Bruce and I arrived in the US on Tuesday, July 15.  I wrote this post early the next morning, though I was exhausted and excited to be in the US, I was still feeling light hearted and in good spirits.  The latest news regarding another Malaysian airline flight with tragic circumstances has made me uneasy and sad.  But I did this write this, and well, decided to share how I was feeling earlier in the week.

I yield to cows….girl you're not in India anymore...

So, I am back in the good ole USA.  Couldn't wait to return for a brief visit to hang with my kiddos and friends and to take care of some very important red tape that I need to handle before we can get our visas for Amsterdam.

It's been exactly 2 years and 7  months since I have been behind the wheel of a car.  In India I have a driver and truly, I have missed driving.  Missed just getting in the car and taking us where we need to go. You might imagine how I was day dreaming about driving again.  I couldn't wait, imagined myself driving a teeny bit over the speed limit like i used to, my tunes playing on the radio, dancing and bopping along while I drove …had it all pictured in my head how awesome it was going to be to drive again.

Well, the reality was a different scene all together.  I can admit that I looked more like a granny on the road than the speed racer I used to be. White knuckled and peering thru the windshield just praying that I'd get us to my friend's home in one piece.  I can't even imagine what I looked like to my fellow drivers.  Didn't even turn up the radio until we hit 610 West traffic.  Then and only then did I turn up the tunes and relax.  This,  when traffic was not moving, at a standstill and moving at a very slow pace.  THIS is when I started smiling and bopping to the songs on the radio…..I found myself enjoying a traffic jam!  WTF? 

Let's face it, I'm used to being a passenger in a vehicle that yields to cows.  Traffic in India "snails along", it moves slowly, it's chaotic because of the lack of road rules and because of the variety of "vehicles" on the roads like rickshaws, cows and donkey's pulling carts, people pulling carts, motorcycles in the masses, huge buses..and again, no road rules really to speak of.  It takes forever and is frustrating and interesting at the same time, but basically, "getting somewhere quickly" in Bangalore is a term we never hear or use.  It's just impossible.  So imagine my surprise when I was truly surprised that life in the fast lane IS really fast.

I forgot that in the "real world", you're yielding to 18 wheelers (a crash i've already survived-his fault not mine) cars who are going too fast and you'd better yield or play a game of chicken of who's going to back off even if you have the right of way…...the zooming in and out of lanes by those who just refuse to drive at a normal and safe speed, woe….I never thought I'd say this…..but yesterday during my first driving experience in a couple of years…..I truly missed yielding to cows.

A road trip to Austin in on the agenda today.  I know I can do this.  I've done this road trip many times before.  So why am I so nervous?

BEcause yielding to cows and rickshaws etc is alot safer and more palatable to me these days than those crazy ass 18 wheelers and road ragers that's why!

I'm smirking and giggling to myself right now.  I am used to a slower pace. We yield to cows (okay my DRIVER does), and today I am missing the slow pace of driving, no being driven around and not worrying about being hit at a fast pace of a big vehicle.  Funny how time and experiences change you, who knew?

Wish me luck friends, I'll need it…and if you see me on the road today…..don't worry I'll yield.

They say it takes a village.  Or in our case it took two guys from a village and a Dad from a big city.  All three guys taught Bruce how to ride a bike with no training wheels.  Yay Bruce! We started on Wednesday when John decided to take the day off from work. It was just John and I trying to convince Bruce to get on the bike and not be afraid to fall. Bruce was heavily padded but did not trust us to hold onto the bike while he learned how to balance it.  Very soon Lokesh and Yogandra (Big Uncle) joined in the training lesson and lucky me got to take a back seat and watch the men do their thing. About an hour after it started to monsoon.....really heavy rain, and the first bike riding with no training wheels came to a halt.  It's okay though John had let go of the bike when Bruce was pedaling and he balanced on the bike perfectly until he realized John wasn't holding onto him, but he realized that he could do it and just needed practice.  We were all sad that the lesson had to end because of the rain but the good news was that Bruce was no longer afraid.

On Thursday, Bruce decided he couldn't wait for Daddy to get home so we asked Lokesh and Big Uncle to help again with the bike training.  They jumped right in and took over and I got to rest from my perch in the window in my room and cheered them along as they helped Bruce gain his confidence and balance on the bike.  When John got home yesterday evening it was raining so he didn't get to see the progress Bruce had made that day, but was happy to know that Bruce was no longer scared.

That brings us to today, Friday, Bruce's morning lesson started early and he surprised all of us by just jumping on the bike and going.  He discovered he liked going fast and soon he was leaving everyone in his wake, lol.  He couldn't wait till his Dad got home so he could show him his new awesome riding skills.

When John got home, the first thing he did was ask Bruce if he wanted to practice riding his bike to which Bruce quickly responded by showing him he no longer needed the practice as he is very capable of riding his bike like a "big boy" now.  

 Yesterday I hesitated letting  Lokesh and Big Uncle teach Bruce without John because I thought it might deprive John of a special bonding time with his son...but what I realized very quickly was that the bonding time did occur, but with all ALL of us. It reaffirmed what I already knew about our "staff" here.  That even though we are the employers and they the employees, we have become a family unit.  Lokesh and Big Uncle were so excited to be included in teaching Bruce to ride his bike and got just as much joy as we did seeing Bruce master bike riding.  We all clapped and cheered him on, we all felt his pride and his sense of accomplishment and we were all just really happy to be a part of this special moment in Bruce's life.
 
 These are the moments, just some of the precious moments that will forever bind us to India, and I know someday Bruce will cherish these memories too.