#thinking of doing random screenshots of tintin every few days | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tarasharmashow · 4 years

Text

Post About Our Lockdown...Lessons learnt and things that seem to help us Do share any thoughts and things that have helped you too

How is time flying like this? Months since I last wrote here on my blog. I keep intending to and then a bizarre hecticness seems to take over. Though not much has changed and good health for us all and staying safe touch wood:) remain priorities in lockdown and always I guess, yet days seem to be flying by and months are flying by too.

Huge thoughts and prayers for those affected badly in this time. Not easy for anyone but disparities and other factors, make this a particularly difficult time for some, so before proceeding with what may seem a frivolous post, a huge mention to all the many who are struggling and sending lots of strength your way. This too shall pass.

Being quite an optimist, I find myself trying to look on the positive side of most situations. Enumerating things to be grateful for. While extended lockdown brings a range of emotions, I’m thankful we are fine and together as a family touch wood:). And while there are ups and downs, the pros like bonding with each other, focusing on the simpler things, playing family football matches and witnessing nature celebrate cleaner air with spectacular sunsets often, are some of the positives.

So lots to be grateful for and making the most of this strange time, I am learning is a big lesson in lockdown.

Before going on, a huge how are you? So important to check in. Everyone is reacting to lockdown and all that is going on differently and situations vary as do moods. Sometimes even within a few hours I find emotions change. I have found things that help me and would love to hear what helps make all this smooth for you too. And of course everyone is allowed to feel the good and maybe not so good and great and knowing there are people out there who care I think is a help.

I used to think when one is doing many different things and geographically moving about, it made time move fast but it is a revelation that a routine of relative sameness seems to make time move faster. Well, the perception of time, as after all the speed or seeming speed of time is perception as the number of hours in a day remain unchanged.

I know all this perhaps sounds rather philosophical but most of us are perhaps pondering various things in this time, so apologies, what follows is perhaps a rather uncharacteristic long ramble (my posts here are usually brief especially in the last few years) of thoughts, some you may somewhat relate to, some perhaps not, some perhaps very much so, so here goes.

It has been just over 5 months since the kids’ school shut for what we then thought would be a shortish lockdown, never perhaps imagining it would go on this long and even now we do not know when school will physically reopen.

While being grateful to have a comfortable home and some open garden space, and acknowledging how hard it is for many who may not, yet as discussed on a #LockdownLivewithTara chat where I spoke with super @TomFoolery the poet of The Great Realisation, because there are others around who may be in a harder situation, that does not mean you are not allowed to voice any of your difficulties. While they may seem trivial to another, it is all relative and everyone must acknowledge the good and even the not great feelings if and when they come along.

So while I quickly re group to positivity, I must confess there are moments of grrr! Moments when yelling and screaming seem to become the go to lingo and while of course I love our kids and family more than anything, balancing #homeschooling and #workingfromhome and #exercisingathome and everything else that fills up these fast moving days, often culminates in a chaos that brings out my Monster Mum side! I have always said every age and phase of bringing up children is incredible and amazing in it’s own way, and while our kids are at an age where they are relatively independent when it comes to doing their school work, there is no doubt they are also at an age where they are full of energy and arguments and fun and annoyance haaha, and pack all that and more within the walls of a home with all of us in it, and there are often fireworks.

What helps me regain my sanity after instances of emotional eruption? Yoga is one, and something that has become a big part of this time. Not just doing the regular classes I learn in but also conducting #YogaWithTara sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am Indian time live on all my platforms (do join if you would like to). We have done about 30 classes so far and I must say it helps me and from the comments I get, it seems to be a source of positivity and way to stay fit, for many. I always add a caveat that I am not a professional teacher but have been practicing yoga for about 20 years and my teacher, Sir Deep Pandey, who teaches us 3 times a week, is very good. https://www.facebook.com/tarasharmashow/videos/1395939177257595/?vh=e&d=n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpSyK3D7eNA https://www.instagram.com/p/B_XCtwqDCSL/

Another thing that helps is just looking at nature. And the sunsets in lockdown have been truly stunning.

Playing competitive family football matches have been a great help too. I was the least proficient at the start and am glad to say over the lockdown thanks to literally being trained by our kids and @roopaksaluja my football skills are improving.

Cooking is helping too. I always called myself a terrible cook but that may have been thanks to being nervous to try, being surrounded by super cooks. But thanks to lockdown, I have experimented with cooking more and our kids and my Mum, who lives in the same building, have been very encouraging. Roopak has turned vegan, so hasn’t been able to try most of my experiments.

I am writing this while the kids scream and shout. The #homeschool day is ending and it is that free time that inevitably ends in fisty cuffs, the word that describes all our little tiffs. My answer to these annoying moments is outdoors. So just pushing them and myself out the door to the garden, to run about and get rid of the pent up energy and angst. The kids enjoy playing in the garden but for some odd reason it is a struggle sometimes to get them to move from the dreaded word...gadgets!

Coming back to finish later. Rushing to the garden. As much for me as them.

I have not written this much in yonks. Apologies if it bores you or is a ramble and it is sort of pouring out.

Hi Hi! I am back. It is the next day. See, even trying to finish a post in one day is not usually possible! Phew had quite a surprise last evening. A friend forwarded a screenshot of NDTV New ‘Top Picks’ and our mad little video of chaos https://www.instagram.com/p/CEBtw0aj8_c/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link from yesterday was top of the list! We were so shocked and sooo embarrassed haaha https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/tara-sharma-says-working-from-home-and-homeschooling-is-driving-her-bonkers-2281439 ! Just to clarify I am not always a screaming banshi! And the funny thing is in this world of content creation in lockdown, you really never know what will trend. So many videos I work hard on, even the 30 yoga classes, I have diligently been conducting, get great response on my platforms (thank you all my wonderful sociamily:) (social media family) for the encouragement, but they do not usually make it to top picks on news platforms so it makes me realise people want and like to see reality which often consists of a little craziness. Of course the goody-goody side of me is itching to post this and more such to explain that ordinarily I am quite calm...but yes admittedly random freak outs do occur! Perhaps others relate? Do you? How do you regain calmness?

So going back to the post of yesterday, to things that help in lockdown..

Routine helps us loads. And I must say we are very grateful to our kids’ school for setting a well planned schedule. It helps establish a regular timetable for all of us. We all work around it. And most often #homeschooling and #workingfromhome merge peacefully. Being a creature of habit and somewhat of a routine junkie, I thrive on routine and find all of us at home seem to too especially in this otherwise unstructured lockdown.

Househelp is of course a huge help and we are so grateful to have long term live in help that make things easier. For 3 months we were short staffed and of course we all pitched in to help and continue to, and now with our help back I admit to this luxury being a huge help and while I know not everyone has this especially in many other countries, here in India one justifies domestic help by ensuring that we treat them well and keep them safe. I think they too understand the perils of being out at this time and are quite happy to be locked in in a safe place. But it is upsetting that they are away from their own families, so we try and make them feel as much of the family as possible, as in non lockdown times too.

We are tremendously grateful that my Mum lives in the same building as us. Apart from it being lovely to be together albeit with some distance in between when needed, as on different floors, she is a great help. My Dad, before passing on, in hospital, when unable to speak much, had gestured that he was peaceful in the knowledge that we were going to be close to Mum when he was physically moving into another realm. Mum was on our farm in the hills for the first 3 months of lockdown and being very independent and quite happy on her own with dog, long walks, regular video calls with all of us, and our caretaker family, was quite content and only came back to the city when the impending monsoon drew nearer.

Speaking of dogs, our Tia here in Bombay and TinTin on the farm are a great source of joy. Articles often innumerate the benefits of having pets and in lockdown especially I think more and more people are valuing the wonderful bonds with dogs and other pets that help in these strange times, and always.

I have lived in the same building since I was a kid. Married with our kids now we are on another floor but same structure and must admit the secure feeling that years in a place and familiarity give, are something I value. Our building has always had a lovely bunch of people but in pre lockdown times, interactions were minimal. We find in lockdown, as our building has a lovely garden for which we are so grateful, with the gorgeous sea beyond (which as you may know is tragically being reclaimed for a coastal road and I have with several others have been trying to speak up politely and say please make this road on stilts if at all and not mass reclamation and destruction of our beautiful coast, but that’s a post for another day as so much to say about that, the garden apart from being our exercise oasis has also become our little building meet up place. Being a relatively small building and with strict rules in place with no guests or temporary help allowed in, the garden is the only place where the few residents who use it meet somewhat freely. Maintaining social distance and mask when needed

Coffee to start the start, freshly brewed Blue Tokai,has been a wonderful companion:) as has the little treat on some evenings of some soothing delicious vino in the company of our family and once the kids are in bed, Roopak and me enjoy watching a good show on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu or another.

Although all of us are being very careful and not meeting friends yet, our What’s app groups, are a great way to stay in touch. Light banter, jokes and keeping abreast with each other’s lives with some phone calls too, helps and yes we have managed a few masked meet ups when lock down relaxed a bit, but the uncertainty that prevails, makes us unsure of when and how we could properly meet.

My big sister lives in the UK and our regular video calls help as of ofcourse we miss not meeting in the flesh but for now we feel grateful for technology that enables al of us to chat and for all our kids, cousins to each other, to bond.

#MadnessWithTara a silly little series I started on TikTok before it was banned, was sort of a weird way to just let go. Often ridiculous and perhaps not something all my viewers like as I am often in a filter with beard and mooch, but something that I admit gives me a giggle so I assume some find me making a fool of myself amusing or at least relate to how many of us have slightly whacky sides too.

Without sounding like a martyr, helping those less privileged is hugely important in this time, and always. In whatever way possible, as always each to their own, with how one helps, whether with money, awareness or time, helping helps all round.

Reinvention has been something I have always embraced. Acting to my show and in this time, beginning all these different little ‘series’. No idea if they help others or not, I hope they do, and no real idea if they are going anywhere, but I also realise living in the moment and letting passion merge with practicality, figuring new ways to earn and not letting stress pervade, are so important. Yes some days I wonder, when will Season 6 of #TheTaraSharmaShow begin? When will I act in #films again? What new #brand #influencer (not too fond of that word, but it has become somewhat a buzz word now) assignments may I get? But then I try not to let that seem nerve inducing, I feel grateful that Season 5 happened just before all this, that #Kadakh released in lockdown and got great reviews, that brand jobs pop up now and then and I look at Roopak who is always calm, and I learn that in all the whirl and swirl of so called ‘regular’ life, the most important things are actually free and with us and yes while we need to earn and work and all the rest of it, without being cliched, this lockdown has really made us rethink priorities. And while we pray and hope #corona goes and we are all fine and safe and school and football classes foer the kids and shoots and all else resumes safely soon touch wood:), yet we feel sure we will go back to the good parts of normal, and hopefully do away with the old not so good things. Work from home more, when and if possible. Appreciate simple things. Ensure we continue loving chatty family meals and bonding time, and so much else as enumerated above.

This is way more than I usually write and to be honest it may be a little fragmented as was over a few days. Suffice to say, it is a strange time but all of us are trying to make the best of it and there are good, not so good, and special and tough things going on and I think everyone is doing their best. This was my little attempt at listing out the things that help me and that I am grateful for and of course there are more and I am not all smiley all the time but yes I do think smiling within and staying positive helps. Do write in with how you are doing and what is helping you or just how you are finding all this. Ah and please do comments on my platforms too. Insta, YouTube FB Twitter. Social media, I think, for those of us who use it for work and otherwise, is also a great way to stay connected so do keep writing in and #staysafe all!

0 notes