Cloud Nine

Hi folks...
Those who have got used to the pulp I stuff out in this space....this post may come quite a surprise...
And those fresh readers of this blog...please note that I have never claimed any particular style of writing...

I am writing this from a hospital bed and it is a quiet Sunday here.  No drama...I had my bout of dengue fever and I am recovering fine as per the Doc. But I can't get out until my count is normal.

Just a few minutes ago I was poking fun at my dear friend @ntekeralam on WhatsApp and I thought about his hero...his son. And that lead to thoughts about my own son.

I last saw my son two days ago as he accompanied me here, and he was so naughty in the hospital room leaving all of us scratching our head. Nurses kept reminding us about kids being easy targets of infection. I sent him back as early as I could.

So now, while thinking about him, I sailed  through the past several days as well.

Prior to my hospitalization, I was having a really bad time at home...no appetite... Sleepless nights..  scared of infection, I have not touched him since long...and have been quite viciously blocking all his attempts to be near me.

He kept asking me...Do you have fever...and every time I would give him a cold stare while saying Yes.

One occasion, I just replied No...and he came running to me ...raising both his hands and pleaded.."carry me...". I turned back and the 3-year old might have felt cheated for sure...

So while rewinding all this ...the thoughts keep coming. The need to spend quality time with your dear ones...when you are healthy and hearty....instead of burning it on these cheating smart screens. Guilty conscience sets in.

My boy loves cars...no...he is mad about cars. He had been pleading us to get him a toy car since when...? But we never really found our time to meet this simple request.

We would remember the demand only when we see him watching his senior neighborhood boys play with theirs and that lost look in his eyes would startle us. Next day...same story. The daily cycle takes its toll.

Once his neighborhood friend kindly offered him a spare car of his and oh...the joy! It was worth watching. I could hear the cries of excitement from my room where I was resting before the hospitalization... and then...?

The friend took his car back and went home I found my boy walking back...face down. The drooped shoulders ...the shaky walk...I was taken aback.

So then I got hospitalized and yesterday as my wife was about to leave my room, I asked her to buy the kid a set of cars on her way back.

So today, she was trying to narrate the scenes at home when the boy received his prized pocessions. His eyes widened ...he slept with the gift by his side. He kept waking up to make  sure the cars are there. Cloud Nine.

I missed those scenes....but that is the prize I have paid for delaying this beautiful moment for so long.

Never postpone Life...live it.