For the restless spirit!

  After I dropped my daughter off at her college in Sept 2015, I remember deciding - for the very first time - to go into a London pub on my own. I remember feeling terribly awkward and yet forced myself, thinking that I needed to get used to doing stuff alone. I distinctly remember finding a corner seat, ordering a beer and smoking whilst trying not to make eye contact with anyone; gradually the nerves eased and I looked around and saw I was not the only one sitting on their own. In about 20 odd minutes, I had even started making conversation with some of them! It wasn't so bad at all. I recall the smile on my face as I walked back to my hotel that night. Another first, and it made me more courageous ....  I was ready to go solo! Extract from Meira's Memoirs - Mar 2016 It was six months since my nest turned empty and I was just about wrapping my head around this new phase of life. I had completed the inevitable internal conversations on being lonely vs being alone and I was b...

  2021 - post the havoc caused by Covid -19 in the previous year, the aftermath continues and with it, comes more changes....  In the 15 odd years that I have lived in this adopted land, I have been fortunate to build a tribe - a group of girlfriends - that have been the wind beneath my wings, especially since 2014. I call us "the too much women" and we are a lot :) but between us, we have each others' backs, all the time.  One of us is leaving the country as a Covid casualty and the heart feels heavy ....  the tribe dynamics will change a bit, but I firmly believe that true friends never really leave your side and hence I know we will work our way around the geographies and find our space together again, going forward too.  It is far too precious to give up.   Our travels together have sealed this connect! Thankfully, I am blessed to remain connected to many of my tribe, living in different continents - we cant meet as often as I'd like to, but when w...

  2015 : the year my daughter was to complete high school and go into college.  A big milestone for both of us - the reason why I had to normalize her landscape as much as possible, despite many setbacks in 2014. Many considerations and factors were brought to the table and we spoke endlessly about what worked best, finally we agreed that sending her away from Dubai was probably the best for her and I was face to face with the daunting concept of soon being an empty nester. Definitely not an easy choice, given what I was personally going through.  However, going through this process, I learnt a major parenting skill - putting the interests of your little one ahead of yours. Now most parents will say that this is what they always do, but too many times, I have noticed that it is a camouflage for what we believe their "best interests" are ..... not necessarily what the child concurs with or even wants.  And once again, travel helped me make a decision - where will I le...