Hello, Goodbye

My mom leaves tomorrow. Aie has spent the better part of summer here with us, but now Pune beckons her and so she must go. If I could sulk and throw a tantrum I would. But I am an adult and shall deal with this in a very grown up fashion by eating a pint of Rocky Road. Ten years ago, I would have been happy to put half a globe between us. I guess age has caught up with me. Now, I wish I could spend more time with her and my Dad.

Having a mom around helps, on many, many levels. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to the huge physical help. Help with laundry and cooking and Chip’s baths and tantrums. But more than anything else, it’s great to have another adult to talk to on a daily basis. Especially since BigGeek and I barely get an hour together on a typical weekday with his study group meetings, our staggered times and such. Not talking on cerebral matters, although Aie and I do that a fair bit, but mostly mundane things like let’s go look at new sheets at Linen and Things (don’t forget the coupon) and strolling in the mall and buying identical bracelets at Nordstrom because they were at a throwaway price and drooling over $200 handbags we can’t afford or waiting for weeks for the buy one get one free sale for lipsticks at the drugstore. Seeing chick flicks and silly movies (we saw Ratatouille this summer). Watching Food Network and criticizing everything that’s cooked. I miss doing all that. I do go on shopping trips and Sunday luncheons with my girlfriends, but it’s not the same. For one, when I say, let’s go to DSW to look at new shoes, my mom says OK and off we’ll go. My girlfriends will say OK, spend 7 minutes there and then drag me to Off Broadway Shoes and spend three hours there. So, I am a bit of a tyrant and my mother is very indulging (I think she is secretly trying to make up for the ultra-strict mom she was growing up)

For BigGeek and Chip and me, this is a sort of a family milestone. After more that two years, having come a full circle, it will be just us. The first year of Chip’s life we had Aie, my mother-in-law, my aunt and then Aie again, the second year, it was the live in nanny then again Aie. Now that Chip goes to preschool, it will be just us. The guestroom will no longer have a permanent guest there.

I am usually OK with goodbyes. Aie and Baba always have a lump in the throat but I always extract a promise of when she (if not they, for when Aie visits, Baba will follow) will visit. Next March? Yes? School will be out then. I tell her. School’s out by April end, the school-teacher-Aie gently reminds me. Awww, find someone to do your report cards. I try to tell her. Her school has been very cooperative about her whimsical schedule the past few years. We’ll see. We’ll see. So March it is. I brush off her uncertainties. We need to start looking for tickets in December. Suddenly, it’s not so bad. December is right around the corner.

But this year it is different. Different and better. Baba is moving to Toronto for a while and Aie plans to join him next month. At least we’ll be in the same time zone, plus Toronto can be weekend-able if you find nicely priced tickets. Baba has to be in India for three weeks in December. So, she will stay with us then. Yipee. December is right around the corner.

Unfortunately for Chip, he is still too young to understand Ajji will be back in December. When Ajji has left, Ajji has left. So, Aie has been drilling the fact into him for the past few weeks. Ajji is taking the airplane to go to Aaba. Chip will say bye-bye. Chip will not cry. Chip, even if he does not cry, which I doubt, is going to miss his Ajji and is going to give me a hard time for a week (he did last year too). I wish he could understand that we will see her again in a few months. I wish he could understand that December is right around the corner.


You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go
Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello

-The Beatles (I am the walrus)