Advent Theory

Image via Wikipedia

I live in a relatively safe and very quiet area; our gated estate gives our children the opportunity to ride their bikes freely and walk over to neighbors’ without any fear or incidence or accident. However, same cannot be said for the children who live not too far from our estate. These children play in the street, if they play at all, in tattered clothes looking underfed and overtired. If I had an opportunity, I would be a community center for these children where they would be fed, clothed and coached with love. Their interests would be fanned into talents so that they would be able to create opportunities for themselves and ensure that their next generation can ride bicycles in gated estates.

As a child, I suffered ADD. This meant that I was restless and easily bored. I created a lot of games when I got fed up; mid- play. So it was with grave sadness that I watch my father; my best friend and playmate, become consumed by the game of chess. This is a game of strategy, planning ahead and chin scratching- most definitely not for me. But alas, I ran out of names for my imaginary playmates and so had to go and kneel at my dad’s side to be taught this most monochromic of games.  Although I learnt the moves and a few tricks, my inane impatience stopped me from going very far with the game of Chess. Or so I thought, until the day I played the valedictorian in an impromptu game of chess and won in 4 moves. It never mattered that she had just started learning the game 5 minutes prior to our great match nor that I was never available for a rematch. Those are teeny, irrelevant details. What matters is that 15 years later, my old high school mates still regard as the uncrowned yet undisputed queen of chess.

Cover of Strong Medicine

During my first pregnancy, I read a novel called “Strong Medicine” by Arthur Hailey. It was a very interesting book about a strong woman who makes it in the cut-throat world of pharmaceuticals. The most memorable part of the book for me was that a drug developed in the story, Montayne, to help with morning sickness in pregnant women was later found to be responsible for sensory deformities in the children after birth. For this singular reason, I refused almost all medication during my pregnancy as I had developed a form of paranoia. I still advise my friends, to this day, to take minimal medication during pregnancy and lactation to avoid cases of life imitating art.

I have recently started taking my dog to a dog groomer, and after years of trying to smarten her up myself I am amazed at the difference a professional can make. Not only does my dog’s coat look lovely and shiny, the groomer also uses the best dog grooming shears to keep her hair even and tidy. I’ve found that it makes a big difference to my dog, particularly in summer. I just to struggle to get her to the end of the street in the heat, but with her hair kept tidy and shorter she has loads more energy and life about her, even when I’m wilting in the sun. A few dollars well invested, for me and my dog.