Storms and Swings

This year looks like it's going to be a down cycle for me. Things seem to be sliding downhill at an alarming rate. It's a little out of control and I am in a spin, whirling around drunkenly trying to keep some semblance of sanity. It is deja vu. Back to the bad ol' days of 1997 to 1998 when there were an overwhelming workload and a great period for learning but it was hell breaking loose on work and domestic fronts. When "small men" in your professional life tried to bring you down despite you working your ass off and all manners of worries on the home front beat down your spirit - maids playing games and running away and school teachers hauling you up for lectures and counseling because your offsprings with hormonal imbalance during those tumultous years decided to test every boundary imposed by societal norms.

I have lived through those cycles before and came out mostly unscathed. To misparaphrase some old English screenplay writer of yore, I was made of sterner stuff. But this time, the circumstances are more precarious. I am in a foreign land with a crew of foreign make in a culture not so familiar and in a much stricter clime. Dear God, please let me live through this year whole.

But there are always some bright spots. I was in Sugarland most of this week and just after checking into the hotel, had the most awesome Cajun style crayfish with a very chatty colleague. I have to thank her - on my own, I probably would have just unpacked my bags and call for room service, keeping my solitude till the meeting kickoff two hours later. The introvert was drawn out by the extrovert and did not regret it. I have serious doubts about the wisdom of volunteering for this program in the midst of all that turmoil on the office front but it was hard to pass up the chance and my guts tell me this opportunity would not come knocking again.

But it was a very exhausting week. The meetings were long and intense and I had to keep up with things in the office. Each day was an 18-hour workday, working late into the night to keep the wheels rolling. By Thursday, I could feel the onset of a migraine but miraculously, it was held abay. I could feel the tiredness in every brain cell and all the muscles. So the tennis on Friday afternoon with the Man and a Half after reaching home was a godsend. To my amazement and amusement, n the days that I have been away, the half man has picked up some good tennis swings. He can actually return the balls now, albeit with the Man feeding him. Still they were able to rally for a good 20 mins or more without a break. And his swings are much stronger and more graceful that just a week ago. Me thinks my baby is growing up fast. The muscle strength and coordination are beginning to show. By this time next year, I would be looking up into his eyes, not down.