Last year I made a family slide show to celebrate my mother’s 60th Birthday. It shows pictures of her when she was just a little girl along with her brothers and parents. It then progresses to when she became a Sikh……then has a child (me)….and then becomes a grandmother (Narayan and charanjeet).
Be sure to also check out the first video that I made a few years ago for my papaji’s (Siri Vishnu Singh) 50th Birthday! You can watch that video here.
Every morning Charanjeet wakes up around 6:30am and one of the first things she always wants (aside from oatmeal) is to see her brother Narayan. She just says it over and over…"Narayan…Narayan… Narayan". I then set her down next to Narayan who sleeps on the top bunk bed, and she strokes his hair saying softly…."Narayan" over and over with a big smile full of happiness. Narayan then wakes up gives her a hug and they snuggle and smile at each other. I have to say, Charanjeet is the best person to wake up with. She does a much better job waking up Narayan than me. As a parent this is one of the things that I love seeing beautiful kids together expressing their love and affection. As I see them I know that in what will seem like an instant, they will be all grown up. At least I’ll have these pictures to remember them at this stage.
Here are a few pictures that I took just after the kids woke up.
Here are a few pictures from yesterday in the morning before Narayan went off to school. Arjan wanted to send out some cards to family with a picture of the kids so I took a quick picture as best I could. It’s a challenge taking pictures of kids. Once they are in the right place….the best strategy is camera motor drive (click-click-click-click-click….) This way with all the movement you’ll hopefully get a smile at the right moment. These kids sure are growing up fast!
Messy Face Charanjeet Kaur after having a snack of jam and cashew button on a rice cracker.
Espanola, New Mexico is a small town so there is not very much to do compared with big cities. One of the nice things about having the sangat here is that it is very cozy and everyone gets together often. Throughout the year there is always something happening at someone’s house. It’s like a big family and everyone is almost always invited. So when someone has a birthday (which is often) there is normally a meditation/chanting/kirtan; and then of course, food and socializing. There always seems to be something that is a reason to have Kirtan and/or meditation at someone’s house. For example, before Guru Gobind Singh ji’s birthday every night (for a few weeks) someone different in the sangat hosted Rehiras, Kirtan and food at their home. There is something sweet about getting together in people’s homes and being together in this way. Here are a few pictures from this weekend.
Gurujot Singh, Hari Singh and Others chanting as we meditate to Gurbani Kirtan at someone’s house.
I’m back from my vacation and it’s great to be home. Winter time is a nice time of coziness and consolidation. I feel like everything slows down and I am able to internalize more (Like the plants that go into hibernation the end of the year). For me it’s a time of thinking and evaluating. By the time the new year comes I always start to think about what I want to accomplish in the next year (personally, spiritually and professionally). The winter time is sort of a "deep-breath" to stop and think about where I am and where I want to go. It also helps that at this time of year I normally take a vacation, so I am able to get out of my normal every day patterns of work and day to day things.
Today me and Arjan celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. In this day and age commitment in marriage is not a common thing. Divorce rates are so high it seems that no one stays married for long these days. I am thankfull to have a happy marriage and a awesome partner to travel this journey with. That’s not to say it is always easy. I think God must be testing to see if I can keep my "marriage black belt" in recent months, since it has been quite challenging having two kids and all that goes with being a family. It is so easy to fall into your emotions and feelings and be reactive when problems come up, rather than being conscious and communicative. Having a relationship is an art and skill in itself. This is one of the reasons why I think having a family and being married is the highest "Yoga"….since it forces you to work on yourself (And hopefully become a better person). It is no longer just about YOU.
It’s been fun watching Narayan and Charanjeet (our kids) change and move into different phases. Charanjeet is 18 months old and is changing so rapidly. I keep thinking how I need to record more of the "moments". She is copying so many words and learning new things every day. Her latest favorite word is "Aaw Man…!". She heard Narayan saying that after something happened and she picked up on it. Now something will drop…and she blurts out "Aaw Man!". It’s quite funny. Another recent classic word is "Parantha!". A month or so ago I made my first stack of paranthas from start to finish and I was saying "Paronetaaaa!!" (with a loud/strong Punjabi accent). Ever since then she just blurts it out like that with lots of enthusiasm at all moments.
So, as we start this new year I hope you all are thinking about your life and all the gifts that you have. It’s a great time for renewed commitment and change. Even I need a kick in the butt sometimes to get myself going and make a change. Ready-Set-Go! (I’m "cooking" up some plans too)
Here is an audio clip by Hari Bhajan Kaur who brought the Espanola sangat through to the new year during the all night Rainsabhai Kirtan. She ended just after midnight 2008 singing the Shabad "Ram Japo Jee Aasay Aasay".
Today was my day to help with the kids camp and I had a lot of fun doing all kinds of things with them. In the evening as we all were sitting around enjoying a nice hot cup of golden milk and listening to some jamming tunes at the "Yogi Tea Cafe", Narayan and I sat next to this very nice lady who was painting people’s faces. Narayan asked her to paint a Dragon on his face which she did beautifully….and then all the other kids wanted to get painted too. Here are some pictures from tonight with Narayan, Gurudev Singh and Prabhjot Singh.
In our tent getting ready to go to sleep. Narayan didn’t want to wash off the dragon.
Thanks to technology….I can be in my tent on a computer by the lake at the "Circle F dude ranch", and listen to SikhNet Radio while I post this online. Here I am in Florida at the Winter Solstice camp with my son Narayan, along with about 500 other people. Narayan has been having such a fun time. By the time we get back to our tent at night he is fast asleep within seconds. Tomorrow will be another fun filled day for him again.
It’s been great here meeting with so many new people and having lots of time to meditate and relax. Here are a few pictures that I took from the past day or so…
The lake at sunset…
Narayan making a volcano in the sand
Tenting area…
Snatam Kaur and her husband
One of the big tents where we did the white tantric yoga/meditation (during a break)
Kayaking in the lake
In the afternoon mostly the guys playing volleyball.
Jumping into the lake from high up.
Narayan being covered in sand by Prabhujot
An evening program that the kids did for Winter Solstice
What can I say, haven’t had much time these days to do much blogging. Family life really changes things. Those of you who have kids will know what I mean! It can be quite challenging juggling everything (I guess that’s why one becomes a "black belt" when having kids).
Winter is definitely a slow-down time for me. I normally take some vacation time and have a chance to relax with family. I’m looking forward to being at the Winter Solstice Camp in Florida in a couple of weeks and then hanging out with family afterwards. We might go skiing/snowboarding next weekend so that will be fun!
Anyways…here are some pictures from this weekend. I stopped posting pictures as often because I figured people would get tired of seeing the many faces of Charanjeet and Narayan (but also it’s been harder getting unique pictures of them). Narayan has gotten so used to me taking pictures that either he tries "escape" the camera…or he does his fake smile. It takes extra effort and techniques to squeeze out a real smile. Charanjeet is still so fresh and fun to take pictures of, but she moves fast so it can be hard to capture.
Charanjeet kaur coming to me to show her new turban. I love this picture. She normally has a smile on her face….but this one is so focused "old".
Charanjeet is growing so much and copying everything we are saying. It’s soo much fun. Though she is also in a phase of screaming/crying quite a bit as a way to try to get what she wants.
The frown face that Charanjeet learned from her brother Narayan.
Waffles at Breakfast and Kiran Kaur (England) staying with us while visiting Espanola.
Charanjeet wanting me to read her the book “Goodnight Moon” …or as she says… “La Loon” (The moon in french).
First day of snow in Espanola and the kids are all dressed for the cold.
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