Own your Balloon Bunch

Ruchira Darda

There is no greater joy in the world than to see your dreams come to life. For them to find flight and sore up. I love watching them from below as they find a place in the sky. I dream very small dreams, I smile as each one joins the bunch, and I dance because they are mine. I dreamt them, I worked for them.

Today, a red one joined the bunch as I read my first story to a bunch of students at Podar International School. A blue one rose as A Junior challenged me to make a F-15 paper plane and I did it, a yellow one as bloggers and vendors reached out to talk about the books, a pink one as readers wrote back to share their love and appreciation, a white one just because I managed my diet well, I ate mindfully and a silver one as I inaugurated a cabin constructed by my father-in-law with precision and passion. I walk around proudly with my bunch of balloons.

Sometimes, people judge my dreams, they call them simple, small. They believe because my family can afford bigger ones, my struggle is unnecessary. I smile, for they know not the joy of harvesting your own crop.

My children sow seeds in our kitchen garden since they were only 2 feet tall. They water their patch, visit it everyday, inspect it every evening, and when it begins to fruit they don’t want to leave their plants alone. They run around the entire house with their first ripe tomato and relish it without any persuasion to eat their salad. That’s the joy of your own.

I go every now and then to ask my hubby, Mr K for help, sometimes to manage my expectations, and sometimes to steer me in the right direction. I need him as a partner in my life, looking out for me, filling in for me and motivating me when I stumble. But my fight is my own on my own terms.

Many a time, we go to an expert assuming they can lead us, or will do for us. But what I always tell my children is only you know what your solution is. Our individual needs are unique to us, our dreams, our desires, our wishes and our way to fulfil them. So, don’t let anyone tell you what’s best for you. Believe, work and love, with everything you’ve got.