We often blame ourselves for not trying hard enough, being too lazy or lacking discipline in life. But how is one to keep going strong when so many little challenges are thrown our way, really? Take this incident for example –
Husby darling read about a ‘health drink’ that claims to have cured many serious ailments. An ‘easy’ drink that promises all the good things in life like a detoxed body, glowing skin, weight loss and such. And all this with just a few very simple ingredients – an apple, a carrot and a beetroot. I had read it too, but not surprisingly, did not dwell on it too much. But when husby darling shared his enthusiasm about wanting to try it, I did not want to be the wimpy wifey. After all, he is always supportive when I want to indulge in that caramel doughnut or a ‘small’ fries from McDonalds. And so, I played along.
We scoured the fresh food level of Westfield Mall for apples, beets and carrots (oh no wait, we already had a bag of carrots in the fridge) and after some pondering and comparing (we had to source the best you see, it’s health we’re talking about here), we came home with a bag of very red and shiny apples and a couple of juicy beets. The apples were tossed into the fruit bowl and the beets in the veggie bin in the fridge, where they met the waiting carrots. They all had to get their night’s sleep for their big task the next morning, when they had to form an amalgamation to give us two tall glasses full of ‘good health’.
Morning came and the sun rudely woke me up by poking his bright rays straight into my eyes. I was not smiling, I found it quite intrusive. I did not wake up with my usual ‘oh it’s another day, I’ll smile and go through it happily’, but instead with ‘aaargh! I did not sleep well last night, I’m hungry but too annoyed to make breakfast from scratch.’ And then I also remembered that we had to make that drink, great!
Anyway, after a quick washing up I donned my ‘in-charge-of-making-breakfast’ face and set about preparing to make saabudana khichdi*, one of our favourites by the way. I was obviously multitasking, so amidst chopping and other things, I shouted out to husby darling asking if he was still intent on making that holy health juice. I was not going to make it myself, no way. I already had breakfast to think about, didn’t I now? He was all for it, he sprinted into the kitchen and looked busy and important as he rummaged the cabinets for that juicer attachment (which we had never once used by the way). I thought I’d help after all, so I washed, peeled and diced the three main ingredients, solemnly preparing them for their noble task. And all the while I still had most of my attention on getting the saabudana khichdi ready.
Then began a series of events such as the juicer not being very cooperative, the veggies and fruit unyielding, not wanting to blend and husby darling obviously looking quite lost (clearly he doesn’t do this often). I tried to move things along by suggesting that he add some water to help the blending process and then maybe strain the resulting mash to arrive at ‘the drink’ he had pictured. And then I decided to get in the action myself. I delegated him to do the cleaning up of all the paraphernalia he had excitedly pulled out for the big event, while I executed my own suggestions. As I grudgingly pushed the deep red porridge like mixture through the sieve (which was way too big for the quantity we had prepared by the way), my hands hurt and my stomach rumbled ravenously. I only had thoughts of hogging hot saabudana khichdi with crunchy peanuts and chunks of soft potato. Oh apparently, this drink had to be had first thing in the morning and only after an hour were you supposed to eat anything. Yeah right! I’m sure husby darling had a similar chain of thought as he continued washing the various jars and wiping the counter clean of the splashes of deep pink juice everywhere.
Anyway, the resulting clear deep red juice was poured into glasses, a dash of lemon juice added and first sips taken with intrigued looks on our faces. I quite gulped down mine and channelled my attention towards the finishing touches of my beloved saabudana khichdi. Husby darling, on the other hand had some insightful remarks. ‘Mmmm, it tastes good. But do we really have to do all this every day?’ Well, I know we always complain that we don’t try hard enough, we are lazy and that we don’t have discipline in life. But then, the whole drama again another morning? I pushed that thought aside and simply scooped big spoonfuls of the saabudana khichdi (which smelt so divine by the way) into two bowls and handed one over to a beaming husby darling.
*an Indian dish made with sago pearls, peanuts, green chillies and boiled potatoes
