It is the weekend!
In other words, it is time of the week that I spend in places and corners of our home that usually stay ignored. Like, sit on the floor by the window in our bedroom to show my feet some sun; or stand in front of the bookshelf to decide which parallel universe I want to step into; or just rest on the ottoman stool before pulling out the fashion magazines I keep stashed within it! It helps me internalise the idea of the break a weekend is really supposed to be.
So, on this particular weekend, sipping some green tea I stand by the sideboard in our dining area. I like to call it ‘the happy corner’ of our home. Top reasons being, on it is perched our Jar of Joy, some pretty pieces of art and all our nibbling temptations! I think of lighting the tea candles to beat the grey outside. And, my gaze pauses at the greeting cards lined against the wall. Lovely ones, all from friends & family! I smile and pick each one of them to read for the umpteenth time.
There is an old world charm about greetings cards. When I was a kid, no matter the occasion, I would never be short of cards to give to someone. I would keep an eye out for that clean A4 sheet of paper, to have it folded into half and use all my creativity to turn it into a lovely greeting! When we learnt of ‘Paint’ on my father’s office PC, my brother, Sunny, and I knew not how to contain our excitement – we printed tens of copies of our New Year and Christmas cards that day at his office! I still remember mine was a pink flower on a cobalt blue background! Sunny’s would have been a hi-tech car I am sure – he was really good with them!
As I think back, I get reminded of my parents’ home in Hyderabad, India. It is not the house I grew up in, but it is home now, filled with memories and souvenirs from all the other houses we lived in. And, among all the stuff from our childhood stowed away in that big shelf in the drawing room, there must be piles of all the birthday and anniversary, good luck and congratulatory cards buried too!
I move over and settle down on the sofa, and a sense of nostalgia takes over. Ah, just imagine the joy of sitting in a sea of cards from all your loved ones and re-reading their wishes for you! I decide the next time I go to my parents’, instead of going to the shopping mall or catching a movie, I will spend my time in that new corner of the home that I never did before, and definitely bring out the stack of old cards.
As for this weekend, I have, albeit a much smaller, box of lovely greetings to revisit and I am on it!
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Note: the photographs are from the next morning, and so you see that deceiving sunshine lighting up the areas! It’s only when I sat down to write, I pulled out my iPhone to click these 🙂
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The152Girl 