Today, my husband and I completed 13 years of wedded life. The world changed drastically within a quarter of our last anniversary. We didn’t know it would. That is how sneaky change can be and this one had the power to remold lives, to test relationships, and to create upheavals in all households. It was a true test for a lot of things – how workable your family relationships are, how supportive your workplace is, how good your immunity is, how patient and perseverant you are, and how your children can behave in the face of adversaries.
I am proud to share that our relationship has emerged stronger and better in the past 8 months of a global pandemic as we navigated the uncertainties, until we realized this was the new normal. From developing a brand new routine and sharing the housework, to marking our own little work nooks while figuring out online education novelty for our 10 year old, to refraining from snapping and hollering at each other and giving space even when our world was confined, to sharing the common goal of keeping the spirits flying high, our weld-lock is the cliched Fevical ka mazboot jorh.
To 13 years and more, and to the year of the pandemic that we will reminisce when we are gray and old and be glad that we didn’t get to each other’s throat in 2020. We passed the unique test of the year.
How did we celebrate? This anniversary was on a weekend and in any other year we would be celebrating by eating out, may be travelling, or meeting friends but we had to keep it low not only because of the pandemic but also because I have an allergic cold, courtesy the smog and the sudden dip in temperature.
The morning started the way it usually does in our household with me concocting a breakfast, literally, magically out of nowhere. So, here is what my foggy mind laid out as an impromptu breakfast – My signature orange chutney (sweet), cooked tomato chutney (my own recipe), kala channa-aloo gravy, and bedmi puri.
Lunch, we supported a local restautarant by ordering a Buffet in a Box – the entire vegetarian buffet and non-vegetarian starters from Barbeque Nation. We spread it out and called it fit for a king and queen.
The husband says this is the anni-virus-ary that we will remember for years to come!
Blue Pen Strokes 