5 am… an errant cloud floats in to exchange moist greetings with my fingers…Luchi nibbles gently on my ear…Peppu snores heavily at my feet…It is a new morning, a new month, a new opportunity to send words out into the world.
Its been more than four weeks since words have appeared in this site. Five weeks and more of starting a post and watching the words fade away, the fingers moving to other sites, the mind itching to jump to a different place. Writers block, inertia and procrastination have been my constant companions while I watched July days glide past and the monsoons wash away the summer dust and dirt.
It has been a good monsoon for our hills. July has been more of grey skies and raindrops than sunny vistas and dry roads. Days and days of downpours, nights of noisy pitter patter, and weeks of waiting for the sun to dry up clothes, roads and dogs.
There have been splendid evenings, when the clouds have parted for the mighty Himalayas to have a look at us, when the setting sun has gilded the clouds, forest trees and the cushions at home.
There have been quiet mornings when the mists have blanketed the roads and mountain slopes into opaque mysteries.
At home, we have soggy dogs and soggy newspapers on the floor, half chewed toys and half torn packets on the couch, many puppy bites and a few insect bites on ankles, and knitting books perched on high surfaces.
Luchi continues to grow, continues to train me in her schedule of meals, games, walks and mad times. I am not a very good student, hence the bites and soggy newspapers, but I am learning fast.
- Learning to jump out of the bed, scoop Luchi into my arms and run out onto the road–This is to be done as soon as my eyes open in the morning.
- Learning to keep knitting yarn in thick bags, knitting in safe places and my spectacles on my nose—this has to be through every waking hour of the day.
- Learning to wipe out my laptop and typing furiously whenever the little one curls up on my feet and sleeps an hour away.
Knitting has been sporadic. Planning the online store and uploading products has stalled. Working with the Knitters has been interrupted. I have been staring at the laptop screen, waiting for some words to force themselves out from my fingers.
Has this phase been the outcome of busy parenting-puppy days? Or has it been the victory of mindless Net surfing, solitaire gaming and movie watching over some good old fashioned quiet knitting and reading times? I could have ruminated and pondered over these questions and continued with this heavy silence and inactivity.
I am glad, today, that I have chosen to flex my fingers, open my laptop and write an update to you all. Its good to be back and its even better to reach out to you all. Have a good month, my friends.