Report of 28 Oct '13
Hello all -
I am in my balmy and breezy living room, having eaten dinner. Red rice (very healthy, apparently), chicken, veges, yogurt, a salad. And a sapota for dessert. I love fruit here - the seasonal variety is eagerly awaited, although I miss mango season every year.
Work is great. Young Master X came to see me. His mother is a patient at the B, and must be at our Transitional Care Center as her mental illness is not under good control. His grandmother accompanied his mother when she returned to the B, his father having abandoned the family - not unusual when a woman has mental illness, but very saddening. Soon after, the grandmother made a trip home and returned with X and 2 of his cousins - their parents had separated and remarried. X goes to school and I am delighted - he used to speak only Hindi and now speaks English and Tamil also. "Why aren't you in school?," I'd asked in Hindi. "The weather," he'd replied in English, gesturing to the rain and storm clouds. He is a strikingly good-looking child and very bright. He'd had a cough and cold, unresponsive to cough syrup; I am hardly a pediatrician, but I started him on a low-dose antibiotic and he is evidently better.
I feel for this child - a mother with mental illness, he at times having to cope with it. However, all at the B help look after him, he goes to school instead of begging on the street for his mother and himself, and he has a doting grandmother nearby. His abundant intellect is also engaged. Nice job, Banyan!
Home was my destination last week as the monsoon is here and the rains are copious. Roads to our other facility, Adaikalam, tend to deteriorate with heavy rains. I also noticed I ran a low-grade fever fairly continuously, and have diagnosed all manner of catastrophic illness in myself :). I got to see my sister over the weekend and that was fun. She'd come to give a talk and stopped by our apartment later, looking mighty chic in a silk sari. Scott and I ate out at our favorite restaurants - upscale, but as an occasional treat and because we so love the food. The wait staff stopped to say Hi, and that was fun.
Diwali, our festival of lights, is the coming weekend. I bought a silk sari for the lady who helps clean our house, and she loved it. She is a widow with 2 daughters and has tenaciously educated both of them: one is a college graduate, and married, and both girls are gainfully employed. Truly, one of the joys of having some extra cash is to be able to spend it on someone else.
Our sons are well and email regularly. That we have an open relationship with our offspring - though, of course, they likely have secrets from us - is a joy for me. As it is to be able to communicate with the rest of the family. What joy is there in fighting?
May you have lots of joys of your own.
Unw -
R
I am in my balmy and breezy living room, having eaten dinner. Red rice (very healthy, apparently), chicken, veges, yogurt, a salad. And a sapota for dessert. I love fruit here - the seasonal variety is eagerly awaited, although I miss mango season every year.
Work is great. Young Master X came to see me. His mother is a patient at the B, and must be at our Transitional Care Center as her mental illness is not under good control. His grandmother accompanied his mother when she returned to the B, his father having abandoned the family - not unusual when a woman has mental illness, but very saddening. Soon after, the grandmother made a trip home and returned with X and 2 of his cousins - their parents had separated and remarried. X goes to school and I am delighted - he used to speak only Hindi and now speaks English and Tamil also. "Why aren't you in school?," I'd asked in Hindi. "The weather," he'd replied in English, gesturing to the rain and storm clouds. He is a strikingly good-looking child and very bright. He'd had a cough and cold, unresponsive to cough syrup; I am hardly a pediatrician, but I started him on a low-dose antibiotic and he is evidently better.
I feel for this child - a mother with mental illness, he at times having to cope with it. However, all at the B help look after him, he goes to school instead of begging on the street for his mother and himself, and he has a doting grandmother nearby. His abundant intellect is also engaged. Nice job, Banyan!
Home was my destination last week as the monsoon is here and the rains are copious. Roads to our other facility, Adaikalam, tend to deteriorate with heavy rains. I also noticed I ran a low-grade fever fairly continuously, and have diagnosed all manner of catastrophic illness in myself :). I got to see my sister over the weekend and that was fun. She'd come to give a talk and stopped by our apartment later, looking mighty chic in a silk sari. Scott and I ate out at our favorite restaurants - upscale, but as an occasional treat and because we so love the food. The wait staff stopped to say Hi, and that was fun.
Diwali, our festival of lights, is the coming weekend. I bought a silk sari for the lady who helps clean our house, and she loved it. She is a widow with 2 daughters and has tenaciously educated both of them: one is a college graduate, and married, and both girls are gainfully employed. Truly, one of the joys of having some extra cash is to be able to spend it on someone else.
Our sons are well and email regularly. That we have an open relationship with our offspring - though, of course, they likely have secrets from us - is a joy for me. As it is to be able to communicate with the rest of the family. What joy is there in fighting?
May you have lots of joys of your own.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
6:06 AM
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