Today has been one of those dull, dreary winter days when the sun doesn’t show its face at all, except for glimpses, offering cold sunshine! And though the temperatures were not really low, it felt cold and miserable.

All the adults I met and spoke to today mentioned the weather. Some complained about it, others remarked about clothes not drying and other sundry observations. All the kids I met, however, didn’t even mention the weather, leave along complain about it. In fact, I couldn’t help noticing that while I felt low, my kids were perkier than ever and content playing in the house with long abandoned toys, friends and absorbed in games of immense fantasy!

So what is it about being older that changes our perceptions? Being wiser, certainly, is a problem. And that makes me wonder if wisdom and knowledge are always good things.

If you’re wondering why this strange trail of thought, let me explain. The week between Christmas and New Year this time round had been planned as an informal kind of vacation. Relatives were to visit, Rahul and me were to take time off work and unalderated family time was on the agenda. Post New Year’s celebration, Rahul was to leave for Dubai for his annual refresher and I was to join him for 4 days this coming weekend.

None of this worked out. In fact, like a pack of cards, everything collapsed. The relatives cancelled first, Rahul had to go on a flight to Africa next, his grandmother fell ill and Amma (my mother in law who lives with us) rushed to Kanpur to spend time with her family in their hour of need. The last straw was Rahul’s flight developing a snag and ge being stuck in Nairobi over New Year’s eve and further on, so he didn’t make ti his training slot in Dubai. And then, of course, I cancelled those precious repeat honeymoon tickets (ha ha) this morning!

The most surprising thing of all in this has been that, barring a few moments, I found myself most unaffected. Handling the kids by myself for long periods of time this past ten days, helped by my mom, I found myself absorbing their infectious enthusiasm, taking solace in the small rituals of their routine, spending so much stress-free time with them doing simple things- drawing, stories, laughing, walking in the park, building blocks, cycling, cooking together, etc. Even Dish TV decided to conk out this week, so its really been a blessing in disguise!

Putting the analysis on hold, freezing the brains (hasn’t been tough in this weather at all!) has miraculously healing properties. I’m discovering them for the first time ever and am thrilled! Wish we could do this more often. Switch off from the utter craziness of our urban, over-regulated, deadline-driven lives and just enjoy the simplicities…..