Parenting a new born is hard work. Even though my Mom was helping me, indeed doing most of the work for me, our mornings and nights passed by in a haze of pacifying, singing rythmes,changing diapers and carrying L around to get her to sleep.
Once she was asleep however, a sense of emptiness settles into me and I stare blankly at the switched off TV not knowing what to do. Time passes until L wakes up again. That was when I decided that I should divide my afternoons and evenings into time periods - before Tea and after Tea.
Before Tea, I mentally prepare myself to do a few tasks I find cumbersome, like filling out paperwork for her joint bank account or checking my office mail. I do these things happily as I know I will have a tea break soon. And when tea time arrives, whenever L is sleeping in the afternoon, I head into the kitchen and prepare tea for myself.
Only now do I understand why the tea ceremony in Japan is such a big deal. The slow release of the days pressure when the movements of the next 15 minutes or so are pre-planned and executed in a style which relieves you of the weight of the days work and replaces in its place, a sense of harmony and serenity is nothing short of a daily celebration of life.
It has become a personal ritual of sorts. Little water, extra tea leaves, a dash of cardamom, milk and sugar. I never change the quantity of the ingredients and once it is ready, I just hurriedly clean up and savor every bit of the tea (Nigella Lawson tasting her elaborate creation-like moment). I see the sun casting shadows on the walls of the house and once my tea is done, the day slips into the after tea period.
After tea period is mostly reading up of things, going to the shop, and playing with L when she gets up. Once we have a list of To-Do's some of it is surely possible. So put on your planning hat and plan your little moments of happiness. The big ones like baby smiling at you and playing will happen too, but the small ones will keep you going until they do.
Once she was asleep however, a sense of emptiness settles into me and I stare blankly at the switched off TV not knowing what to do. Time passes until L wakes up again. That was when I decided that I should divide my afternoons and evenings into time periods - before Tea and after Tea.
Before Tea, I mentally prepare myself to do a few tasks I find cumbersome, like filling out paperwork for her joint bank account or checking my office mail. I do these things happily as I know I will have a tea break soon. And when tea time arrives, whenever L is sleeping in the afternoon, I head into the kitchen and prepare tea for myself.
Only now do I understand why the tea ceremony in Japan is such a big deal. The slow release of the days pressure when the movements of the next 15 minutes or so are pre-planned and executed in a style which relieves you of the weight of the days work and replaces in its place, a sense of harmony and serenity is nothing short of a daily celebration of life.
It has become a personal ritual of sorts. Little water, extra tea leaves, a dash of cardamom, milk and sugar. I never change the quantity of the ingredients and once it is ready, I just hurriedly clean up and savor every bit of the tea (Nigella Lawson tasting her elaborate creation-like moment). I see the sun casting shadows on the walls of the house and once my tea is done, the day slips into the after tea period.
After tea period is mostly reading up of things, going to the shop, and playing with L when she gets up. Once we have a list of To-Do's some of it is surely possible. So put on your planning hat and plan your little moments of happiness. The big ones like baby smiling at you and playing will happen too, but the small ones will keep you going until they do.
No comments:
Post a Comment