My Pet, My First Child :)

Many people find it absurd that I address my dog as my child. Considering the fact that I have found love like no other with my pet, I feel privileged to address him as my child. 

I still vividly remember the day I brought him home. He was a little abandoned puppy in a forest area. He had other siblings who were all lucky enough to be adopted. This one, the cutest of the lot, was left behind. It was 9.30 P.M. and the temperature was 12 degrees. I was well protected to handle the harsh, cold weather. My little one was yelping and shivering because of the cold, fear and loneliness. I wished I could take him home. A pet is too much of a responsibility I thought. "Just walk away", I told myself. I turned away, but then, I heard him yelp again. There were no second thoughts. I decided to follow my instincts and take him home. I searched for him under the bushes with the help of the light from my phone. He seemed petrified. I picked up the shivering little one and put him under my warm overcoat and held him close to my chest. "You don't have to worry, baby. I will take care of you!" I promised him. 

As I walked back to my forest house, people on the way were curious to know what I was holding under my overcoat. I showed them the little scared puppy. He was too frightened to have so many people looking at him. He din't understand where he was or what was going to happen. He was lost without his siblings. Having moved into the house newly, I hardly had enough of things to make a comfortable bed for him. The 'pocha' (cloth used for swabbing) was the best I could find to keep him warm. A jam container was used as his saucer for milk. He gulped the milk which I carefully mixed with equal parts of water. He had another serve before he felt satisfied. I put him in the hall and went away to my bedroom to sleep, only to realize he followed me. I decided to shift his bed near my bed. Well he was not satisfied. He wanted to sleep with my hand over him. He wanted to feel safe and secure. At first it was seemed cute but after a point, I was not comfortable. I did something that was never acceptable by my parents. I took him and put him on my bed and let him sleep near me like a baby. Considering the climate outside we were both cozy with the warmth from each others bodies. We slept like a new mother and child just happy to be with each other. 

Later that night, he was nudging me again making weird sounds. I did not understand what he wanted. I tried putting him on the floor and saw he was happy. I was too sleepy to be bothered what he was doing. Being a new mother, I dint really know what was in store. Next morning I woke up to a room full of poop and pee. "What have you done to yourself?", I thought aloud. I had to dodge my way out to the bathroom. There the little one stands and looks at me with those cute puppy eyes. "Don't look at me like that! I am angry with you! Look at what you have done.", I yelled at him. Ah! those cute puppy eyes knew how to win my heart.

Thus, began my journey into motherhood. I loved and hated it at the same time. My days started with cleaning up poop, fixing breakfast for the little one and making sure he has it. I had to adjust my timings for all the additional work I had brought upon myself. I was trying different methods to potty train him while I did the dirty job of cleaning up after him. But the joy of having him follow me to work, wait outside my office till I was done for the day and coming back home to a happy soul joyfully wagging his tail at the sight of me was priceless. To have a cuddly little pet of your own, who is ever ready to play, full of energy and with cuteness overloaded - the best one could ask for while living alone. Life was complete with my new bundle of joy!

That sad puppy face that could make me forgive instantly!

Wait and watch this space for more posts on my furry bundle of joy :)

Why you should move out of your comfort zone?

Ever thought about moving out of your comfort zone?
It is one of the best things that you could ever do for yourself!
Here are some of the reasons why:

Free Technology Detox
One needs to detach themselves from technology at some point in life. Do you really have a life if not for facebook, whatsapp, gmail, blah blah? Take chances and go live in a village or a forest where you do not have the connectivity. You begin to realize there are so many other things you are capable of, like interior decoration, sports, cooking, training a pet or even the ability to stare at the same wall for hours together without being bored. There is so much that you can do without the aid of technology. Snap out of it. Go offline and start living.

Appreciation for family and old friends
There will be days when you will fall sick and have no one to take care of you, or, meet with an accident and feel ashamed to ask strangers for help. On some other days you might just miss being with your family and friends. Your friends will still go on movie dates without you. Your family will have get-togethers without you. It's only then you truly know how much you appreciate belonging to a particular circle.

Meeting new people, making new friends
People from a different cultural and linguistic background are just as nice as our own clan. They are humans too. You have a hundred presumed notions. You might have already judged them by the way they dress, the annoying accent, or weird eating habits. Reality check - they feel the exact same way about you! Start accepting other ways of life, make friends across various age groups. Older people have so many experiences to share, younger people remind us about the beautiful years gone by.  

Self realization
A time to get to know yourself. What truly matters to you? What are your priorities? Do you really like clubbing or is it because you wanted to fit into the cool gang. Do you feel the need to practice all those religious rituals or did you just do that to satisfy your family? Do you enjoy movie marathons that your family thought was a waste of time? So many things you will not know about yourself until you step out of your comfort zone. It is the time for you to be yourself, to review the standards that you were raised by and to set your own standards for life.

Take pride in being you 
Independence and responsibility are admirable qualities. It is the time to learn to cook for yourself if you haven't. Learn to maintain a house, pay bills, do your laundry, start planning your tax saving, make small investments. Every little thing you accomplish gives you pleasure like nothing before. I remember the first time I washed all my clothes by hand. It took me three whole hours. At the end of it, I was proudly smiling at the clothesline. Even on my graduation day, I was not so proud of myself. After all, washing clothes by hand was something I never thought I would be able to do in life. I am stronger than I ever thought I could be.

Your interests matter
When you live alone you can cut yourself from the rest of the world anytime you want. You have the internet connectivity on your phone, yet, you don't feel like talking to anyone? Just disconnect your phone and tell your family and friends that there was no connectivity. If solitude is what is important to you, so be it. No one is there to check on you. You want to ride on the National Highway on a two wheeler at 10 PM despite knowing your family won't approve of it? Just do it anyway. You have one life to live and staying alone is the best time to experiment all those secret wishes.

There are hundred reasons why you should stay with family and friends. But at least once in life, you should experience living alone in a land of total strangers. You will have beautiful life experiences that will last forever in your memory.And, when you come back home, you will appreciate life with your family like never before :)

So, what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and move out of that comfort zone!