War Story of Another Kind

   The earliest available photo of Esther This is the story of Esther, my friend's grandmother. As a mom of two who is constantly preoccupied with safeguarding our kids from danger and also safeguarding our own selves just so that we can take proper care of our kids, I found her story very compelling and worth sharing with the world. So here it is... Esther was born in early 1936 in the city of Babrujsk in Belarus. When World War II began, Esther's Dad went to fight in the war. Other than that Esther has no memory of him. Mom Taiba, fled the war-torn country with 5 year old Esther & her 1 year old younger brother Alek. The little girl travelled eastward for about 60 kms by foot, holding on to her mom's skirt, to reach the city of Rahachow. Her mom carried baby Alek all the way. At Rahachow they boarded a cargo train bound for Kattakurgan in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan. Mapping the journey from Babrujsk to Rahachow to Kattakurgan. Source: google maps

Bike Lessons...Life Lessons

This summer, my 7 year old daughter & I have been riding our bikes a lot. A good number of these trips were not just recreational. We have been using the bike as a legitimate commute option. Most of our trips have been about 3 miles long. Our little girl has been bravely riding alongside regular commuter & speed cyclists during those trips.  While she was hoping to ride alongside me and have a fun chat, I was constantly barking out road rules at her. She was trying to be my buddy and I was unsuccessful at getting out of my mom hat!!

To give you an idea, our conversation would go something like this:

N - mommy, you know, we can make a hovercraft.

Me - don't look at me. look ahead.

N - mommy, I can show you how to make a hovercraft

Me - let's take a break, sit at the lawn & talk.

N - no no. Let's go. I don't want a break.

Me - But I don't want you talking to me. I want you to focus on the road. Safety first.

N - okay okay!

....and then she would start pedaling really fast and go way ahead of me :-(

watching kayaks on Hudson during one such trip

My recovery

Wanted to quickly share my post concussion recovery experience. I am fully aware that many many folks around me have suffered bigger injuries & are going through greater pains. (As a matter of fact my grandma has been bedridden for more than year after a head injury). My injury is fairly minor. My pain so far has been manageable. I did not have any clots, did not have any internal bleeding (only external & minor bruising of the brain). This post is not about how great my suffering is (it is not that big a deal actually). I am writing this mainly as a way to document my symptoms and also to answer questions from well wishers. Often times when people ask how am I feeling, I freeze..can't think of a few words at a stretch to coherently describe how I feel.

It has been 3 months since the fall and I continue to have the below symptoms. The good thing is, a month or so ago all these symptoms were far more severe. Nowadays they are less so.