Olivia used to sing in my choir till she relocated to Dubai after her marriage to my brother. They came down to Mumbai this week for a short holiday, much to everyone's delight. At mass on Sunday, my choir master asked her to join us in singing a couple of hymns, since she knew them well. It was great having her back there, but more than feeling great, it brought back an immense feeling of nostalgia.
Olivia singing in the choir again reminisced me of the days spent together before they had moved away, of the days spent with my brother under the same roof, of the days when we were five in the family, of the days when each of us had one decade of the rosary to say instead of present times when mom and I alternate the entire five between us.
But the hardest thing that hit me was how fast I had gotten used to not having them around, day in and day out.
Birds fly away from the nest – that’s an accepted fact of life. What’s surprising though, is how fast we become immune to this fact. We live 15 - 20 years of our life in a routine which surrounds a set number of people we call family, yet when they move away, it takes us not even one tenth of that time to get accustomed to another routine - without them. I mean, why is it that easy. Why is separation loss that short lived.
Indispensable - what a sad word. It belittles all the importance, all the contributions that people have brought to our lives all these years. I’ve heard that the only thing indispensable to one's living is the air they breathe and their heart which beats. If this were true, then why would the sight of an orphanage or an old aged home pull so dearly at our heart strings? Don’t they have whatever they need to survive – then what are they missing? Family, loved ones, companionship – right.
Man, a social animal has always needed people around him as much as the air he breathes. That’s why he is born into a pre-decided nest of parents and grand parents, siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles. Each of them brings to him their own straws, their own contributions to bind that nest strong.
But slowly, as the seasons change, each bird flies away and that very Man, unknowingly starts gasping for air like a mountaineer scaling a steep slope – Yet, what’s sad is that he doesn’t realize this, he doesn’t feel this shortage of breath, till those birds fly back and the air around him is filled again with all the oxygen he needs.
As I finish this article, Olivia and my brother pack their bags to head back home – a home away from home. And we wait, till they return to us mountaineers at Hill Top, to our nest we call home.
Olivia singing in the choir again reminisced me of the days spent together before they had moved away, of the days spent with my brother under the same roof, of the days when we were five in the family, of the days when each of us had one decade of the rosary to say instead of present times when mom and I alternate the entire five between us.
But the hardest thing that hit me was how fast I had gotten used to not having them around, day in and day out.
Birds fly away from the nest – that’s an accepted fact of life. What’s surprising though, is how fast we become immune to this fact. We live 15 - 20 years of our life in a routine which surrounds a set number of people we call family, yet when they move away, it takes us not even one tenth of that time to get accustomed to another routine - without them. I mean, why is it that easy. Why is separation loss that short lived.
Indispensable - what a sad word. It belittles all the importance, all the contributions that people have brought to our lives all these years. I’ve heard that the only thing indispensable to one's living is the air they breathe and their heart which beats. If this were true, then why would the sight of an orphanage or an old aged home pull so dearly at our heart strings? Don’t they have whatever they need to survive – then what are they missing? Family, loved ones, companionship – right.
Man, a social animal has always needed people around him as much as the air he breathes. That’s why he is born into a pre-decided nest of parents and grand parents, siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles. Each of them brings to him their own straws, their own contributions to bind that nest strong.
But slowly, as the seasons change, each bird flies away and that very Man, unknowingly starts gasping for air like a mountaineer scaling a steep slope – Yet, what’s sad is that he doesn’t realize this, he doesn’t feel this shortage of breath, till those birds fly back and the air around him is filled again with all the oxygen he needs.
As I finish this article, Olivia and my brother pack their bags to head back home – a home away from home. And we wait, till they return to us mountaineers at Hill Top, to our nest we call home.
7 comments:
now this really shows that you are a sister in law, whose "worth your weight in gold", ha ha ha funny but true
thank you very much
Oh Rochelle!! This one's a winner for sure. Simply awesome. Thank you so much for sending me this. I loved every word
Think your books gonna be complete soon with the amount you're writing
Hey Rochelle! This third part was so beautiful. I could feel every word of what you had written. It's so true how we feel a sense of loss when our loved ones are not around but it's also true that we human beings have been blest with this wonderful ability to adjust to a variety of situations. We can balance so many different emotions at once. Our work and our routine sometimes overshadows and often makes us forget the things that are really important to us. Thanks for putting down your thoughts..........
Hi Rochelle,
I'm beginning to love these little articiles..do keep mailing them. I may not be able to respond to each one but just letting you knwo that I read each one thoroughly!
Love,
Trudy
Truly brilliant….I’d like to add that, I know now why I keep gasping!
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