years ago and that brought with it immense peace, goes like this “Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu” which translates to “May all creatures in all worlds be happy”! I send the same thought, prayer with all my heart out into the world!! May we all know bliss within!
My Blog: https://www.musingswhileunlearning.com/2019/05/a-new-home.html
