Kids say the darndest things. They also ask the darndest questions.

He was munching on a piece of guava while I looked on impatiently, waiting for him to finish his snack so that I could take him to the park. He asked, “Why do we need time?” Patience is not my best virtue and I snapped, “We don’t need any time. We need to get going.” “No, Mama, why do we need time? The time on all the clocks?” That’s when it hit me – my about-to-turn-five bundle of cuteness wanted me to help him understand the concept of time.

Bill Cosby was right all along. Kids do say the darndest things. They also ask the darndest questions. I guess I signed up for this when I decided to become a mother.

I’ve worked hard on inculcating in my son the habit of asking questions and he had just made me proud. Evidently, my boy has a mind that is smarter than I give it credit for. Nonetheless, my challenge was to explain a universal, albeit complex, concept to a little person. To make sense and to stay on the same page, my reply had to be simple and short. I gave it a thought. Then I proceeded to talk.

“You know the world is a big place, right? So, to maintain our schedules and to not disturb other’s schedules, we all need to know what time it is. What do you think will happen if you and your bus driver didn’t know what time it was? He might reach the bus stand early, wait for some time and leave, thinking you had forgotten to go to school. On the other hand, when you would reach the bus stand on time, you would think the bus driver had forgotten the bus route. Both of you will fail at what you set out to do. But if everyone knew the time for the bus, we would all reach school on time every day.” I wasn't sure if my reply would hold water. I waited for his reaction.

He considered the answer over the last few bites of his snack and nodded. “I get it now! We all should know the time so that we can do what we want to. You, me, Papa, driver uncle, all of us!”

I relaxed my tense back muscles and smiled.

As an afterthought, he added, “I think I get it now because I’m old and wise.”

Kids do say the darndest things, don’t they?

How the day spent me

Bore alert: This is a random post. If you want to go away, now is a pretty good time to do so. You've been warned.

What I planned to do yesterday:

• Get a haircut (which always involves submitting my sparse and yet utterly unruly crop over to the dresser and keeping my fingers crossed) and try to sneak in an unscheduled facial appointment.

• Drop a cheque at the bank.

• Maybe visit the insurance office and pay the overdue premium.

• Maybe pick up grocery. Noodles! Definitely visit the grocery store.

• Maybe pick up the two serving bowls that the new dinner set is missing.

• On the way back, hop into the library, return the compendium of celebrity interviews that I've thoroughly enjoyed and get an interesting book.

• Take a long, relaxing bath and adore my new haircut.

• Play with my sonny boy, help him with homework, allow him a bit of Jungle Book or Curious George time on YouTube, read him a book and put him to bed.

And then the driver called in sick. So, here's what I ended up doing:

• Made a copious amount of pesto and finished it with the help of the hubby.

• Taught the boy how to 'run' a sack race, first with a garbage bag (epic fail) and then with a large pillow case (super hit). The boy hopped all over the living room and stopped only when the pillow case ripped. But it was fun while it lasted.

• Set up a play tent without any help from anyone and without referring to the user manual. 

• Helped the boy with a bit of homework and let him watch TV for an hour. Yes, yes, judge me.

• Watched the much-hyped and much-awaited interview of Rahul Gandhi by Arnab Goswami.

Meanwhile, my hair is a mess and the only thing I've read today is the newspaper. Oh, the noodles! I'm still craving noodles. 

Yet in all earnest I don't think I'll ever drive. Really.

The one about the thing called parenthood and a test

I came across a new-parent test on the Daily Mail yesterday. It cracked me up enough for me to want to laugh uncontrollably, but I couldn't as I was surrounded by a number of unknown faces. So, I launched my body into a shaking fit, the kind that happens when you try to repress a full-throated laugh. I'm just glad that I wasn't eating anything. Choking is no fun, I'm guessing. 

If you are a parent, plan to become one, have one or seen one, this is for you to read. My favourite part? The grocery-shopping test.

• Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child - a fully grown goat is excellent. If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat.
• Buy your weekly groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight.
• Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys.

The writer Bianca London has hit the nail on the head. Although there is some obvious exaggeration -- like trying to put a live octopus in a bag when a kitten would have sufficed -- the message is clear. Parenting is not easy (but it can be fun IMHO).

I'm livin' life in the fast lane

When I planned to launch 'That fleeting moment' two months ago, I had no idea how rapidly my life was about to change and days, even weeks, were about to become fleeting moments.

Days are a blur, and I am having to dive deep rather frequently, come up to catch breath and dive back in. I cannot believe October is almost over. Believe me, it was August just a few days ago. In the past couple of months, I've seen life change course like a flooded river -- I welcomed a new member in the family and lost her (my precious niece spent a mere four fleeting weeks with us before she departed), accepted an exciting job offer, realised (yet again) I don't suffer fools gladly, resolutely changed priorities and made some life-changing decisions. I hope these are the right decisions for me and my family. I also hope I can look back some day and feel proud that I made them.

What lies ahead? Life in the fast lane, at least for some more time. Then, I will stop and smell the roses. I know it'll be sooner than later. Once again, I'll cruise on auto-pilot.

Get off the pot

Me: "Oh, your warm and soft fingers. The son likes them very much."
Hubby (looking smug): "Really? Why do you say so?"
Me: "I can think of no other reason for him to ask only you to wash his bum after he has done the job."
Hubby (looking crestfallen): "You are disgusting."

Just another conversation between a couple trying to teach their son how to clean his own butt.

It doesn't escape my attention that when we achieve this goal, we'll be cutting off the last tissues of the extended and invisible umbilical chord we share with him, setting him free from any physical dependence on us. Nonetheless, it's not really a shit-or-get-off-the-pot situation, but a shit-and-get-off-the-pot situation for now.

That fleeting moment

This blog hasn't been my most-loved child and it's so blatantly obvious that I cannot even afford to make a fool of myself by offering an explanation. I've been thinking about ways to force motivate myself to be more regular in visiting my little nook on the internet and here's my fix - That fleeting moment. The plan is to post a picture every other week with a brief description. It sounds doable even though I'm not big on photography and own an ordinary point-and-shoot camera. Nonetheless, I'm going to make a jab at making this project a success. So, without much ado, here's the first installment.

The rain drops fall on my window pane

The landscape in this part of the country is a far cry from the landscape I'm most fond of, the Himalayas and its foothills. A recent road trip to Coorg made me change my mind, though. I think it was the rain, which had the magical effect of making the landscape look prettier than ever. I whipped out my poor-man's camera and started clicking. I love this picture because the lens decided to focus on the foreground, which explains the sharp rain drops and the dull scenery. Who would have guessed I clicked it on a lark?

Hooked I am (or once was) to...

It wasn't until 2007 that I started reading blogs.

On a rainy day in 2007, a colleague mentioned that one of his college classmates had a widely read blog, but he didn't think it packed much punch. I decided to check it out. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I got hooked to the blogosphere. Over time, I've shifted loyalties with impunity. Here's a gist of how it all started and where I am today.

1. She started the fire. Her blog was the first I ever read and I was instantly hooked to it. I lost steam after a year or so, around the time her first book came out. I read it with religious reverence. I don't read her blog any more, but I do follow her on Twitter.
2. Claire makes me cry (or smile) with her writing. I found her around the time she lost her father, her only surviving parent, and like a devout pupil, I followed her through the sometimes-sad-sometimes-exciting journey of her finding her feet again, finding true love, and becoming a mother and a published writer. She doesn't write a lot these days. I don't know why, but I'm guessing the movie deal for her autobiography is keeping her busy. She's also the one person I've never met in person that I am most comfortable communicating with. Also, she always replies.
3. Rohini hasn't written a whole lot this year, but whenever she writes, she makes me happy.
4. This blogger is one mad momma and I love her for being exactly that. I like reading about how she's raising her two kids. I am also jealous of her tastefully done house. If only...never mind.
5. Holly is one of the wittiest persons I've discovered on the internet. Until last year, she was writing about mundane things in her signature witty style. The she got pregnant and the blog became all things pregnancy. She had a baby last week and hasn't blogged since.
6. Johnny is a funny, funny writer. I love how he describes even the most inconsequential things in a way that can make you choke on your saliva. 
7. Ashish is a stand-up comedian and a 'seriously serious funnyman'. 
8. Sahil writes film reviews in a comic or graphic novel style. Sometimes, his reviews are way better than the films.
9. This is my Sunday morning fix. 
10. When it comes to food, the oddly spelled the kitchn gives me inspiration. If it's Indian vegetarian food that floats my boat on a given day, I go to Archana or Nisha, or just attend of the many classes Deepali conducts (she's the reason my pesto or Hubby's carrot cake is a raging success every time it's put on the table).

Talking about food, I'll leave you with a picture of what I made this morning -- a layered chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sugary decorations. The boy was so excited, he had only cake for breakfast and lunch, and asked me to pack some for his school lunch tomorrow. So, yeah, I guess it was a success.