Of life lessons and listening to one’s heart - Mrs. B speaks

Small pleasures matter in life. Really small, everyday pleasures. Like, being able to smell the garden in full bloom on a hot summer day, or being able to have a hot water bath in cold weather. Or even being able to drink a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Or, for that matter, being able to eat junk food to one’s heart’s content! Ah, bliss!

Oh, I almost forgot, for those of you who haven’t met me before, myself, Mrs. Bhagirathi. The kids in my building call me Mrs. B. I am a housewife. Or better still – a homemaker. I work from home and generally spend time reading and surfing the internet when the kids and my husband are away for the day. I also cook and clean, and wash and iron clothes – but I guess all that is included in the title of “homemaker.” So no special mention needed.

So, like I was saying, life is a sum total of small pleasures. And what I said about junk food, is absolutely true. Especially when you think of the cheeseburger. Or the veggie burger with extra cheese, as in the case of us vegetarians. In fact, there is something about cheeseburgers that I must share with you!

You see, my father handed down some life rules for us siblings to live by. And we diligently follow these rules, like good children should.

Just for your benefit, I will lay them down for you too –

1)      Always speak the truth,

2)      Always give your 100% to any job, with nary a worry about the results; and

3)      Always listen to your heart.

Cool, right?

Now, while the first two were simple and easy to follow – I mean, it is always the best to speak the truth, isn’t it? That way, one doesn’t have to remember what one had said at different times. Same goes for hard work too – I mean, once you give your complete attention and commitment to a project, the outcome is bound to be great! And at the very least, you conscience is clear that you have given it your best shot. See? Then there is no question of things going wrong in that case. Mostly.

So, the first two rules that dad gave us, were easy. Not so with the third one though.

That bugger proved difficult because of a cheeseburger!

No, really. Let me explain.

You see, everyone in India, at one point in time (which was around the time we were all growing up…), was obsessed with America. (Many still are!) And as an extension of this obsession, now that we are all grown up, and have more access to ‘American’ fast food (read junk food), we millennials prefer burgers and colas for snacks, even meals.

So, it was during this period of early introduction to junk food, that I came into contact with the 

cheeseburger. Having found its vegetarian equivalent – a soulmate, really – in the crispy veggie burger, I was the most content young adult of my times. And everything was fine till I wasn’t asked “would you like it with extra cheese?” Because, that was when I went all weak in the knees and starry eyed….

Because therein, lay the problem, see? The extra cheese, while music to the ears and elixir to the taste buds, wasn’t the best thing for the health. And it left its footprint. On various parts of my body. And yet, I couldn’t abandon it. Because dad says – Always listen to your heart. And my heart always craved the burger – with extra cheese!

Things really came to a head, when I met my husband to be. It was the time, when, in India, no café or hotel allowed you to spend more time than required to finish one plate of samosas and one cup of tea each. And so, we – the husband to be and I – were always in search of cafés where the waiters wouldn’t watch us like hawks. That was when our search led us to these fast food joints where the burger was the king and the cola, the minion that you couldn’t live without!

The romance that began from there, has lasted now for almost two decades – the romance with the burger, I mean – and of course the one with the husband too – what were you thinking?

So, even today, I easily fall prey to the lure of the burger. The plump beds of the bun, the tasty, crispy patty within, the tomatoes and the lettuce romancing each other under the soft, squishy quilt of the burger sauce while balancing the crunchy onion rings on top. Not to mention the amazing liquid cheese oozing out from every pore – really, how can one resist a burger?

But that is not the only reason (although that is enough) that I stick on with the burger even today. It is also because of dad! You see, it is very important to follow the life lessons handed to us by our parents. And I always follow my heart, just as my dad tells me to.

How about you? Do you follow any rules handed down to you by your parents? I would love to know in the comments section!

   

Note: This is my third entry for Write Tribe's Festival of Words, June 2018. 

Pic courtesy: Freepik

You can read my other entries for this festival here - 

The Dream
About Time 
The Trip
Start Over