So, I'm a stay at home mom, living in the US of A, taking care of the a little tyke whose as much of a handful as he is JOY !!

That's my life these days. Making decisions every two minutes that are concerned with where he goes, what he does, what he eats and his sleep. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time as I try every single piece of advice I get off friends and the Internet hoping it's the right thing to do.


I look back at the years when DRAMA was the name of the game. I lived life on my terms while feeling suffocated at every step. And that someone was usually a person I cared for deeply. I used to pray that one fine day a ray of understanding would shine down and everything would just untangle by itself.

If I compare the two lives, I'd pick my life today in a snap but that doesn't mean I'm not thankful for the experiences I picked up along the way.

Do I wish some of the knots would just disappear? Most definitely. Do I wish I could bang some others into oblivion? Absolutely. But then if I would have known better at that time, that would be I was an all knowing being at a very young age. 

And in any case, time did pass and the threads untangled eventually and now I use the same threads to weave patterns that are simply exquisite.

So IIT Delhi is going to giving out a course on etiquette. High time I say. Not just in India but all over the world, pleases and thankyous and all that's in between seems to be fazing out like the cat in Alice in Wonderland.

I'm all for informality but it's these little things that make any relationship, even with strangers worth living. For that is when the other person knows you are willing to take that little bit of extra effort to make them feel that they are valued and respected.

Whenever I notice people committing a transgression by not following proper etiquette, I feel like shaking some sense into them. It may not be a big deal for them but for me, it's like something as essential as breathing is being ignored. I'm often left wondering why or how it is that they can just miss them.

Some of these gems that I see fading and miss are -

Greeting someone at the door.
Acknowledging presents.
Responding to email/phone call/ facebook msgs.
Opening the door for people behind you.
Saying thank you when someone does so. 
Atleast offering to split the check.
Not making sounds when eating.
Not texting when someone is talking.
Talking softly on the phone.

to name a few.

Which of life's little social graces do you miss or love ?