“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” – Henry David Thoreau

Yes, I have been awol from my blog for way too long. What on earth is awol? Absent without leave. You might be wondering what’s eating into my love for blogging. Well, a few things.

Here in India we manage to find ample time to engage in our passion, work and hobbies, if we have good helping hands at home, or if we learn to manage our time better. We are a dusty country and our homes need to be cleaned and spruced up diligently, every single day, without fail. Else you may be surprised to discover, you actually live in an abandoned or haunted house. To cut a long story short, I have not had steady helping hands for over six-seven months now. I used to have a live-in help, not anymore. Having a live-in help gave me the utter luxury of indulging in my writing, and doing justice to my little legacy that I call NatashaMusing. A steady help also allowed me a lot of down time, that included reading time and extra time to nourish and nurture myself, and my interests. 

The last few months I have been doing the dishes at odd hours, cleaning the fridge and microwave and Oh! how could I forget the kitchen counters, folding laundry, making beds, rustling up lunch box meals, putting the home in order, running a thousand errands, whipping up a meal or two, and so on so forth. It’s a “longer than you think” list. 

But that said, I must add that the family is pitching in big time. I have allocated a job list to every member! Yet I am left with little or no time to blog. I miss the blogosphere, my favourite bloggers and their posts that add colour to my day. Miss tapping furiously on my keyboard and spewing words like a women possessed. And I miss commenting regularly on all the gorgeous blogs that link up with us every #WordlessWednesday. But then, duty beckons and it’s the home front that needs my attention at this point of time.

Yes, I promise to be back, hopefully before the year ends, which is not too long away. In the interim, I’m happy to share with you that  I finally managed to do a few things for myself last week, despite the hectic schedules at home. 

After all, when we take time to nurture ourselves, we can positively nurture others and manage the things that need our attention, better too. 

Unwinding Amidst the Busyness

Literary Festival: During the week I attended the curtain raiser to the Times Literary Festival,  with my book club gang. It was not all that great; but good company, the one odd speaker who was brilliant – Manu Joseph, and the outdoor autumnal setting added to the cheer. I’m so glad I took that evening off, after a lot of prodding and convincing from my older daughter who volunteered to take charge, while I was away. Thank God! for this thoughtful child of mine who is my friend and confidante and my pillar of support.

Wadrobe Overhaul: I also sorted our winter clothes and that of my ten-year-old girl’s this weekend, with help from her and her Daddy dearest; who else but my DH. I’m so glad my winter wardrobe is in place, and so is hers. This happens to be an arduous task, as it also entails putting the summer wardrobe away. But I’m so glad I was able to wrap up in two days straight. I also managed to discard clothes which we no longer needed, and keep them away to give to charity. It feels good to swing open a spruced up wardrobe, with neatly stacked woollens, that promise to snuggle up to you in a warm embrace, whenever you chose. 

Reading: On Saturday I also managed to squeeze in half-an-hour of my busy time sipping my favourite Blue Tokai coffee and savouring the enchanting book, Ikigai. So grateful for this little ‘me-time.”

Movie Date: Yesterday the DH and I caught up on one of our favourite band‘s, all-new-flick, Bohemian Rhapsody. Outstanding performances indeed. Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury was brilliant, and the entire film was such a treat to the eyes. Loved watching the back-stories behind the albums and songs. The Live-Aid performance was extraordinary to say the least. This one’s a must watch, if you still haven’t.

Theatre: It proved to be one packed-in-a-punch, Sunday. On the DH’s insistence and also to keep my promise, I along with my older daughter and friends, went to watch a play called, Legends of Ila, curated by my dear God child, Zoya. She is the older ones best friend and soul sister. This fascinating tale of Ila, performed entirely in song, comes from the dusty pages of the Puranas. At different points in time, Ila lives either as woman or man. This musical re-telling of the legend explores the wonder and the absurdity of it all: the story, the character, and our own (somewhat limited?) notions of gender. (as quoted by Bedlam and Barefoot theater, the organising company).

The last few months, have seen me detox from the screen and technology. I have barely been on social media. I’m living the real world. This works wonders for me, and will continue to. No Facebook and Twitter app on my phone. But what doesn’t work is being awol from blogging. I miss writing fiction (FridayFiction), I miss my MondayMusings, and I miss my WanderlustWednesday posts too. I’m hoping to get a reliable helping hand who will assist by easing off my chores at home, and I shall once again be able to dedicate my enthralling mornings, in my blogging bubble. So be it. Thy will be done! 🙂

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Linking up with the wonderful Corinne Rodrigues for Monday Musings