Summer 2015 Update

Summer is here and so is my much awaited update about us all - a tad late this year! It has mostly got to do with the fact that we tackled a completely different academic year in a different country - starting August 2014 to June 2015. And dare I say, the threesome came out looking AWESOME! But then, this is how we keep things interesting for them. Believe you me - all that we do, including international moves for the family - we do it for the kids and no other reason! haha! 

Gotta love the lighting in this photo! Taken totally candidly and without preparation while they did what they do best - bond together in front of the TV! I know, I know, bad parenting and all that! But this picture is also representative of them:

Arjun - calm, kind, still boyish but holding on to the TV remote decisively! All of 14 and making the rules!

Ana - staying on top of it all, singing along, adding joie de vivre! Almost 10 and breaking the rules!

Krish - laid back and mellow until his favorite beat comes along, at which point he becomes a live wire and a ball of energy! Nearly 7 and no rules apply to him!

The school year was challenging, to say the least. All of them struggled bravely, not so much with academics but more with the new system and language/ accent/ american-isms. Krish was called out on day 2 of school for not being able to 'make a cupcake'. I brought it to his teacher's notice that he knows it as a 'muffin' or 'cake' - as it is known everywhere else in the world. While trying to solve his word problems, Arjun wanted to know what is this animal called 'Mississippi' and how long is it really? Ana authored a story for a writing project in class in which the 18 year old protagonist 'adopts and nurtures' a 35 yr old woman in distress. Interesting that there is no concept of age! 

They felt out of place on the quite street in Palo Alto where we have moved. It is a big departure from Ozone and Bangalore. At first, they were the only 3 children who played on the street and in the front yard, drawing surprised yet approving looks from the neighbors. Soon, we discovered that there were several children on the street but they prefer their iPads or go to formal 'classes' and 'camps' all the time. Nevertheless, their enthusiasm has brought a bunch of playmates out on to the street quite a few times during the past months.

All 3 of them have successfully found their way into local soccer leagues - Arjun had the biggest struggle of all. Competition is stiff at his age and he went to several tryouts. Eventually he attended a Futsal (Brazilian style football) clinic to bring up his technique standards. Fast forward to today, his coach Anton considers him to be 'invaluable' to the team. Kudos to Arjun! All this while tackling middle school to start his journey as a high schooler! And wow - the prevalent system feels intimidating! But Arjun shows a quite confidence about it. He is ready! High school - bring it on! 

Ananya is shining through with theater, dramatics and singing. She was a part of a theater production during the school year and she is pursuing it during the summer as well. She wants to read Hamlet and other Shakespearean works. Her Nani thought she is too young for it, but I signed her up! The earlier, the better - especially if she is seeking it! School year also went off well, but I do think she could make more friends. She is athletic, a focused worker, and high performing. She seems to have found her groove. She would love to go back to learning Bharatnatyam, and I need to figure it out. 

Krish has shown huge enthusiasm with his school, his new friend circle, cub scouts, and soccer. He is known in his school to have a constant smile on his face. He started off the school year calling everybody 'Dude'! I caught on to it only a couple of weeks later and realized that he had devised that method because he found it difficult to remember and pronounce those foreign sounding names (as opposed to Rajesh, Ramesh, Suresh, Vishnu, etc). I think he is ingenious to come up with this 'work around'. I am convinced he is going to be just fine and he will take care of himself in tough situations.

Life stays interesting with them doing their thing! Please continue to bless them and stay in touch. It takes a village, and we need 3 villages for the 3 of them. Come visit us - California is sunny, clean and beautiful all year long. And as you can tell, there is never a dull moment!