Parents day, everyday!

A new message arrived. My gmail inbox subject line reads "Looking for great father's day gift ideas? 40% on father's day hampers and free shipping to India." This is from one of those send-gifts-to-India portals. I start thinking what would be nice for my dad and it reminded me of mother's day which was about 4 weeks back.

Sunday, May 11, whoaa! I got up early to call up mom! She was super excited to hear my voice and as I finished hearing her stories in her mellifluous voice - I was super charged! And it's known that in our family of 4, my mother and me suffer from logorrhea - atleast that's what my dad and bro feel!

Excited I was, planned to treat myself some chocolate kiwi walnut fudge from Joann's Patiserrie
& cookies. As I drove past main street, I saw about 20 old people standing with some hoardings which I didn't read then and looked around to see what was happening. Everybody around were calm, doing their work in the regular fashion and not seem to be distracted as I was looking at that flock of old people. One of the hoarding caught my attention and it read, "I am just like your mother, will you not wish me for mother's day?"

I thought it was some kind of fund raising events for mother's day till I read the next hoarding. They all were standing below their so called home called "St. Patrick's Senior Living Center" (Read: Old Age Home). The second hoarding read "Adopt me, I will be like your father", third read "Am I that bad to be abandoned?", fourth read, "Can you be my child to me?" and probably a 12 more hoardings like that. Being an emotional enough person, I felt purblind for a while. The 'Maa' song from TZP added that little extra effect!

The oldies standing there are in hope of someone who could come and take them away not because the old age home treats them with cruelty but coz' they could lead a dignified life and prove themselves and to their children that they are not that bad to be abandoned. Some don't curse their kismet and are patiently waiting for their children to come and see them for mother's day!

I quickly called up my mom again and felt a million times better when I heard her say, "Enna ma achu?" ?( What happened dear?) and I replied back saying, "Nothing, just felt like talking a bit more!" Amidst my lachrymose feeling, I still had questions in my mind and one of them was, "How could somebody hate their parents so much to abandon them?"

I switch on the repeat mode in my ipod and listen to the "Maa" song again till I drive back home! ~RJ