First week alone

So here it is, the vacation of a lifetime...25 years in the making and what do my parents decide to do? Go to where it all began. Passport, CHECK! Chaperones (Grandma and Ammachi)...CHECK! 6 boxes full of American ("made in Mexico,China and possibly India") products for Relatives and Friends...Double CHECK! After a whirl wind couple of weeks getting everything in order, and some nail biting events they were set for India (i pause here to let you know that I'm very VERY jealous that they got to go on this trip as I was supposed to go later in October but that is not happening so I took a luggage tag thinking that i could check myself in...didn't work). Of course the huge concerns were "what were the kids going to do?" "What will they eat" "who will take care of the boy" (the boy being my 18 year old brother). My concerns were mostly how was I going to reorganize the rooms and would i be able to restrain myself from going totally crazy and throwing away all the junk and crap that I have been threatening to do for the last 5 + years (which later on i find out is alot!). The first night started well, I burnt the fish sticks and tator tots (it was as if mom had not left at all). My poor brother is used to such conditions so it was alright by him as dinner. Sunday we were cordially invited to Neela David's 4th birthday in Redondo Beach. Now this was the first outing without the parents as buffers...it was an interesting outing. Question of the day? "What are you go to eat?", "You guys have groceries?" I understand the concern there, and yet I wonder if we give this notion that we are incapable of fending for ourselves...that we rely on our parents for survival. Now though this is not a false statement. To say the least, we would not survive without our parents yet the thought that we wouldn't be able to perform basic functions like feeding ourselves, and making sure that the house stayed in one peace was untasteful...no hard feelings just curiosity as to what family out there thinks about us and our capabilities as independent, mature people, Technically we are all adults (18, 21, 23 nearly 24 ekkk!) and so this new form of independence should not be a strain but a canvas to hone our skills before we have to face the real world on our own two feet. Yet I get this feeling that everyone is going to watch carefully at what transpires in La maison Masilamani. Thus the blog, a way for not just my parents but anyone who wanted to be entertained in-between the norms of the REAL WORLD. Now here is a brief notation of what when on this first week as nothing much really occured...I started my massive clean-up operation beginning with the living room and then headed towards the kitchen.(which was bad that it deserves its own blog entry) There is still MUCH that needs to be done in the kitchen and living room area yet for the most part it is clean and de-cluttered! YEA!!! The one thing I learned this week for sure is the how much time and energy moms and dads put into working and caring for family. My sister and I have been trading on and off in making sure that my brother has food and makes all his appoinments etc. Making sure the trash is taken out, cats are fed, doors and windows locked at night, mail and laundry and gardening...i can go on but you get the idea...there is no time for one-self...in fact between working 9-5 and caring for family, all the other activities push away any opportunity for alone time and time to hang with friends watchin Hindi movies or just reading. Friday is one week since they left, 3 weeks before they come back and I find myself condradictig myself...i miss my parents and grandma's and yet I want them to stay away no just because they deserve the time away for-them-selves but also this is the opportunity to shine and show the world and our parents what we have learned the 10-15 years on our way to adulthood. Yes those questions of who will cook and who will help care for brother will constantly be present but we are changing with the color of the leaves (which is not happening right now but its the metaphor that couts) We are stepping up to the challenge and batting in into the crowd, home run the way...