Report of 26 June 2011
Hello from our living room -
My very intelligent husband is here reading the paper, one son is at the gym, the other is at a puja (Hindu worship ceremony); we have many sweet and luscious mangoes in our fridge, and life is good.
We think of our Australian holiday with great nostalgia, and Naren has admired the public transport system in Sydney. Scott, with his usual meticulous attention to detail, figured out which bus and train we needed to get to our destination and we boarded accordingly. I am not a big one for reading things; our neighbor in San Antonio, Aurora Freeman, used to quote her teacher saying, "When all else fails, read the directions," and Scott does that splendidly.
I went back to work this week and it has been magnificent. My friend, Emily McNellis, has darling twins who contributed to sending the B a giant bag of candy and it has been extremely well-received. My friend, Tiffany Anthony, whom I was fortunate to catch online just now, sent along some clothes for the B and a couple of bottles of perfume for me; I gave the perfume to the 2 senior health care workers (hcw's) at the B, who work their hearts out for the B and for me, and they were delighted. "Foreign" gifts are always giant treats. All the hcw's and I met and talked, and I have an idea how things are going with them. This is extremely important to me. At the 2nd meeting, I took some laddus (somewhat expensive Indian sweets) and at the end of the meeting, I reached into my bag; on hearing the rustle of plastic paper, there were murmurs of "Chocolate!," and Anjali, one of the two senior hcw's, quickly changed her position and came charging to take a seat near the front. It was very funny. I adore these young ladies, and we share many occasions together. When my mother was ill, there were organised prayers from the B - coordinated by the then-senior coordinator, Vanitha. I greatly appreciated this.
The B's patients are well. A couple of long-standing patients have died in my absence and I miss them. We also no longer have a physical therapist, so gait training for our weak and frail patients is languishing. If they fall, they sustain a fracture as nearly all have brittle bones; so, it is to everyone's benefit if these folks can maintain a steady gait. One of the younger patients is a pharmacy student and she came by to say Hi to me; I like the fact that this young woman is studying and I asked how things were going. She's got 3 papers left to finish in August, and then she's a pharmacist. Her family life is not ideal, with her father and stepmother not wanting her home; no worries, she can be with us! I am waiting for the day when she passes and gets her degree.
The cosmos righted itself when I got to the B. It is a magnificent place to work. Our very capable nurse, Leela, had a gift for me - some fabric to make a salwar kameez (the loose pants and tunic that many of us wear) - and that was lovely. We had attended Leela's son's baptism and had a grand time.
We also had a giant surprise party for Navin's 18th b'day (he almost had to pick his jaw off the ground when he saw his 30+ friends) and attended the wedding of the brother of one of Naren's close friends, KK. I love the fact that we (Scott and I) are considered friends as well, and the boys and I danced my heart out (the boys were not really in a dance-y mood but obliged me); my salsa lessons failed me when KK and I danced, but he was gracious. Anu, my sister, stopped by on Sunday morning, en route back to Vellore from Delhi; Anu is a hot-shot researcher and is in trials with a lot of people, some supported by the Gates Foundation. It was good to see her and we (Weisses) were up to our elbows making pasta salad, but stopped enough to chat. I spoke to my father, and he was frightfully busy, which is good. Today, our whole family caught a movie (made by Vandana's husband Senthil's business partner) and then we came home to clear out a fridge full of leftovers. I had made the usual dreadful chocolate pudding, which the men ate with gusto. I do wonder at their palates. We discussed the movie at length; I love listening to the men's opinions. I do believe it is because we don't have a TV that we have raised thinking, discerning children. Having said that, I so miss watching sports.
Today's Scott's Mom's b'day and Scott has phoned and wished her. My mother-in-law is a good and fun person, with a solid sense of perspective and giant sense of humor, and I feel very privileged to be a part of that family. Unfailingly, my mother-in-law puts her own wants behind those of her children, and I am continually impressed by that.
It's a good life. Good work, nice family, loving extended family, fabulous friends.
Unw -
R
My very intelligent husband is here reading the paper, one son is at the gym, the other is at a puja (Hindu worship ceremony); we have many sweet and luscious mangoes in our fridge, and life is good.
We think of our Australian holiday with great nostalgia, and Naren has admired the public transport system in Sydney. Scott, with his usual meticulous attention to detail, figured out which bus and train we needed to get to our destination and we boarded accordingly. I am not a big one for reading things; our neighbor in San Antonio, Aurora Freeman, used to quote her teacher saying, "When all else fails, read the directions," and Scott does that splendidly.
I went back to work this week and it has been magnificent. My friend, Emily McNellis, has darling twins who contributed to sending the B a giant bag of candy and it has been extremely well-received. My friend, Tiffany Anthony, whom I was fortunate to catch online just now, sent along some clothes for the B and a couple of bottles of perfume for me; I gave the perfume to the 2 senior health care workers (hcw's) at the B, who work their hearts out for the B and for me, and they were delighted. "Foreign" gifts are always giant treats. All the hcw's and I met and talked, and I have an idea how things are going with them. This is extremely important to me. At the 2nd meeting, I took some laddus (somewhat expensive Indian sweets) and at the end of the meeting, I reached into my bag; on hearing the rustle of plastic paper, there were murmurs of "Chocolate!," and Anjali, one of the two senior hcw's, quickly changed her position and came charging to take a seat near the front. It was very funny. I adore these young ladies, and we share many occasions together. When my mother was ill, there were organised prayers from the B - coordinated by the then-senior coordinator, Vanitha. I greatly appreciated this.
The B's patients are well. A couple of long-standing patients have died in my absence and I miss them. We also no longer have a physical therapist, so gait training for our weak and frail patients is languishing. If they fall, they sustain a fracture as nearly all have brittle bones; so, it is to everyone's benefit if these folks can maintain a steady gait. One of the younger patients is a pharmacy student and she came by to say Hi to me; I like the fact that this young woman is studying and I asked how things were going. She's got 3 papers left to finish in August, and then she's a pharmacist. Her family life is not ideal, with her father and stepmother not wanting her home; no worries, she can be with us! I am waiting for the day when she passes and gets her degree.
The cosmos righted itself when I got to the B. It is a magnificent place to work. Our very capable nurse, Leela, had a gift for me - some fabric to make a salwar kameez (the loose pants and tunic that many of us wear) - and that was lovely. We had attended Leela's son's baptism and had a grand time.
We also had a giant surprise party for Navin's 18th b'day (he almost had to pick his jaw off the ground when he saw his 30+ friends) and attended the wedding of the brother of one of Naren's close friends, KK. I love the fact that we (Scott and I) are considered friends as well, and the boys and I danced my heart out (the boys were not really in a dance-y mood but obliged me); my salsa lessons failed me when KK and I danced, but he was gracious. Anu, my sister, stopped by on Sunday morning, en route back to Vellore from Delhi; Anu is a hot-shot researcher and is in trials with a lot of people, some supported by the Gates Foundation. It was good to see her and we (Weisses) were up to our elbows making pasta salad, but stopped enough to chat. I spoke to my father, and he was frightfully busy, which is good. Today, our whole family caught a movie (made by Vandana's husband Senthil's business partner) and then we came home to clear out a fridge full of leftovers. I had made the usual dreadful chocolate pudding, which the men ate with gusto. I do wonder at their palates. We discussed the movie at length; I love listening to the men's opinions. I do believe it is because we don't have a TV that we have raised thinking, discerning children. Having said that, I so miss watching sports.
Today's Scott's Mom's b'day and Scott has phoned and wished her. My mother-in-law is a good and fun person, with a solid sense of perspective and giant sense of humor, and I feel very privileged to be a part of that family. Unfailingly, my mother-in-law puts her own wants behind those of her children, and I am continually impressed by that.
It's a good life. Good work, nice family, loving extended family, fabulous friends.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
6:43 AM
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