Thursday 16 April 2020

Pat your back: My 16th letter to my Grandchildren documenting lessons from COVID-19 times


{This is the 16th post of the series where I will be writing 26 Letters to my Grandchildren about life and lessons during these tricky COVID19 times. Letter1, 2 , 3 , 56 , 78 ,9 , 10 , 11 ,1213 14 and 15 can be found here} 


18 April 2020 
Still in Vadodara
4:20 a.m. 
25th Day of Lockdown

Hello my little angel, 

You are a wonderful kid, I can see you from heaven. Go give yourself a treat from granny’s side, show dad this letter and ask him to clear the bill😊. How does the appreciation feels? it makes you feel so good right. It is magical at times to lift our spirits. Since I appreciate your dad’s keeping patience, for over a month, to have a sweet dish because we didn’t have cooking gas, yesterday that we got it, today I will show my appreciation for him by making his favourite kheer as a surprise. It isn’t easy for a sweet toothed kid to remain in control for so long and he needs to pat his back for the same.

In fact,  all of us, who are home-quarantined for at least last twenty four days due to national lockdown as India got hit by the COVID19 pandemic, deserve a pat on our backs. No matter how merry we appear to be, how we post our workout and cooking, happy pictures, the fact is most of us are living under severe anxiety concealed in our hindsight because our work is suffering and that’s the only way we sustain our families other than of course the fear of the disease. We smile to cheer up our kids and spouses and our parents but earnestly we don’t know whether next month we will get our salary or not or if we have a business will we be able to pay our employees and vendors next month. The economy has come to a standstill and will take eons to gear up again.

You are too small to understand this my child but this is the biggest fear looming over our heads. This is the reason that imposing lockdown was such a crucial and difficult decision for our leaders but they kept our lives above everything. Our prime minister says if we live, then we can build our wealth again but if we loose our lives only, then what is the point of the wealth.

So yes we deserve a pat on our backs too, to maintain our patience despite everything going against us and only worsening with each passing day. Many of us are stranded away from home and want to reach our abode at the earliest but the extension of lockdown by another nineteen days taking it to a total of forty has further shattered our dreams. Moreover, we are still not sure, if the lockdown shall get lifted after these forty days as the number of corona virus cases are continuously  increasing. 

Not from anyone else but from ourselves we deserve a pat on our own backs for holding on despite so much of uncertainty. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat because the fears just take  over. I leave bed that moment, sip some water, take a little walk and pacify myself with some positive affirmations. I tell myself that I appreciate whatever I have done so far and am proud of the way I am tackling the situation, giving a pat on my back.

This appreciation aids me get on my feet again. Thus, the lesson these times have taught me is appreciate your own efforts, pat your back and keep moving ahead on the path of karma without desiring any fruits, as the Gita says. Sooner or later this too shall pass and things will fall in place.

No don’t feel sad, my child, we are living a lifetime in these months and I have to share the bitter realities and our vulnerability with you. Hope to soon write to you a letter when all of this has ended and we had got back to our normal life. 

Sending you a tight hug
Your granny 
Roma 




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Hi Everyone, thanks for dropping by, this is my fifth consecutive #BlogchatterA2Z as well as global #AtoZchallenge and this year I will be writing ‘26 letters to my grandaughter’ with a special purpose which shall unfold as you read this series. In case you wish to check out what I wrote in the previous 4 challenges here are the links 201620172018 and 2019

Truly Yours Roma





If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my four published ebooks here: The Fragrance of True LoveDestiny's Favorite ChildDare to Defy The Destiny and Empowered Women Empower Women

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