Lakshmi Iyer's Blog, page 52
October 28, 2017
When I am Gone
She flicks a tear from her cheek, her nervous laugh a cover for unexpected emotion. Pattu reaches out, her fingers lacing themselves through mine. Ammu is on my lap, her neck nestled in the crook of my neck and shoulder. She nuzzles, her cheeks wet with tears. I am overwhelmed. By the tears. By the […]
October 23, 2017
Breaching New Frontiers: Adoption Retreat
This weekend I will be flying out to Columbus, OH to be part of an adoption retreat hosted by the Dave Thomas Foundation and organized by Susan Silverman, a Rabbi, and her organization Second Nurture. To say I am excited is an understatement. Over the past eight years, I have been touched by adoption in […]
October 20, 2017
In The Blink Of An Eye
I curl myself around Laddu. My hand strokes her back. She snuggles closer. It is 7:30 AM. I could have woken her up. Instead, I lie and stare at this bundle of cuteness. She senses me watching her and looks up. Her face breaks into a smile that is pure joy. We cuddle some more […]
October 18, 2017
Walking Back On A Promise
The house is silent. A little too silent for my taste. Grief is a strange animal. It creeps on you like a fog, inching its way up slowly and before you know it, you are covered, smothered and struggling to breathe. In the first few days after Darla came home, I realized I was in […]
October 15, 2017
A Word Here, A Connection There
In the many years, I have been a blogger, I have often paused to consider what I am doing. I have often been asked why I share so much, put so much of myself online. The questions have made me reevaluate what I do, how I write and how much I share. The breaks have […]
October 14, 2017
Shaping Worldview
It is early in the morning. Way too early for eight-year-olds to be up on a weekend. I sip on my coffee as Pattu shuffles a pack of cards in her hand. “Different groups of people,” she reads, pauses and answers with a dramatic voice “Diversity” I reach for the cards and the first that […]
October 3, 2017
New Addition. New Routines.
It is cold and windy as we step out, my amma, the newest addition to our family Darla and I. We follow Darla as she sniffs the pavement, the grass and everything her tiny nose can. I zip my fleece jacket and wish I had worn shoes. Often she comes up for air and sneezes […]
September 28, 2017
Observer And The Observed
She arrived by the morning train early on Thursday carrying equipment that occupied more than two unwieldy bags. She filmed us setting up the Golu. She was there, a tangible presence as we squabbled, as we debated on the order of the Dasavatharam. She was that silent fly on the wall as we rehashed stories, […]
September 24, 2017
Shakthi And Santas
It is late at night. Crumpled paavadais dot my bed, the blouses discarded a few paces away. Green and red metal bangles lie in a heap on the side table. I feel a frisson of irritation begin and I crush it before it can rise and fill my being. Instead of cleaning up, I stand […]
September 20, 2017
Identity And Belonging
Two nights ago, I sat in a darkened room at my local library with a bunch of strangers watching a documentary on race. “I am or How Jack Became Black” by Eli Steele is one of those rare movies that catalyzes uncomfortable conversations. I stood by the small table I had set up with snacks […]
