Life in the times ... 3/27 - 4/8 - The Antibland Chronicles

Life feels like a vacation. In a hotel with no room service. Where the TV only plays loud kid shows. At a place where clearly the guidebook exaggerated a lot of things. But you know, it’s still a vacation.

I hear people saying they can’t wait till things go back to normal, me being one of them. But I’ve come to a realization in these last few days. Whenever things do go back to normal, the sh*t is going to hit the fan pretty hard in my home. We’ve gotten used to a lot of bad habits that can’t be sustained once contact with the outside world is allowed again. For instance:

Ajay has resorted to wearing only one piece of clothing at a time. A pair of pants one day. A shirt the next. Some days it’s neither. Trying to dress him properly results in so much screaming that I often wonder, how did I produce such an angry child?

Reading my magazines while they color and play in the backyard.

He painted that canvas in one color. And then when it dried, he painted it all in another color. At this rate I am never going to need another canvas for him.

Arjun showing the ropes of how to become a puzzle master. I have officially run out of new puzzles.

Counting all the birds and squirrels in the backyard.

Arjun is either watching Dino Train or whining. Those are the only two settings currently available in his system. And when he whines, it is very Dickensian … like I make him clean chimneys all day on an empty stomach. There is a lot of snot, tears, and begging. I have to snap out of it and remind myself that indeed he is only crying for TV. And since TV is still rationed, there is just a lot of whining to deal with.

Now, Asha. Well, she the one person in all of this who is doing better than the rest. She is in good spirits most of the time. The other times, her bad mood is a result of her two brothers purposely destroying whatever she is working towards. The other day I noticed that she had found a way to keep Ajay from interfering. When I peeked to see how, I saw Ajay chewing on a piece of candy. Clearly, she’s found a system. In our new temporary home, all shelves in the kitchen are accessible if you are smart enough. And she is. Which means there is no candy she can’t reach. Bribing with candy has become her thing.

One of my most exciting dinner preparations from the other day: A caramelized onion and sweet potato tart along with an arugula and bean salad with mustardy-tangy dressing. It was deemed “yuck” right away and then they all fought over some seaweed chips that they usually hate eating.

Dinner often is a jumble of stuff, like this one has pasta, roasted vegetables, and corn bread.

lemon curd tarts with homemade whipped cream

For a while I thought alcohol would be the problem during the quarantine. The truth however is that I need to stop drinking coffee. Instead of rolling my eyes at yet another thing the children did, I just press that tiny button on my Nespresso and feel better about life. It’s an expensive habit when you have three kids and are home all day with them. Plus all that caffeine just can’t be good for you.