SO NEAR YET SO FAR

When my daughter was pretty young, it had been easier to get her into a discussion with me, to play or to spend time over studies. The internet had not caught up then and chat machines and phones were not there. Once into her teens, her world became different, friends were anytime around on social media and chats and tastes and topics of a young adult like her became very different from mine. The Work From Home concept was not implemented then and although I had to travel about three and half hours everyday to office and back to home, I used to consciously find time on my return to spend with my daughter. I still found a way to connect with her through books, movies and songs.

With the coming of the coronavirus and the Work From Home concept, a lot changed. Extended hours of work and work calls kept me always glued to my laptop. When there were discussions in the family, she would voice out that the time I spent with her was pretty less. Yes, Work From Home has caused work to eat up a big part of my life. This has been so for more than a year.

Today, I consciously made some time during the lunch, tea and dinner sessions to watch a movie with my daughter. We had lots of things to talk, laugh and share and after a long time, I felt life was again smiling inside our home.

We had been so near to each other for more than a year but still felt as though we had been very far away. I realized that time management is going to be the key.

FOR MY WRITINGS, PLEASE VISIT THE LINKS BELOW (FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED):

POEMS OF LOST LOVE

Poetry book 'INDELIBLE ETERNAL ETCHINGS':

https://www.amazon.in/INDELIBLE-ETERNAL-ETCHINGS-emotions-unbridled-ebook/dp/B072J4L656/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=indelible+eternal+etchings&qid=1583428166&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/INDELIBLE-ETERNAL-ETCHINGS-emotions-unbridled-ebook/dp/B072J4L656/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=indelible+eternal+etchings&qid=1583428402&sr=8-1

STORIES

Short Story book 'A PEARL FROM EVERY OYSTER':

https://notionpress.com/read/a-pearl-from-every-oyster

https://www.amazon.in/Pearl-Every-Oyster-Stories-Shorter/dp/1948473151/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GI23X9JIKQGK&keywords=a+pearl+from+every+oyster&qid=1583428674&sprefix=A+Pearl+from%2Caps%2C302&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Every-Oyster-Stories-Shorter-ebook/dp/B07948GRVC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1H9GU3Q8JNH29&keywords=a+pearl+from+every+oyster&qid=1583428722&sprefix=a+pearl+from+ev%2Caps%2C363&sr=8-1

For other countries, please visit the respective Amazon sites.

HOME, SWEAT HOME - A POOL OF WORK - LET'S REVIVE LIFE

How about reading a book in the middle of a working day for 30 minutes? How about jamming the guitar after lunch or to begin the day with? Yes we need to make some changes in our life today while working out of home. We need to revive life.

There was something called a journey while heading for home from office. Even though we would still open our laptops and take calls after reaching home, there was a logical break from office work to take that journey. Home was still a place to be home and to get into a different mode after long hours of work.

I miss those journeys, the city, the traffic, the sounds, the different shades of the sky and the people. Yes, there were struggles in those journeys but there were sweet things too that came along in it and home was always a  very sweet place to enter after every day's journey. We had a work life, a home life and a travel life too. My commuting time every day was close to three and half hours. Travel life through my company transport had given me lots of time for myself, away from home chores and office tasks and I had put this time to good use for my several avocations. Sometimes this slot was apt for a good bout of sleep or to just meditate through a sit and gaze approach, watching the city through the windows and letting random thoughts fill our minds.

Today home is just for work, work and work and my family gets a virtual feeling that I am always around to get any home tasks done. But the reality is that I am never available for home as I am always into work.

I long for those sweet journeys and for that sweet home to return to. I consciously make time daily to pursue something other than work. Soon, I will be investing some time into travelling short distances every day, just to relish the joy of travelling.

FAMILY DYNAMICS POST THE BEGINNING OF COVID-19

 A lot of interesting statements I heard from different homes after their prolonged stay at home has put me into deep thought.

"How long can we keep looking at our partner's face?".

"We will eat each other before Corona eats us."

"I miss my office environment. Life is also about meeting friends and colleagues."

These are some of the interesting statements I heard. Life is not just about our home and our partner. It is much beyond.

COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to think about the importance of our space in the midst of our family space.