JOIN USSuddenly, romance is back in life. The boredom of the retirement also bid adieu as my wife and I have got a new member in our now small family.
When I add “now” before “small family,” I intend to refer to the dense tree of our extended family, the leaves of which have got scattered here and there rendering it almost dry and lifeless. The professional compulsions of my sons have taken them physically away from us. They reside in the tinsel town of Mumbai with their wives and our grand-children.
In no manner I am trying to accuse my children of ingratitude. They still coax me and my wife to join them in their city houses, but we the oldies resist any change and fear that we will not be able to acclimatise ourselves to the fast-paced city life.
Our loving daughter who lives in Canada with her spouse, also wants us to live with her brothers.
But after shaking off the harness of my government job, I have learnt to live with contentment in our ancestral house in a small village. Undoubtedly, unlike my wife, who remains busy all day at domestic chores, I don’t have much business to transact.
Owing to my poor eye-sight, I can not spend time with books all day. The responsibility of maintaining the kitchen-garden has also been assigned to the our newly-hired gardener as my arthritic body refuses to bend now.
But our ennui ended with the arrival of Jack, our pug dog, who keeps me busy. My long suspended morning walks are back, as Jack is innately addicted to this routine. Feeding him is another duty I have taken up.
Like our little mischievous grandchildren, Jack is free to gallop on our bed and couch anytime.
His toys keep both of us engaged as we remain playfully busy making merry with the toys. His yelping is music to my ears, and I at times, croon a song or two to lull the little baby to sleep.
In return, our new family member also showers his love on both the loners. He has an ability to sense my moods. Whenever I am distraught, he silently jumps into my lap and begins to lick my hands to show his love. His gentle touch castes a magical spell on me and the anxiety of loneliness vanishes in no time.
Indeed, animals are our best friends. Jack ’s arrival has miraculously transformed our lives. In him, we have got the playfulness and love of our grandchildren back, whom otherwise we had lost to the city life.