May 2020

Dear Love Ceyone, 

May was another month spent in lockdown for us. Mostly indoors, working and schooling from home due to COVID-19. This isolation was discomforting for sure but I think we had nothing to complain. 

We stuck to schedule pretty much everyday. Morning routines, office meetings, online classes, setting up reminders for all your live lessons with Google Assistant, spending my lunch time helping you with assignments, me being part of your classes and you being part of my meetings. Evenings walking, dinner, early sleep time, lots of reading and art making. 

Here's some of your pretend sleep modes :-) 

It was mandatory to wear a mask in Singapore when outdoors and you got comfortable with it pretty soon. 

You got a nice certificate from Mrs. Hayward, your lovely Grade I homeroom teacher. 

Meanwhile, Royal Mamu was honing his photography skill during lockdown in India too. He sent me these pictures titled Instant Noodles and I loved them! 

That is Guddi Mausi Naani, ready in her PPE to treat her patients. I felt a special respect for health care workers who were the front line warriors and extremely brave people in that situation. 

The other pic is a rare one. It has all the women of Pisal family, including my grandmother or your great grandmother. 

While on walks, you spotted many interesting things such as these wild mushrooms that popped up just down the street. 

While walking we met several neighbors including baby Anya. You also enjoyed grocery shopping as it was a novelty activity during lockdown time. 

When barber shops opened, Papa took you for a hair cut. Trips till Fort Canning Park which was very near to our place continued. 

In my healthy food series, we drank ABC juice one day. 

Work wise I got another, different task to complete. It was a live Periscope broadcast to Twitter employees internally from the company account and teach people Bollywood dancing. I had packed all my Indian clothes with naphthalene balls. So I pulled them out and I hack stitched the blouse to wear during the session. Below are some before and after pictures. 
The session went well and just in the middle of my dance, my phone dived out of the stand. So I did the dance one more time to make for it. I walked everyone through the steps first and then performed it with music, it was quick 50 seconds performance on Kaala chashma song. 

 

 

We attended Origami session with one of my colleague and made shakshuka for another one of my meetings. 

Meanwhile, you took a lot of interest in art and I signed you up for online art classes. I thought that was a very good decision as your inclination towards art was growing well. You worked on Yayoi Kusama, Pablo Picasso's work, negative spaces and more. 

After shower you often asked me to make unicorn horn on your head and we enjoyed it a lot! We also had a few green visitors outside our room window. 

Home schooling and Harry Pottering continued. 

It was also my birthday that month and I told myself that it was time to get serious about health. I made a diet plan and gave up carbs in one meal entirely. I had to be very disciplined, especially with meal times and the results kept me going. The secret was lots of water and good sleep. 

Yayoi Kusama that you created in your online art class. 

With no office and no school, we could sleep in a little extra and that meant lots of morning cuddles. Sometimes you spent time in Tita's room on her bed and were quite happy there. 

I revolutionized my snacking. Receiving my Good Housekeeping copy every month was one of the best things for me. I loved such magazines a lot, since teenage. When I was younger I subscribed to Teens Today in India and it was a lot of fun. 

I didn't know a lockdown birthday would be so much fun. Thanks to everyone who made it so special for me. You, Papa and Tita got a cake, Deepti organized a surprise zoom call with our handwriting club kids, Nana Nani and Mamu enjoyed a cake in Bhopal, Dolly Mausi baked a cake and we chatted together with Swati mausi. Kiaan and Binu mausi sent me lovely messages. 

  

 

  

 

 

Tita cooked a special meal that we enjoyed together. 

 

 

You got me a bunny cake. Thank God you didn't select the piggy cake that you wanted to get earlier. 

We made shakshuka with garlic bread. 

Walking in lockdown looked like that, mask on always. 

More of your art work from teacher Roshni's art class. 

Post shower fun, cutie tongue and hedgehog hair :-) 

  

It was also Eid that month and we made seviyaan kheer to celebrate. I wanted you to adopt international mindedness and experience wonderful elements from all communities. Couldn't be a better start to learn than food. 

       

When I gave you chia seeds soaked in water for health drink you said to me if I just served you frog spawn. I went and googled frog spawn and it looked exactly like hydrated chia seeds. yikes! 

You wrote a creative story about flying phones and had your friend Samar as a character in it. 

May the lockdown end soon and life returns to normalcy for everyone.

May you get more slopes in life than uphills, Ceyone. May you always have an umbrella on you :-) 

Lots of love,

Mumma