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Day 4 #Loveuary❤ – Sibling Love

04 Feb 2017 37 Comments

by Ritu in #loveuary, Family, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #loveuary, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Brother, love, Sibling love, sister

It’s not always immediate, this sibling love.

I know that in mine and my brother’s case, we went through many ups and downs on our journey to become as close as we have.

I truly love my brother, I do.

But when we were growing up, it was a different story!

Boys were smelly, mean and nasty, and that brother of mine was no exception!

He was moody, and such a pain, always wanting whatever I had, running around the house like a loony, pretending to be a gun-wielding soldier and scaring me with creepy crawlies! (Seriously, one time he decided it would be hilarious to capture some daddy long legs in an empty cotton bud container, one with a see-through lid. He spent a whole evening chasing after me with it! Did I say I love my brother?!)

But on the flip side, when we were in any situation where either of us were threatened, we’d step up, and be there for each other! Once he was playing with some of our cousins, and I was sat in a room nearby. I heard him being picked on and the big sis blood in me began to boil. I stormed out and confronted these cousins of ours… (they were real tough nuts! Softies now, but pretty crazy as children!) I threatened to punch one of them in the mouth if he said anything to my brother. He tried me, and before I knew it there was a boy standing in front of me with blood pouring from his mouth! He ran in crying to his mum, who didn’t believe him at all! How could Ritu even do that? It was unbelievable! (Phew!)

Growing up, we became separated location wise, as he went to boarding school, and then I went to university, but that distance did make the heart grow fonder, and we became extremely close. He would ask me advice on girlfriends, and I introduced him to my Hubby Dearest (then boyfriend!) before anyone else in the family!

Now he’s sat in another country, living his life with a beautiful wife and two-year-old son. We are still, so far away from one another, but our hearts are so close together.

Brother:
Hell bent on causing you strife
But truly a support for life!

Remember, feel free to take part in #Loveuary! Just ping back to the daily post, as in this one for today! And if you are at a loss for a prompt, then visit my rules post here for a list of prompt suggestions!

Day 3 #Loveuary❤ – The Apples Of My Eyes, My Children

03 Feb 2017 63 Comments

by Ritu in #loveuary, Challenges, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #loveuary, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Children, Lids, Loss, love

I can’t speak of love in any way without talking about my two children.

The love we have for our children is unconditional. We created these tiny beings, they are ours to nurture and mould. Little reminders of us.

But it’s not always easy to become a parent.

No matter how good a parent all profess you’ll be, it’s not always that simple. I spent my younger years dreaming of getting married and having children. After all, that was how it happened, wasn’t it?

After a year of marriage we decided to start trying for a family.

It became two years of heartache, as I discovered that I suffered from PCOS (Polycystic Ovaries) The teasing of missed periods, which were nothing more than my ovaries taunting me, others falling pregnant with apparent ease, babies all around me, it was not easy.

But with a little help, we were finally blessed with one miracle. The second followed three years later, but after the devastating loss of two little angels.

My children are now 11 and 8 respectively, and, though they can be trying as kids have a tendency to be, they truly are the apples of our eyes. Not one day goes by where I don’t thank God for bringing these little bundles of joy into our lives.

I do have those moments, when they are trying my patience, that I wonder whether I actually like them, but love… that love I feel for them is incomparable to anything else in the world!

I will probably write more deeply about each of my children at a later stage, but for now I’ll leave you with a poem I penned a couple of years ago. It was previously posted on my blog, and has since been published in my poetry book, Poetic RITUals, too❤

From Twinkle To Reality

Let me take you down that road,
Much travelled through eternity
The journey to become a mum,
From twinkle to reality.

The plans you make at a young age,
Full of gurgles and laughter,
The horror as you realise,
What really does come after!

The fun of trying,
The monthly wait.
The disappointment,
That feeling, you hate…

The years of trying,
Full of hospitals and checks,
The medication taking you over,
You feel like total wrecks…

Then finally, the day comes
That positive is clear
The goal that you were aiming for,
Has suddenly come near.

The months of fascination,
Your changing body grows
The feeling of satisfaction
That only you can know.

Those pain-filled days, or hours
To reach the prize you sought
The feeling of satisfaction
That this little bundle brought.

I gaze at you in wonder
Are you really here?
I’m overwhelmed with happines
And a tiny bit of fear.

Will I be able to give to you
All you want and need?
As you look at me, wide eyed
Snuggled close while you feed.

Little blessing, sent from God
My heart is filled with joy
I will do all I can for you,
My darling baby boy.

And so the cycle continues
The waits and checks again
We’re gifted with a gorgeous girl
After a little more pain.

My life is here with me right now
Some twinkles from my eyes.
But I’ll never forget those twinkles
That now, do grace the skies…

Dedicated to my wonderful children, recognising the struggles to have them, and remembering my 2 angels lighting the sky at night.

By Ritu

Day 2 – #Loveuary ❤ My Love For My Parents

02 Feb 2017 65 Comments

by Ritu in #loveuary, Challenges, Poems, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #loveuary, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Family, In-Laws, love, Parents

Where would I be without my parents? My wonderful Pops and Mum?

If it wasn’t for them, and their nurturing, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

They taught me how to walk, talk, live and love. Their unwavering love for my brother and me, their faith in us, has been key in helping us grow.

The love I feel for them is so strong, a bond that can never be broken. I live far from them now, since marriage, but I am still their little girl, and every time I go home, I am transported back to my childhood, even as a 41-year-old mother of 2!

You held my hand
You lifted me
With your love
You gifted me

You helped me grow
You moulded me
Your unerring faith
Emboldened me

The reflection
That I see of me
Shows not one
But all us three

For into me
You poured your souls
The strength that I
Fulfil my goals

My love for you
Will never be
Enough for you
To really see

Just how much
You mean to me
My Precious Pops
And my Mummy.

Ritu 2017

Talking of parents, I can’t leave out my parents-in-law. Though no one can ever take the place of my own parents, I have been blessed with a set of in-laws that have taken me in as their daughter, not daughter-in-law. I love them too, and not least because they created a most perfect being, my Hubby Dearest, who I love with all my heart.

No Mummy, They’re My Flowers!

13 Jan 2017 21 Comments

by Ritu in Family, Sonu Singh, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Family, Flowers, love, Sonu Singh

On Sunday, Hubby Dearest took Lil Man for a haircut, and came back with these…

20170108_164547

Not sure what I did to deserve them, and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t covering up anything, just being discreetly romantic!

But no sooner were they in a vase, the feline flower fiend was onto them!

20170108_165322

He does love a pretty bunch of flowers, does my WSonu Singh!

Been chewing away at the netting, and petals too! Thinks it’s his God given right!

My precious Pops!

27 Nov 2016 109 Comments

by Ritu in Family Tags: Appreciation, Dads, Family, love

A re post of one of my first few posts.

Oh I do love my Pops 💗

Image from Google

Well, since I wrote about my marvellous mum, it would be totally awful of me not to mention my wonderful father, Papa, we called him when I was younger, it’s now morphed to Pops!

Dads are those men upon whom you end up judging pretty much every male in your life, and anyone coming into my life had a hard act to follow…
(So I totally lucked out with my gorgeous, kind, sensitive other half… More on him another post😁!)

The youngest of a huge brood of children, countless nephews and nieces, (some of whom were even older than him!) it’s tough in a big family, being able to stand out, but you know what he did it!

He qualified as a dentist, and gave up much of his own time to make sure his elderly patients were ok, visiting them at lunchtimes to save them having to come out, being caring with child patients, he even had one gentleman who came every two years from Canada as he loved Dad so much! (And I’ll proudly say, he never converted to private practice!!! NHS all the way!!)

His great rhythm, and love of music got him dancing, and to this day, he wows us all with his Bhangra moves! “While I’m dancing, I forget my age, I feel 21 again, then I watch a video of the event and see an old man!” No Pops, you are not an old man, age ain’t nothing but a number!!
And that rhythm flows within our family blood, so when there’s a big gathering of our tribe, we really know how to party!

Pops has been the most amazing dad, seriously though…
He lost his own father at a precious young age, and I know he missed that influence, so he was determined to be the best father he could be to us kids.
And you know what, he was, and very much still is.

From the material things we wanted, holidays, clothes, to the most important thing, time and affection, he has always been there… Even now, there’s nothing a hug from Pops can’t make go away!

He’s been a terrific taxi service for us all, ferrying brother dearest to numerous sporting events over the years, every weekend, dropping and picking us up from university, and even when I had my children, 6 hour round trips to pick me up, so I could spend time back at ‘home’.
And he still hasn’t stopped, ok there may be more stopovers involved, but for a 70 year old, I don’t think that’s bad, do you?

He’s always been so giving, and always has time for everyone. I’ll be honest, when I was younger, sometimes I used to wonder why are we going here and there to various peoples houses or functions, let’s just have time as a family, why, just because so and so called, are you rushing here and there? But now as an adult, I’ve realised that, you know what, that’s just my Pops. And I wouldn’t change him for anything!

That’s one of his most amazing qualities, being there for everyone, come hell or high water. It’s testament to him, how many people proudly call him Nanaji, or Baba, and still come to him for advice, in our family, and from outside. Since he retired, he’s taken it a step further, and is now teaching healing Yoga to many people, and reaching the masses with his own TV show… And he doesn’t get paid… This is his giving back to the world, as he feels so blessed to have what he has been given in life.

He’s been a most amazing role model for brother dearest, and as said brother is about to embark on first time fatherhood, I can say with the greatest confidence, that he will also be a most amazing Pops too!!

It would be a mistake to emit the fact that he is a most loving grandfather (Nanu) to my two monkeys, and as I mentioned before, he will be a granddaddy to 3 soon!

So, thanks Pops, love you to the moon and back, and even more on top!
Your thinking has shaped mine, and I hope that even if I have half the qualities you possess, I will be a great human being also!💗