My home during the “Lockdown”. (Tell me where to hide!)

First kid – “Mumma ! She kicked me in my kidney ! “
Second kid – “But she punched me in my gall bladder  first ! “
Me – ( After separating them ) “ You will not talk to each other for the next one hour.“

After ten minutes, I see the younger one lying down on the floor, being dragged by both legs by the elder one. “Mumma ! Mumma ! She is using me as the broom now. “ I rush forward , separate them , give them a dressing down and resume with the cooking; checking once in a while if they are doing what they are supposed to be doing; which is- cleaning their room and making the beds in the house. Sure enough, they are doing it with a lot of sincerity. Only, the “kidney”, “gall bladder”, “ribs”, “shins” etc are also being pushed around with equal sincerity. If all this drama wasn’t happening in front of me daily, I would perhaps be shedding a few tears of joy over a vision of two doctors holding their degree and thanking their mother.

The next day being Sunday, their Dad is at home. Seeing me standing with a broom, he announces, “Leave the matter to the pro!” Out comes the compact vaccum cleaner which we use for the car. He fiddles around with the fittings and tells me to sit and relax.  He appoints the elder kid as the wet cleaner while he sets about dry cleaning the floor. I must say, the idea is great and saves us from the back breaking broom. His sleuth, our twelve year old, follows with the “Wiper Mop” ( By now, everyone knows what that is ). Her younger sibling, our nine year old ( yes, the kidney specialist) helps me in making the beds and sprucing up the rooms.

The mobile vegetable shop arrives in the form of a truck. I rush out with a bag and though the truck always stops right in front of our house, a line has already formed ( with adequate distance between people ) by the time I reach the vehicle. My next door neighbour Lt.Col. “D” says with a big, proud grin, “ Maám, where is Sir? He didn’t come? I have already washed the utensils in my kitchen, swept and mopped the floor of my entire house; and am now buying the vegetables. What is Sir doing? “ I tell him ( with an equally proud grin) that “Sir” is also cleaning the house. When I come back inside the house, I give a big hug to the “Boy of the house” ( with No Social Distancing ). He tells me to save a bigger hug for what’s to arrive next  and hands me a plate which has buttered toast and two eggs made Sunny side up. Sigh! I just died and went to heaven. He knows my THE poison – generously buttered crisp slices of toast and eggs fried sunny side up.

Summary:
A neat house. Two not-fighting-any-more , omelette eating kids. One good Samaritan-vaccum cleaner wielding- omelette making-husband. One cooing-sunny side up omelette eating –wife.

Sigh! I don’t want to hide any longer. THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Amen.

© Sapna 23rd April ’20