No Men? Amen!!

When I was younger I used to feel short-changed that I did not have a brother. I used to have these fancy ideas about how a brother would be there for me, to protect, play football, climb trees and all other “boyish” escapades that filled up most of my childhood. Then, I finally accepted the ‘sad’ fact that our family just had more women then men.

Fact 1: There are more females in both my paternal and maternal side. However, today at the grand young age of 14…oops…41, I am ever so grateful for all the women in my life because they have given me nothing but unconditional love, strength, motivation and perseverance even in what seemed to be the darkest of hours (mine and theirs).

Fact 2: The main women who have never given up on me are my mum and her three sisters despite the fact that we may be geographically way apart. There are others too, like my sister and cousins. Yes, I am blessed.

Blessing 1: Mummy dearest J. Oh, my Amma is one of a kind. The pillar and fount of unconditional love. I made a huge mistake of breaking her heart once but she never left my side. She is a mother’s love personified. Despite being a workaholic, I never felt that I had lost any time with her because she has this amazing ability to juggle work and family (including the extended family) without anyone ever having to feel neglected. She is always there even if she is not, if you know what I mean.

She is there for my kids, anytime, 24/7 and needless to say they adore their Ammuma too J. She takes them on holidays and they even rather spend weekends with her alone without me!

Whenever I look at my baby photos, I say that I have a face that only a mother can love and, boy, does she love this baby of hers. It fills me up so much that sometimes I feel I will explode J

Blessing 2:  Mum’s first sister, my Aunty Asso. She may appear stern to many but she has the softest of hearts although she will never admit that.  Her thirst for knowledge/education is simply out of this world. She has 2 Masters, 2 degrees and working on another. Yet she goes on and on and on and on. She definitely has a set of long-life batteries which I did not inherit L

She has no qualms about telling you to your face bitter facts or how she feels but that is by no means an indication that she does not care. It is precisely because she loves and cares that she chides us from time to time. Each time she ‘chides’ me for something or other, all I hear is “I love you Shelly”.

Every time we have a phone conversation, she always seems to be in a hurry to end the call. I don’t blame her as she has loads on her plate. Each time I end the call I tell her I love her but she never hears it because she cuts the line before I can say it. A few months ago I called her and asked her whether she loves me and her quick and blunt reply was a resounding “NO”.  I told her that she always cuts the line before she can hear me say how much I love her. It is always good to hear someone telling you that you are loved. She said she never realized that she was so abrupt in her calls. Today, each time we talk over the phone, she makes a concerted effort to tell me she loves me before ending the call. Sometimes it is rather funny the way she tries to remember to say it and we both end up laughing. THAT fills me up.

Blessing 3:  Mum’s second sister, my Aunty Saro. She looked after me when I was a child and I had so much fun with her. She has a great listening ear and we talk almost everyday. She asks no questions and takes you for who you are and LOVES you. When I lived with her when I was younger, I remember her carrying me, singing and trying to make me sleep. It was a Malayalam song and all I remember of that song is that “….Achande polle irrikinum…..Amainde polle irrikinum” (be like you father…..be like your mother). On other days, we would have ice-cream while lying on the bed and read our own books before I finally fell asleep. Amongst many other things, I owe my love for reading to her.

Today, my kids enjoy all their holidays at her place. My youngest child admires her tremendously and tries to highlight similarities between the both of them so that she would be like Aunty Saro.  Just talking with my Aunty Saro fills me up.

Blessing 4: Mum’s third sister, my Aunty Sheela. The most hip aunt J. I lived with her in London when I was studying there and she was a pillar of strength in more ways that one. Her love and generosity, just like all her sisters, has no boundaries. I have been going through a difficult spate in my life and 2 days ago I received some good news. When I called her to tell her, she screamed and said something completely incoherent and laughed saying how happy she was for me. But behind all that din, I realized that she was crying and laughing. She said that for the first time in her life she experienced tears of joy. The bond we have is so strong bond. That fills me up.

Fact 3: So, no men? Amen!! God has been super kind to me with all these wonderful women in my life. This is my humble tribute to them. You see,  I was never ever short-changed J