Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sharing milestones with kids

Namaskar friends! I had an emotional weekend. Friday, I finally performed the "Gauri" Pooja after 3 days from the actual date. It is so hard to find coconuts in Ashburn anymore. Clearly a result of an influx of Indians into the area. It is a tradition, that some ladies who do this pooja get together, with families and exchange the coconuts that were offered to god. Thanks to one dear friend, she keeps this tradition alive here in the US. So, after my pooja, we went to her house for a dinner get together and exchanged coconuts. Came home at around 1 AM, after which I could not fall asleep for a long time. So annoying. To add to that, I had committed to take an early morning walk with some friends on the trail. So, woke up at 6 AM and met them at 6:30 AM. We had a good time doing the walk. Enjoyed a fresh cup of piping hot coffee at home after the walk. Folks,coffee and I have a special relationship. I dream about my early morning cup of coffee. That is one BIG reason, I wake up every morning.  Dreamum, Wakeuppam Critical Conditionnam. he he. So folks, that is the Song of the day from the upcoming hot Rani Mukerjee  movie "Aiyyaa".


Watched the movie "Heroine" on Saturday evening. Bebo has acted very well. A typical Madhur B. movie. No surprises whatsoever. Slow moving, long movie. A girls flick altogether. We girls loved it. "Barfi" enter Oscars. Good luck India!
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 I had to hurry through my perfect cup of Joe on Saturday morning, as I had to take Sanil (who was now standing with one leg outside the house) to the DMV,  It was his BIG day folks. He was trying for his learners permit. After browsing for the location and direction to the DMV, I decided to go to the Sterling. It had 2 locations. The first one on Ridgetop circle was closed on Saturdays. Lost some time going there. It was 9:30 AM by now. Luckily, I had directions from a friend, who had given it to me, the previous night, for the second location on Sterling Blvd. I had memorised the directions. After driving for what seemed like forever, I realised that I had overshot the place, so decided to stop and ask. A friendly young man, directed me to the correct place. I was in shock to see a long winding line that had already formed which was curving around and into the parking lot of the dinky DMV. Used my presence of mind and asked Sanil to wait in line, while I went to park somewhere far away. When I joined the line, I was losing hopes of even making it inside the DMV. It was 10:45 AM now. I was told, that, if we did not reach the front by 11:30 AM, we might have to just come back another day. Luckily, a Chinese person standing behind us, kept our spirits high the whole time we were on line It is so important to speak and hear positive things in a desperate situation. Sanil, was slowly losing confidence and was asking the "what if" questions.  "What if I fail?", "What if we don't make it to the front of the line in time?". I had to put up a brave face, which I did. It was a nice day. The line was moving fast. We made it to the front at 11:20 AM. We were let inside. The doors closed promptly at Noon. We submitted all the required documents and waited for Sanil's name to be called. He was called at 11:45 AM. Got his picture taken, vision test done and waited to be called to take his written test. He started his test at Noon. Nervous me, was watching my son take his life's first practical test from a distance, praying that he passes the test. I saw another girl who came back crying after 5 minutes of starting the test, saying that she had failed. I felt so sorry for her. I could only imagine her day in school when her friends ask her about it. I wanted to give her a big hug and say, it's alright, you will not even remember this in a few years when you are comfortable driving on busy freeways. You will have a nice story to tell your kids about this moment. I saw her Mom was comforting her. They left, after being told that they could come back in 15 days to retake the test. I saw another girl using her cell phone to answer the questions on the test. I found that so weird. How is that allowed? I knew she was cheating. In the meantime, Sanil had finished his test. He was walking towards me, not looking very happy. My heart sank. He told me, he is not sure if he had passed. The computer showed a message saying "Congratulations you have completed your test". I did not know how to interpret that myself. Waited to be called again for the results, all the time keeping my fingers crossed. The stern looking, big man behind the counter finally called us. I heard "Congratulations Sanil! you have passed". Sanil and I exchanged high fives and breathed a sigh of relief!  The man gave us a temporary learners permit, (which is a piece of paper), promising that the real one will come in the mail in a week or so.  As we were leaving, a Police Officer, had caught the girl who was cheating and was asking her to leave the DMV. Honesty is the best policy folks. We celebrated eating lunch at McDonald's as we had skipped breakfast. I am glad I could be a part of this milestone for Sanil. It's a different story that he now does back seat driving and it is so annoying. Since yesterday we have logged in 2 hours of driving with a parent. 43 more hours to go, before he can take a driving class. I took him to a high school parking lot to practice. It's a new chapter in our lives. I am introducing my son to another new danger. I am sure I will have many more sleepless nights in the future! God bless all us Moms.

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