We had a burglery that left us in the midst of a ransacking so terrible that we had to just... stop... and breathe...
It redefined life for us.
We had been out for a conference in Europe. Fortunately we were traveling as a family and the children, too were with us. The trip was a wonderful experience, academically and personally.
Sanjay was sure we just HAD to experience something bad soon enough. It was all too good to be true.
We came back to India and back home... The place was completely and thoroughly ransacked.
It took me ten days to just separate out things on the floor into clothes, utensils and others.
It took me ten days to just separate out clothes into those that would need dry cleaning and those that would need to be thrown.
It took me ten days to just create space to stand in the mess.
What they could not take away, they broke. It was a nightmare. And a terrible violation.
We had to re-do our entire house, rebuild ouor home. And the children would not even visit the loo without one of us standing guard at the door.
We have one really large room. We did the obvious... We palced two double beds in ONE room. There was one room to sleep, one room to sit, one room for music and one room for ocassional visitors.
All our friends would express surprise and astonishment... In the same room?! All of you together?
That was when we realised not only our home but our life and our thoughts- all were different! We were square pegs and we did not have any round holes to fit. We had friends come over and sing with us- and we just put food on the table and allowed the foodies to eat and the singers to sing. We even allowed the non-interested ones to read, or be online... Each one do your own thing- so long as you enjoy, you are doing good. And when you can do nothing else, it is still fun to sing in a chorus.
Finally, now- with my daughter 14 and my son 8, they have ASKED for their own room. Not because they thought we, the parents needed the room to ourselves but because the children needed the room to themselves!
ANd then we replaced all windows with clear glass- we get sunlight through out teh day... Really a green plan for the home...
And we now have our friends just drop in and join us for the weekends- for fun and for being together. Because or home is for simplified love and togetherness.
We have never worked on appearances, and it shows in our open hearts and transparent interactions.
We have never worked on pretenses, and it shows in the closeness of our relationships.
I hope, I can teach my children to live simply and fully, that they realise that things do not create a life- real lives are built with real relations and emotions that fill our hearts and hearths, that define our home and our heads, that make us us.
For me crystal is pretty but not decoration! For me a book here under the table and one there over the table is great. If I could, a book shelf would be THE decoration of the home. The music that Sanjay listens to certainly is part of the decor.
So come home to homeliness...
Come home to togetherness...
Come home to love...
Come home to BEING...
The only thing I find getting my nerves raw is clutter... And rest- EVERYTHING is a gentle, lived in kind of homely home feel.
It redefined life for us.
We had been out for a conference in Europe. Fortunately we were traveling as a family and the children, too were with us. The trip was a wonderful experience, academically and personally.
Sanjay was sure we just HAD to experience something bad soon enough. It was all too good to be true.
We came back to India and back home... The place was completely and thoroughly ransacked.
It took me ten days to just separate out things on the floor into clothes, utensils and others.
It took me ten days to just separate out clothes into those that would need dry cleaning and those that would need to be thrown.
It took me ten days to just create space to stand in the mess.
What they could not take away, they broke. It was a nightmare. And a terrible violation.
We had to re-do our entire house, rebuild ouor home. And the children would not even visit the loo without one of us standing guard at the door.
We have one really large room. We did the obvious... We palced two double beds in ONE room. There was one room to sleep, one room to sit, one room for music and one room for ocassional visitors.
All our friends would express surprise and astonishment... In the same room?! All of you together?
That was when we realised not only our home but our life and our thoughts- all were different! We were square pegs and we did not have any round holes to fit. We had friends come over and sing with us- and we just put food on the table and allowed the foodies to eat and the singers to sing. We even allowed the non-interested ones to read, or be online... Each one do your own thing- so long as you enjoy, you are doing good. And when you can do nothing else, it is still fun to sing in a chorus.
Finally, now- with my daughter 14 and my son 8, they have ASKED for their own room. Not because they thought we, the parents needed the room to ourselves but because the children needed the room to themselves!
ANd then we replaced all windows with clear glass- we get sunlight through out teh day... Really a green plan for the home...
And we now have our friends just drop in and join us for the weekends- for fun and for being together. Because or home is for simplified love and togetherness.
We have never worked on appearances, and it shows in our open hearts and transparent interactions.
We have never worked on pretenses, and it shows in the closeness of our relationships.
I hope, I can teach my children to live simply and fully, that they realise that things do not create a life- real lives are built with real relations and emotions that fill our hearts and hearths, that define our home and our heads, that make us us.
For me crystal is pretty but not decoration! For me a book here under the table and one there over the table is great. If I could, a book shelf would be THE decoration of the home. The music that Sanjay listens to certainly is part of the decor.
So come home to homeliness...
Come home to togetherness...
Come home to love...
Come home to BEING...
The only thing I find getting my nerves raw is clutter... And rest- EVERYTHING is a gentle, lived in kind of homely home feel.
2 comments:
http://thebloggingvalley.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/day-8-9-10-nablomo/
wow, we had our house borken into- too when I was younger and that was hard on all of us. They stole 8 ten speed bikes out of the garage. Thanks for sharing today. ~~Jackie
Thanks Jackie! It was more a violation of our personal life than the actual robbery that really riled us. Somehow, it was unbelievable that someone could break into our life and violate it so thoroughly that we would take days just to put things back again. The normalcy came in much later.
They had thrown our temple images and idols on the floor, my wedding dress was smeared with mango pulp, and the sink had been broken from the wall and smashed into the bed.
It was estimated that they had spent at least three to four days doing all that they did!!!
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