One Step at a Time ..

The Alarm went up at its usual time, but it was unusually difficult for Trisha to get up. The last 15 days have been super hectic – with Samar being ill, critical project deadline, Vinay travelling and to top it all no maid. Things were so messy and out of control that she requested her mother in law- who lives in Jaipur to come down for support.  

But thankfully things are getting back to normal. Samar joined school after a week-long break just yesterday, her final presentation would get over today, Vinay gets back home tonight and the weekend awaits with open arms. Trisha gathered all her courage and got up almost in a robotic style and started with her daily routine.

She was very happy to have things getting back to normal and also the fact that she has weekend for her to catch up on all the lost sleep. With things getting back to normal her mother in law decided to leave for Jaipur over the weekend, after she meets Vinay. She has been of great help holding the fort with all the challenges around. Trisha thought of planning something special for her before she leaves. It was her own way of saying thank you to her MIL and also to cover up for the fact that she hardly was able to spend any quality time with her.

While Trisha was getting Samar ready for school these thoughts were running back of her mind and a plan came to her almost instantly.

“Maa I will come home early today , Vinay also will be back tonight- let’s call Arun mama and family for dinner. Been long we guys met. It will be a good surprise for him too. “ Trisha said

“Are you sure? Will you be able to make it in time? “ Comes a quick reply 

Normally these kind of statements does upset Trisha but given that she was so excited and looking forward to the plan she didn’t react. Trisha calmly responded 

“Absolutely Maa, dont worry my presentation finishes at 2 and I will immediately leave post that. Will be fun . “

Quickly picking her and Samar’s stuff, Trisha said rushing out of the house “ Bye Maa,  you leave everything to me I will manage everything. “  

As soon as she sat in the car she called Arun Mama and invited him over for dinner. Arun Mama agreed and the plan was all set.

Arun Mama is the youngest of the siblings and is almost like son to Maa. Vinay and Arun Mama get along very well, just like friends. To add to the equation Samar shares a very good bond with Arun mama’s son – Veer.

With a huge grin Trisha looked at Samar and said “Samar boy are you ready to have fun? Arun Dadu and Veer bhaiya are going to be home tonight. And this will be a surprise for papa when he comes back tonight. Now you be a good boy and don’t drink anything cold in school. Mumma will pick you from Day care early today”

Samar was all smiles and gave a tight hug to Trisha and entered school.

As soon as Trisha entered office she immediately got all her focus to work and started to do the last minute revision and final touches to the presentation.

Trisha was fully engrossed in the slides, when she heard

“We good??”

She immediately looked up and see Sameer standing. With a reassuring smile responded

“Yup, all good”

“This will be an important presentation, the team and especially you have been working on it for a very long time . All the best Trisha “Sameer started to leave , just then Trisha interrupted and asked

“The meeting starts at 11 –right. No reschedules expected? “

“Yes absolutely , we have both MEA and APAC teams on call so no change . “ responded Sameer.

10.45 am – Trisha was in the meeting room , taking care of all possible details – projector, speaker , instructions to IT team and was making herself comfortable for the meeting.

Just then one of the admin staff walks in and said “ Trisha mam just got a message from global team, the meeting is rescheduled to 12.30 pm today. There is some critical matter that has come up at our  Singapore office and thus the delay. Apologies for the last minute change mam”

Trisha completely lost the plot at this point, and just sat down in frustration and anger.

Why ? Why ? Why? That’s all she kept saying and helplessly banging her wrist on the table.

Mind was running in multiple directions - What am I supposed to do now? The call will start at 12.30 and will easily go till 3.30 pm. When will I pick up Samar, how will I manage the dinner tonight, and what do I tell Maa? And with all this back of my mind, how am I supposed to handle the presentation with the APAC team? Why does it always happen with me, I have worked like crazy on this project - today was my chance to show my work  but with all this in my head I don’t even know what will I do

Was expecting a little happy moment with family wrong? Why it has to come crashing at all times.  

It might not have been more than 10 minutes since Trisha was into this, she already felt extremely weak and tired and getting hit by a headache. While she was entangled in the threads of these questions- suddenly the phone rang .

Maa Calling

Trisha kept looking at the phone and just could’nt gather the courage to pick up and talk. The call got disconnected.

This isn’t right – whatever it is I will have to face it , said Trisha to herself.

She almost immediately called back “ sorry maa missed your call “

 “Trisha I was thinking of making Dahi vade for evening, Arun and Vinay both like it a lot . Can you get some imli for the chutney on your way back? “ Said Maa

It was like someone has poured a bucket full of ice water on her, someone who is preparing with so much enthusiasm where does she get the heart to say I am not coming now. That helpless stare at the ceiling and with closed eyes Trisha responded  

“ Maa I will order the stuff and get the delivery done just now but I am stuck at work and  will come home only by 6 pm. “

“What happened  ? What about the dinner tonight? You should have not planned the dinner tonight? Said Maa,  in a concerned voice.

“Maa, don’t worry all will be managed. Something just happened that’s not in my control. I will not let the evening plan get ruined. You please carry on with your plan as earlier.” Reassured Trisha

God only knows how Trisha handled this conversation. She had no clue of what needs to be done, but didn’t wanted to hide the facts too. This is something she has learnt with experience, there was a time when just to keep others happy she used to hide true feelings and facts or say things the other person wants to hear. That used to leave her struggling from within, so for her own peace after Samar was born she had decided to be what she is and not hide anything to make the other person happy.

One stare at the clock – 11.30 am.

Trisha wanted to desperately talk to someone; she was so restless and tensed. She called her best friend but as luck would have it; her friend was busy in a meeting and couldn’t take her call. This just added to the frustration and helplessness. For a couple of minutes Trisha aimlessly kept staring at the screen and then what started was the self-pep talk series by Trisha for Trisha. (at times having the entire meeting room to yourself is also goodJ

What is wrong with you Trisha? What is the problem- you won’t be able to make it in time for a dinner? Or you won’t be able to cook? OR The things are not happening as per your plan? You can’t mess it up like this Trisha, lot of hard work has gone behind this. Even when your child was unwell you did not lose sight of this presentation. How can you just loose this by mere change in the meeting timing? What was the idea of the dinner tonight? 

Having a good time together, saying thankyou to Maa for her support and a surprise for Vinay. 

Where are these getting missed, with the changed meeting timing? Arun mama and family will come over not to eat food cooked by you but to meet and spend good time. What is more important? 

Creating memories and sharing smiles. That will happen. Right now what is the priority - focus  on the presentation. If this goes wrong even you making in time for the dinner will not help. You can do it Trisha, you can do it. Just stay calm and take one step at a time.

That very moment, Trisha switched her mind off everything else and got back to the presentation. She started her revision once again and kept looking at the backup slides and her prep notes.

The meeting started sharp at 12.35 pm with full participation form MEA , APAC and India team. The meeting was a grilling one – it was to present the scorecard around a new product launch. The MEA team is a tough one, not an easy one to convince for sure. But glad all the homework was done well and all the relevant information was present. .

Meeting got wrapped up and Sameer was happy the way Trisha led it from the front. The MEA team too was supportive and left on a positive note.  

That sighs of relief- like a big heavy block getting off your head. The newly found energy, that you can conquer the world, that confident and comfortable look said it all. 

Trisha started to wrap up and picked up her phone to check. Saw a couple of missed calls and a message from Vinay

 “Boarded, see you soon”

Trisha smiled looking at her phone.

“Hey Sameer, I am leaving for the day. A personal commitment that needs my attention, I will block sometime with you on Monday for a follow on discussion “Trisha said.

“Ok, it’s your day ‘Sameer responded back with a smile.

Trisha quickly wrapped up work and cleared last set of emails and made an exit. While she was walking towards the parking, Trisha was super excited and happy. How difficult was it to work on this presentation given the challenges at home, what all happened in this last month and what all she went through. The evening get-together looked even more meaningful after the meeting. She was eagerly waiting for Vinay, it’s been over a month he has been away.

Trisha finally entered home at 6 pm with a super excited Samar and all the grocery and food items.

Food, snacks and deserts were all ordered from a nearby Indian restaurant, and Trisha just kept the beverage and serving department with her. She quickly changed and got started with settling the stuff and getting the crockery out. 

Arun Mama and family arrived a little later and from that very moment it was a different world – there were giggles, laughter, and chatter all around. They all were meeting after almost a year but it didn’t feel like. All logistics were well managed and everyone was having a good time. The carefree smiles said it all.

Everyone now was eagerly waiting for Vinay and to see his reaction. At 9.30 pm Vinay came and his reaction was priceless. There was a festival kind of environment in the house and it all looked so lively.

Trisha was a happy soul that moment.

‘Now that Vinay has come, let me quickly serve dinner “Trisha announced

While getting the table ready, Trisha could not help but revisiting the events of the day in her mind.  

That time in the day it was impossible to even imagine that the evening will unfold like this.

At times we complicate the situation by over thinking about it. Situations might look extremely tough; you may feel helpless, angry and frustrated but that is all a result of our over and negative thinking. By imagining the possible negative outcomes and reactions, we just make the situation even more complex. We can’t control the future or people’s reaction but we can take control of the present and focus on the right thing.

At times what really is required is to “Stay calm, stay focused and take one step at a time”