As Time goes by

 How time flies, the days are long but the years are short. In the blink of an eye S is now 16 and A is 14. They are teenagers with a mind of their own. I cherish the time I got to spend with them over the years especially the years in Switzerland where I wasn’t working for the first few years and then had a simple part time job for the last few years. At that time I was filled with a yearning to have a more fulfilling and interesting job, but now I understand and am grateful for that opportunity to spend time with the children in the most beautiful place in the world.

S is fiercely independent, smart, outspoken in her views, yet kind and gentle. She’s emotional like me and gets stressed quickly but can plan well and find her way out of a situation.

A still the baby of the family, jolly and lively, always a pleasure to be around, Creative and bright, she brings a smile on everyone’s face.

Wish you girls all the best. In 2 years S would be off to college. I wish we could be in the same country or city as her, but if not, at least have equipped her with life lessons and habits to be happy, safe and self sufficient in the outside world.

Summer holidays 2024

 This year, after the usual trip home to Bangalore ( where I’m working) we are doing a 3 week trip to Boston. S is doing a two week course at Harvard so we are accompanying her and chilling out while she works hard. 

To minimise mine and Nip’s leave while maximising kids holidays and long travel to USA we are doing me and  the girls for first two weeks, then N join for two weeks. So N and I have one week in common and girls get 3 weeks here. 

It’s Avery long journey from Singapore to Boston - 7 hours flight to Dubai and then 13 hours flight to Boston. Quite exhausted by the time we got here .the frist evening just went in picking up dinner and supplies from whole foods.

Saturday we went walking past MIT to city centre - Brandy Melville for the girls and then some nice Mexican lunch at Lolita.s followed by. Ooziest from Levains bakery. In the evening we went to Faneuil market hall - some Jewelry shopping and walking around,

Sunday S started her course - poor thing she got cough and chest congestion from me- touch wood she recovers soon, 

Monday A and I went for a 4 hour whale watching cruise - saw a shark, hump back whale and Mimi whales. Nice trip but very long.after cit was back to Faneuil market for some shopping and lunch, then we had to buy a fan and supplies for S and managed to met her for a little while in the evening,

Still getting over jet lag - slept at 7:30 on Friday, 8:30 on Saturday, 9:30 on Sunday and 10 on Monday. Still gett ing up fairly early each morning

Weather has been gorgeous so far but today looks like a rainy day. A and I did a one hour walk along the Charles River and then went to meet S for lunch near her college.

Wednesday A was under the weather but we managed a 45 mins walk to Museum of Fine Arts where they had a lovely collection of Impressionist paintings, Egyptian mummies, Greek statues etc. after a relaxing siesta in the afternoon we headed out to Olive Garden in the evening for some yummy pasta.

Thursday has been a relaxed day, 1 hour walk along the Charles river, then some cooking and relaxing in the room. S joined us in the afternoon to unwind and we caught some Olympic stuff on the TV. 

Tomorrow we leave for NYC to meet my cousin D who is flying down from SFO to spend the weekend with us. Can’t wait. 

Skiing holidays

 One thing we have been doing regularly and as a family is skiing holidays. Having started the practice in Switzerland here is the run down over the years

2012-2016 : Very regular trips to Hoch YBrig, St. Moritz, Davos

2017 February : Davos and St Mortitz with various families (T, S, I)

2018 February : St Moritz

2019 February : Niseko (Japan)

2020 January : St Moritx

2021 December: Lake Tahoe with various families

2023 February  : St Moritz

2024 February : St Mortitz

Girls are now better than N. N is pretty decent. Am getting slower and more nervous (especially after bike accident and surgery) and come slowly down the blue slopes. But still there with them, taking in the scenery and going at it at my own pace. Love the family holidays in the snow together!

The last few years

I've been out of touch updating this blog and I'll try to be more regular. Its been a strange last few years. We were stuck in Singapore from February'20 to Dec'21 due to Covid and unable to travel out. Really missed seeing Ajja and Ajji. When we finally made it to the USA in Dec'21 we got Covid the day before flying out and got another 2 weeks in San Jose. Looking back now, it was stressful the first few days, moving into a service appartment, waiting for A to recover, trying to figure out a way home. But we also enjoyed those days together as a family - cooking together, watching Jeapordy, going for long walks along the river and playing board games. 

After returning to Singapore our next trip was to Bangalore in July'22. Thereafter we tried to go every 3-4 months for a week to Bangalore. But there was a big change in the girls between Aug'19 and July'22  - they had suddenly grown up and were not the little girls that Ajji and Ajja used to know. And Ajja's health has deterioriated rapidly and I worry the bond between Ajji and the girls is also not the same as it used to be. This last year we have only been able to travel to Bangalore once - we went in August'23 and due to S exams (she's in 10th can you imagine) we did not travel in December or April. We are going to Bangalore for two weeks in June-July. Have been urging Ajji to visit us in Singapore but she doesn't want to leave Ajja in his current situation by himself. 

Sadly Ajja's mental health has deteriorated quite rapidly and he struggles with day to day tasks. I hope Ajji is able to find mental peace being with Ajja at home. I feel sad that the girls are growing up without seeing their grandparents regularly. 

In other news, N left his job of 24.5 years and took up a role in India. That was the only role he could find after a 6 months exhausting search so we are grateful for what we get. He travels between Singapore and Delhi -initially weekly, and now once in 2 weeks (but for 3 days at a time). We'll be spending some time in the summer together as  family in the USA, which will be nice. 

Its time for a break for S as well. Its been a very intense year of iGCSE - 11 subjects, 22 plus papers, mock exams and now final exams over a 1.5 months long period. Its the last two weeks and final 5 papers. Hats off to her, she's studied really hard, and deserves only the best. She'll be doing a summer course in Harvard which should be fun. 

A is in 8th grade, some end of year tests for her. Still very much happy go lucky, though would not call her little anymore, towering over me. She continues to be joyful and sweet, both girls the love of our lives. 

Have made some good progress on the career front. Finally made it to the big Director this March. Its been a long journey with many twists and turns, but grateful to have the support of my parent, N and the girls all the way. It promises to be a long road ahead also (fingers crossed) as I have many responsibilties to keep and miles to go before I sleep....