Wonderful piece i came across

I'm 71 retired, married for 49 years. The day we were married I promised my self that I would be all I could be to my husband and my children, to the best of my ability.

I got up an hour early so I could have some space to quietly relax and drink my coffee and make a list of things to do that day.

Every one had their own alarm clock.

I fixed breakfast, usually hot cereal, some time pancakes or waffles and always orange juice. On weekend we had grape juice for a treat instead of orange juice.

Got my husband off to work and my children off to school with a full belly.

I spent 1/2 hour every day working on my list. If you with out fail spend 1/2 hour on house work you can usually get the thing on your list done.

I showered and fixed myself up for the day. Tried to be finished by 10 am. I always had a little private race with myself to reach my 10 am deadline.

I was free to do as I chose until 1:30 pm.

At 1:30 I started preparing dinner.

Kids were home between 3:15 to 3:45 and they were starving hungry.

I had dinner on the table when my husband came home at 4:00.

We ate, my husband had his shower.

While he showered myself and kids had a race to see if we could get the kitchened cleaned up by the time he finished his shower.

The kids did their home work, sometimes needing my husbands or my help.

I ran what some would call a tight ship, but we had the evening free from five on.

Kids were in their room or in bed by 8:30. Leaving some quiet time for both my husband and myself.

Yes, due to sicknes or other extinuating circumstances our schedule was interupted.

You learn to dicipline your self and the rest of the family.

My married kids are trying to do the same for their family.

They tell me that I made their home a sanctuary and no matter how bad things were at school, they knew they were coming home to a safe, happy home.

We worked together and we played together and life was good.

Your schedule will probably be different but you can create your own to build a safe, happy sanctuary.

I hope this is helpful and I hope I didn't tell you more that you wanted to know.

Try it. Do what you have to do. Do your best.

Caste clouds India's high hopes

Indians want to see their country punch its weight around the world - but are worried the caste system is holding it back, a BBC poll suggests.
Almost two-thirds of respondents in the World Service poll said India being an economic superpower was important.
But 55% thought caste issues were still a "barrier to social harmony".
Visitors to BBC websites chose questions for the survey. A nationally representative sample of 1,616 Indians was interviewed in December.
The poll found that a majority (71%) are proud to be an Indian.
Most also thought it was important that India should be a political (60%) and military (60%) superpower.

A majority were optimistic about many aspects of the modern Indian state - more than half (55%) think the Indian justice system treats rich and poor people fairly, a statistic which some may find surprising given perceived failures in the police and courts.
Nearly as many (52%) think being a woman is no barrier to success any more.
And the survey found that twice as many people (48%) would rather work for a private company than for the government (22%).
But on other topics respondents were less positive.
Forty-seven percent agreed that "corruption is a fact of life which we should accept as the price of doing business in today's world", although younger people were less tolerant of corruption than older people.
And if Indians are agreed on the need for India to be an economic superpower, they are less sure they are seeing the fruits of recent economic growth.
Asked whether India's economic growth over the past 10 years had benefited them and their families directly, exactly the same proportion (45%) said that it had, as disagreed.
One in two (50%) felt that "people in India don't take their religion seriously enough", while two in five (40%) believed that "young people have lost touch with their heritage and traditions".

In total 1,616 citizens in India were interviewed between 5-15 December 2006.
Polling was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan and its research partner in India. The margin of error is +/-2.5.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6320413.stmPublished: 2007/02/05 00:03:10 GMT© BBC MMVII

Papa, you're my Valentine forever

The Electric New Paper :

I HAVE had the same Valentine for the past 22 years. And now that I reflect on it, he is probably the best man to have as a Valentine.

By Ratna Tiwary
03 February 2007

I HAVE had the same Valentine for the past 22 years. And now that I reflect on it, he is probably the best man to have as a Valentine.
You see, 14 Feb is my father's birthday.
So understandably, he's been my companion every year on that day.
After years of wishing I could go out with friends on that day - I have never spent it with a boyfriend - this year, I'm actually looking forward to spending quality time with my papa.
A father-daughter relationship is a special one.
And I agree with all those who say that women look for their fathers in their partners.

PILLAR OF STRENGTH

My father is a strong man. Not in the sense that he is Samson-like, but he has always dealt with life in a manner that makes me admire him.
This dawned on me only after my teenage years - which was not too long ago. During those years though, I suppressed all positive feelings about him and spent my time trying to paint him in big-bad-wolf shades.
How is it that in the rush to grow up, and then in the fight to not grow old so soon, a girl's father often gets forgotten?

Faith Hill sang a song entitled Daddy's Little Girl, which aptly sums up this relationship:
'He's a book of advice/More than I need/The look in his eyes is saying to me/Let me help you all I can/While I'm still in this world'.

Yes, my father is a big man, always there for me.
I know papa looks stern all the time and makes valiant attempts to scare away friends of mine whom he deems undesirable.
But I also remember that this is the same man who took me out daily when I was feeling left out after my brother was born. He also bought me dolls to make sure I had a 'new baby' too.
He's the same man who now buys me Cacharel perfume from the duty-free shop every time he goes out of the country, and reads my academic articles when once, he read my fumbling teenage poetry.

Is it not surprising how, in the blur of day-to-day commitments, we often forget those who matter the most to us?
In the quest to celebrate special occasions with friends, how often do we stop to remember that these celebrations are also meant to be spent with our families?

SIMPLE CELEBRATION

It doesn't have to be elaborate, expensive or held overseas. It just has to be a time to get together.I remember papa's past 22 birthdays that we spent together, and that warm feeling of it being an important day for the most important man in my life.
Friends and lovers come and go, but deep in my heart, I know that be it a scraped knee or a broken heart, papa will always be there.
I think it's simply perfect that Valentine's Day also marks the birth of the man who, to me at least, personifies love.

Happy birthday in advance, papa, my Valentine forever.

The writer is an undergraduate in Political Science and South Asian studies from NUS.

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