Glorious Sixty Year Olds

         S-145, Panchshila Park Vasant Vihar seems  a bit like home now, not completely but the areas are beginning to look familiar, I do not wake up and wonder where I am any more and I still call S-145 my home but then I also call C 6/6 home. Why do we get so attached to bricks and mortar? Why is it that some place gives you great vibes and welcomes you, whereas in some homes as soon as you enter there is a desire to leave. We have always hoped that our home will be a welcoming one, a place where people were welcome to come when they want and stay as long they want - to some extent!. We feel that we have achieved it where ever we have lived and maybe our friends feel that to. Homes are our lifeline, they make or break our moods. They are places where we can look for happiness for ourselves or just sit back and make ourselves miserable. But we forget that each home is a new place and we have to establish the atmosphere and the ambiance o...

" During my childhood, I was afraid of my parents. As I grew older my teachers bossed me. Once I got married, I was afraid of my in-laws and my husband. Then my children took over and again I was the subdued one. Now my daughter-in-law has arrived and even though she is a lovely person, I am afraid to say anything to her because she might get offended." Does this refrain sound familiar? Does it touch a chord somewhere - or do you mock it and wonder which spineless woman is talking in this fashion? You will be surprised at how many women feel that life has somehow passed them by. Somewhere their individuality has been submerged in the sea of family and obligations. This is the generation of women who we have termed as "the sandwiched generation." Most of these women were born between 1945 and 1960. They were children when Freedom was achieved and were among the first few who were a part of the education system of Free India. They grew up in the heady da...

All of us have our own definitions of what define us as grandparents - but here is one from the viewpoint of 8 year olds - amusing, touching and very true. Where do we get the patience to do all this - and where was this patience when our own children were growing up? WHAT IS A GRANDPARENT? (Taken from papers written by a class of 8-year-old American kids) Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's. A grandfather is a man, & a grandmother is a lady! Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money. When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They show us and talk to us about the colors of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on 'cracks.' They don't say, 'Hurry up.' Usually grandmot...