A graduation to remember!

There was a break from social media between March and September. Sadly, this also meant a blog break. Many events, trips, thoughts went unposted. Going to try and catch up over the next few months. 

Writing can be cathartic. It can also be a good memory jogger, trying to see what sticks to your mind a few months later! 

Here is the first of such posts. The little one graduated high scool and has now settled in college. She is a five hour road trip away and that makes it comforting.

All she has to do is call and I can start driving.

Jr. on the other hand has not had a mention. She should have! She finished her 4 year degree in 3 years and did a summer graduation.

This was because of a deal we made with her. If she finished early, we will support her Masters program, no matter where. Remember, this is a kid who worked hard all summer in 8th grade to jump two levels in high school math. The motivation was a new iPhone instead of daddy's hand me downs.

It is a win win and she is back in California for her Masters. That alone was enough to make me happy. 

All she has to do is call and I can start driving.....you get the idea!

When she started at Purdue, I did not go to drop her. Stayed home with my emotional support puppy(aka the little one), while San went and dropped her. My friend went and helped!

Finally the entire family got a chance to see the Purdue campus and participate in the graduation. 

The best part was they had a surprise for me. My friend was there again for the graduation! 

It was fitting that he was there at the start and the end of that degree.

The graduation ceremony was very well organized. We got to see a very happy Jr. walk with confidence and hope. 

Drank some hot cocoa after the graduation before taking off from campus.

My family knows all too well that my best undergrad moments were not in the lecture halls, but sitting under a tree and drinking chai with my friend.

He would invariably challenge me on my grasp (of everything ?!) and always caution me on my jumping to conclusions, generalizing too quickly, forming very solid opinions very fast, only to revert. In short I used to be a fickle minded child and those chai sessions slowed me down for my own good. Apparently not much has changed in 30 years per family. Anyways, I am off topic already.

If there was any takeaway from that previous paragraph, it is :

1. Chai drinking is good for getting an education that you might not get in the classroom

2. It is better to go for Chai than for alcohol as you might actually remember what you learned (not covered in previous paragraph, but good advice given the kids are no longer kids!)

3. It takes a long time to change one's personality!

Got a campus tour the previous evening. Jr. showed us every part of campus she had visited. Nice campus which fits Jr. well. Now we know why she was at home in Purdue!

Got a nice family picture just before the clouds finally gave in and it started raining! 

A new beginning for both kids this year..

A short clip of the graduation ceremony..

Wanted at least one girl to do a doctoral degree, but that is a tough sell in this house. We are now into philosophical discussions on the value of a Ph.D in this day and age and "just because you were stupid enough to study forever, doesn't mean .. " type discussions. We live in interesting times and I am continuing to work on the "keep calm and carry on" attitude.  

We sincerely hope to see one more graduation picture added to that time series, in a couple of years! 

Thanks to all of you who have cheered and supported Jr. all this time! 

The little one is all set to fly out of the nest

It has been some time since I blogged. That is because I spent more than a week recovering from the severe allergies and nose bleeds after that super bloom hike. Was also under a lot of pressure from family to recover before first week of June, to be at the little one's high school graduation!

We came to Cupertino when she was a 6 month old baby, chasing a school district that was "the place to be" in our local circles. Most of our close Desi and Chinese friends were all moving to Cupertino and so did we! It feels like yesterday. 

17 years later, we have graduated out of this school system. It has been an interesting experience as a parent and I am sure both Jr. and the no so little one may have a very different view of things. I for one was happy to have them study here! The elementary, middle and high schools were all within walking distance given our location, they had great friends and we got great friends through them over these years. They also got a decent well rounded learning experience be it academics (thanks to all the "subject aunties" who tutored them where the teachers could not give individual attention), sports or music.... especially music! These schools had amazing music teachers who truly inspired! This place is also beautiful. We don't realize it everyday as we go through the grind, but when sitting in the stands looking at the graduating class, the backdrop was just beautiful!

While Jr. got to go places while still in high school (be it as a exhange student in Taiwan, a trip to rural Indonesia as part of a camp, a training program in Berkeley, etc.) the little one was not so lucky as she was pretty much grounded and at home thanks to COVID. That goes for almost all her classmates who missed out. 

So she was naturally hesitant to go far away. That is always music to my ears as I would like to see the kids every now and then. Not sure if I can handle San's undivided attention. It always reminds me of the ant that gets burnt by the lens. That said, both kids will be going to school in California.  The little one for undergrad and Jr. for a masters. 

While Jr. missed out on prom and a graduation ceremony thanks to COVID, she really enjoyed the grad ceremony and lived it through her sister! She made a secret collage gift and seeing that made my day!

Taking prom and grad pics made me tear up a lot. All these kids we have seen grown up over the years are now going out to the world as adults. Still see them as noisy kids yelling and screaming excitedly in the car as I used to take the group to badminton class every alternate week. 

(that background was modified using Photoshop.. I did have some fun editing grad pics!)

The little one was so happy that grandma made a quick visit for her graduation!

Slowly reconciling myself to the fact that this is going to be a very sad empty nest. Time to play board games till 3AM with a continous flow of chai with our friends I guess. We can do that again now that there are no kids in any of the houses... (in case I lost you there, here is an old old post from this blog!). 

Life does come full circle!

The kids have done us proud so far! Hope they keep succeding at whatever they try!

A bittersweet moment

When I posted this in 2007, there was always the realization that before we knew it, this girl would be going from high school to college.

We have had a good run in this home when it comes to the kids, schools and the folks in the neighborhood. 

The virus was a curve ball that has spoilt the graduation plans. The kid has been doing her work from her room in silence for the most part.. (I say that because when she plays that Alto Sax, no other zoom meetings are possible in the house or in a 500 meter radius). Hearing her play is a treat though!

In a lot of ways, we are going to miss her when she goes to Indiana, if and when Purdue opens. 

The original plan was for me to go with her and drop her in college as the little one (who is not little by standards outside my eyes) has first day of school the same week. 

The kids lobbied for me to stay home and my darling wife to be the college dropper and room setter upper.. 

Happened to be in the other room listening in on this discussion between grandma, mom and the two girls.

Apparently, I am emotionally unfit to do the drop. They were predicting that I would cry, make Jr. cry etc.. there was betting that I would say something like "nee padichchadhu porum. veetukku pogalam vaa!" (you have studied enough, lets go home!) or something like that right after the first day orientation is over and bring her back home with me.

Then they were talking about me being depressed if I don't go and the little one says "don't worry. I have him covered. Will take care of him and will make sure he is kept busy and distracted when you are gone!" 

The confidence and authority in that voice was a little scary. It is one thing to know that you have been managed by these three women for the most part of your life, but looks like I am the kid and she is the adult. 

There was a time when I was incharge of distracting them while San fed them gerber with one of those spoons which would change color if it got too hot.. now the kid is distracting me while one of them is being dropped off to college. In a way the world is coming full circle for me.

The official high school graduation from home is next week, but we did go take pictures this morning with the gown and cap that were received. . .

Here is a comparison photo..

Really wish this kid would go on to do everything she wishes to do as she steps out into the world!

An equal opportunity blog that needs new names

Jr. is all grown up.. obvious.. 

but the little one.. she makes us realize every minute that she is growing up.. this one is not creeping up on us silently. She makes a bold statement with her presence every waking minute. 

While it was a big day for Jr., the little one had her own big event in the morning. 

They had a "Clap out" for the fifth graders on their last day at elementary school. In case you are wondering what a Clap out is.. here it is!

There was also a small display of the kids and their projects.. 

Her teacher made me cry by telling me what a sincere and hard working kid she is. 

I begged her for a selfie or photo with her, having rushed straight from the airport to the clapout.. but she is going through a "Nofie" phase. Grandma managed to get a snap.. 

Finally after 9 years we will not be visiting this school that frequently anymore.. we will still go biking in the track around the playground every now and then or go say hi to the teachers on teachers day, but as far as this family goes, we are officialy out of elementary school! 

We are now be back to the middle school, with the little one. 

Jr. is still my junior and the little one will always be our little one!

They have grown up and I was thinking of new nick names for them, or maybe it is time to just start mentioning them by their name going forward?!

Jr. grows up without us realizing it!

It feels like yesterday when Jr. was complaining about the blog being all about her baby sister and how her birth and early life was not detailed here.. and to appease her I made this video 

and it feels like day before yesterday that those events in the video happened ! 

Before we realized it, this little girl is all grown up and is now going to high school. 

In a space of two weeks we saw her do a Bharatanatyam performance with her dance school, get glasses, do a solo with pros thanks to her Saxophone teacher, do a band performance at school, get a distinguished student award, look way cooler than her daddy and walk graduation! 

This girl who is now into signature posing.. continues to impress us with her perseverence and work ethic! 

Her teacher had some nice things to say about her and told me that Anjana would make a great teacher. Think her school teacher grandma will be very proud!

 

The highlight of this week though was that both kids graduated from their respective schools and are moving on to new schools. It was great not to just watch Jr. but all her friends graduate. All these kids we have seen grow along with Jr. over the last 9 years, practically as an extended family! 

The smile on her face says it all. There is a confidence, an assertiveness, a certain independence that we are seeing now that was not there last year. It is reassuring to see her go through this phase at this age. By comparison I was a clueless kid till the age of 18. The kids in the US may not be pushed hard enough compared to how we were 30 years ago in India when it comes to Math, Physics or Chemistry (my perception) but they are surely getting a more well rounded education with a better perspective on how what they learn is going to change things in the future for them and everyone (again my perception). 

 

Recently a guy in Asia gave me a compliment "you look like you are 46-47 years old!" . He thought it was underestimating my age. I did not say anything and just smiled. 

Compared to the 13 year old, I do look 45 when I am 43, and for once, I am okay with it, because I am now "cool" by association! 

They say when you feel time go by fast, you are happy and when you feel time stands still, you are not in a good place. Thirteen years flew by! 

Credit to Jr. for making us proud and happy. I can already imagine writing a post on Jr. going to college. Hope she does well in high school as well over the next four years..