Vegetarianism

"I am a Vegetarian" - That sentence brings in a lot of reactions.Sometimes "Oh really?How does that work for you?" to "Uhh!!" and sometimes to an even bizzare "So do you eat fish?".Wikipedia says "Vegetarianism is the practice of following a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, mushrooms, with or without dairy products and eggs."Now there are people who argue as to how eggs fall under a vegetarian diet but lets skip that.
What i wanted to say was why am i a vegetarian.I am SouthIndian and fall into a caste(i hate using that word but as any Indian we are forced to) who are orthodox,strict vegetarians and so on.I was brought up to think eating meat is unholy.My family and my extended family a group of people who cringe at people eating meat even in movies.My paternal grandma even makes this puking sound.Go figure!So thats my background as is my husband's.
At this point of life, i can say that i am a vegetarian not because i am forced to.Not even because my religion demands it.And not because i am against animal cruelty.But in a way i am against animal cruelty.Why the paradox?Let me explain - I am against animal cruelty.I hate that but its not that i dont use leather handbags.Its not like i dont use products tested on animals because i do.Most of the products today are and the few which are not tested on animals are freaking expensive.So there!I am against animal cruelty but somethings fall out of my control.Anyways, I digress.So why am i a vegetarian??
Because it is healthy. And much closer to the truth - Because i am used to it!I dont make the faces my family makes nor do i make puking gestures but the sight of people butchering meat does get to me!I walk the aisles of the supermarket and when i come to the meat section i see live crabs ready in the tank and something tugs heavily.I cant help it.I have nothing against people eating meat but its not my cup of tea(pun intended!).
Linux and me are bring up our son a vegetarian but in future if he chooses to eat meat its his decision.Each to his own.

Note: The above post is just my view and not meant to affect the sentiments of anyone.

Moments like this....

Munchkin wanted to go to the park badly.He had been asking about it the whole day .We told him we could go in the evening but somehow we couldn’t make it(Linux had some deadline he had to meet).
Munchkin was badly upset and started to cry and I was feeling bad too.I tried telling him we could go the next day but he didn’t understand why we couldn’t go right then.He was sitting by the window in a chair, looking pensive with big tears rolling down his cheeks when suddenly he yelled “Mommy, come and look!There are 2 kittens outside trying to go under the fence.One grey and one black.”Munchkin was so excited that he forgot all about his park trip.He.was in the moment.Watching him made me thinking why we adults fail to look at the brighter side of things.We tend to get weighed down when we are faced with hurdles.We are so focused on milestones that we forget the moments, the present.There is no time more important than the present, this moment.
Moments matter, not Milestones.

Listings

Random listings this time.Its so much easier than writing paragraphs.Thats how lazy I am today.I really wanted to blog regularly and everytime I write a post I keep telling that to myself.But somewhere along the day I forget!So well, listings this time..
•We joined a recreational club 2 weeks back.Linux and me are planning on learning to swim and munchkin is signing up for swimming and soccer classes.
•I had a wakeup call from my doctor saying its time I did something about my weight gain.I have been working out for the past 1 month and I like it.
•I love the workout videos for the simple reason that I can do it at the comfort of my home , anytime.
•Munchkin had gone pumpkin picking with his school.He brought home the two cutest pumpkins I have seen my entire life.
•I am missing amma and appa a lot.Though I speak to them atleast twice a day I wish I could see them.
•We watched Endhiran!!( a tamil movie).It was an event by itself,let me tell you why.It was the first movie we went to see as a family after munchkins birth, it was also the first tamil movie I saw with linux in a theatre :-)
•Its difficult to change oneself.I have always had the difficulty of letting go.Its very hard for me to let go but I know I am made of sterner stuff.I really have to learn not to hold on to things too tightly.

Munchkins world

Blogging after a very long time…Munchkn is now 3 yrs and 5 mths.He is going to preschool starting this month.It hits me hard everytime I say his age out loud.My baby is growing up ! I don’t know how to put it in words but there is this elated feeling inside me with a touch of melancholy…I guess its just a mom thing.Somehow my life changed after pregnancy.My life which was so valuable.I know I will give it up in a moment if it means I can save my baby but there is this part that also hopes for a long life – not to see my dreams come true but to watch munchkin realize his dreams.
So what is munchkin doing these days?
Munchkin holds intelligent conversations now..oh yeah,he reasons out everything.He dosent take anything without sound reasoning.I hope he keeps doing it as he grows old because there are times and people who do things because it’s the norm or because tradition demands it.(Now I don’t have anything against traditions and beliefs as long as there is a valuable reason behind it)
He has started writing alphabets and can spell 3 letter words but he gets muddled between the ‘c’ sound and ‘k’ sound..Just the other day we were working on spellings and he spelt the word ‘cat’.When asked to spell ‘key’ he said ‘cey’.I immediately corrected him saying its spelt with a ‘k’ sound .Munchking gives me a mom-you-are-silly stare and says ‘but mama, its Key just like Cat..so why would you tell me to use K instead of C..I tried to think of an explanation without putting it as lame as ‘English is a funny language,that way’ but failed to.I am now seriously looking for an explanation for the time he asks me why we pronounce the words ‘cut’ and ‘put’ in a different way.Sigh!!
Munchkin is still very much into Dinosaurs and trains.A new found love of his is building blocks and colouring books.He loves playing Leggo .He has been learning to swim and I am glad he lost his fear of water.His favorite color as of yesterday is yellow and he loves the swing.Thats where he runs to the minute we hit the park.So much to write about munchkin.His world is becoming bigger with endless possibilities.A lot of discoveries, a lot more of laughter and friends , some accidents made alright with kisses and cookies, an urge to explore, innocence and smiles – that’s munchkins world

Munchkins graduation

Today was munchkins graduation day.He will be going to preschool come september.The color code for his graduation was blue shorts and white T-shirt and he looked so cute.They had been practicing for a long time now and munchkin keeps singing the songs all throughout the day.His class was the first to go and it was so cute watching the boys and girls come and stand in a line.We had a great time watching them not perform.It took 3 songs for them to warm up and even then there were just three kids who sang and danced but it was so cute watching them.Kids never fail to put a smile on our faces.

Zen Meditation

I am attending Zen meditation classes.For a long time now i have been wanting to learn meditation.I had learnt yoga and meditation some 6 years back.Though i still practice yoga i am out of touch with meditation.I tried doing it at home with calm surroundings but i wasnt able to do it for more than 5 minutes.I learnt about Zen meditation and wanted to give it a try and i love it.Zen is a form of buddhist meditation developed in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.The foundation of Zen is meditation.Through meditation, Zen practioners gradually transform their deepest mental habits. Step by step, breath by breath, the mind frees itself from its illusions and passes through its artificial barriers.
I attend a 1.5 hour class where we practice sitting meditation for the first 30 minute period.Then we practice walking meditation for 15 minutes and then go back to another 30 minutes of sitting meditation.The experience is unique.I feel so much happier and lighter after a session.Now i just hope i am able to continue my classes.

Our first trip to Chuck-e-cheese

We had been to Chuck-E-Chesse’s today.This was our first trip there and Munchkin loved it.He loved playing those rides, basketball loops and arcade games.There was this big tunnel slide but Munchkin was scared of going on it.Ever since he had a fall in India (in which he broke his tooth) he is scared of tall slides.I guess its going to take some time to overcome it but no hurry.We are going easy.We earned about 40 credits and Munchkin came out with all smiles holding a plastic snake in ne hand, a tootsie pop in the other and a strip of stickers in his pocket.Simple things like these bring him so much of happiness.Watching him keeps the child in me alive..