As soon as the doors of the airport open to the world, I don’t feel the gust of warm air, but humid moisture wraps its blanket around me. As I wait, I hear the passing ya’ll and see men who don cowboy hats as a part of their everyday attire; I feel familiarity tickling my skin. I am in Dallas again, a place I’ve always called home. As my daughter and I wait on the curb, I notice a man [...]
July 2010
My daughter is inquisitive and most of her conversations are a series of questions. Usually, I can answer her questions, which revolve around day to day activities. When are we going to swim lessons? When can I get up? Do I have to take a nap? Can I have two popsicles, instead of one? I am pinging answers like I am playing tennis and I know I’ve won a certain round of a conversation when she reaches a two minute [...]
The sand is light brown, the vastness of it daunting. As I walk on it, the grittiness of the crunch in between my toes surprises me. It is as if I am walking on sugar, as soon as I take a step forward, my footing slips and I attempt to regain my composure. One quick move and I slip, lose my balance, just as my palms try to cushion my fall. I sink into the sand, but without thinking, I [...]
You see something. You weren’t meant to see it. But as chance would have it, what happened makes your stomach drop and your eyebrows move up in an arch, adding an instant wrinkle in the middle of your forehead. And you say to yourself, I can’t believe what I am seeing. And now you are stuck with information; something you weren’t meant to see, but now it is rolling around in your head, doing flip-flops. What do you do? With [...]
Saying Thank You is not overrated, but I don’t think we say these words enough. There are people we should thank, but don’t. I am not certain why. We think we will have time to do it later. Or maybe it isn’t the right moment. Or we don’t know the right words to say. Or we need a plan. Or we are waiting for an occasion or an event. Thank You should be part of the ordinary day. It shouldn’t [...]
The last name Pathak probably won’t mean anything to you, but it means something to me. It is my Mom’s maiden name and in West Indian heritage, your last name indicates your caste. According to the Hindu scriptures there are four major class classifications: 1) Brahmin, the “highest” class which encompasses the priest class; 2) Kshatriyas, the warrior class; 3) Vaishyas, the farmer and trader class; and 4) Sudras, the servant class, often known as the untouchables. My mom and [...]
We were in San Diego this past week on a mini-vacation, visiting with some family and taking in the local sites like Sea World and Legoland. My daughter loved hanging out with her cousins, the three of them hand in hand, running through the hotel doing their best Three Musketeers impression. When it was time to pack up and leave, I was struck by a conversation I had with one of the hotel staff, an older gentleman, from Spain. He [...]
One change has altered my perspective on roots, the idea of belonging to just one place. On July 7th of last year, we started our journey in the land of the sun, where sandstorms are more common than rain falling from the skies. I remember looking out the window, staring at the openness of the landscape around me. The streets running parallel to the highway weren’t littered with malls, movie theaters or random business establishments. Instead, mountains surrounded us, the [...]
My daughter collects “sparkles” like it is a rare currency. These sparkles, as she calls them, are an array of red, blue, green or yellow shapes of flowers, circles and hearts. In her pre-school playground, they are littered outside in various places, under the swings, on the slides, and in the sand. I suspect they catch the eye of most young children, the reflection of the glisten too irresistible for them. My guess is that the teachers buy these “sparkles” [...]
