Personal Blog of Dagny Sol, Editor and Author Coach
My eldest returned home from her painting class, pulled up a chair and flopped down on it, looking peeved. I knew something was bothering her or she would have proceeded to her room to change and freshen up before talking to me. Hmm, I said to myself. Big game afoot! I was in the middle […]
The boy with a backpack was ten years old, give or take a year. He had bright, intelligent eyes and a cocky assurance about him. He wore a tan jacket and khakhi full length trousers, in protection against the chilly winter winds. He was carrying a backpack which he refused to put down. From time […]
“Come on Anuj! Come on, buck up! Faster, faster, FASTER!” The woman leaning over the railings yelled hoarsely in a passion of parenting frenzy! The venue was crowded. A brown cloud of dust hovered over the tents under which parents sweated it out while their progeny sweated it out on the field. Tanvi glanced at the vociferous, […]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3IVRys63x4?rel=0&w=640&h=360] My first reaction to this video was of admiration for Jennifer… naturally. She is certainly a girl of indomitable spirit. Although the video speaks only of her victories and the encouragement she received from her family, surely there must have been days, instances, when she would be made to feel incomplete. Not by […]
I remember how cold it was that night. I had taken them out for dinner; she and her mother. I’d just landed my dream job and I wanted to celebrate with her. Her mother invited herself, as I had (wrathfully) expected. To keep things her mother under control, I brought my brother along. The mother […]
I realized something as I began writing this. I can no longer call him a newbie. As they are eager to point out, chronology is just a number anyway. By all other criteria, he is a veteran. I met Sid Balachandran a few months ago, on a mutual friend’s Facebook wall. Yes child, that’s where […]
My cell phone rings. “Hello!” I answer. “Helllllooo! Shruti hai kya (Is Shruti there)?” “Jee nahi. Ye Shruti ka number nahi hai. Aapka galat number lag gaya hai. (No. This is not Shruti’s number. You’ve got the wrong number.)” I disconnect the call. A modern definition of equanimity: cool. This refers to one whose mind […]
The story is old but timeless, as all good stories must be. There was nothing distinguishing, let alone spectacular, about those two girls. They lived in houses opposite each other. They studied in the same school, in the same class. They went to school by the same school bus. They both loved to read. Well, […]
How do you handle awkward questions from your growing children? My first rule has been never to avoid the questions. No matter what I have been asked, I have always replied. There have been times when I have desperately wanted to duck behind a you’ll know when you are older excuse. But my conscientiousness wouldn’t […]
.. This video was made by a mother. Naturally, it presents a mother’s perspective. The things a mother would do for her child, the manner in which a mother experiences her child. This experience is unique to every mother. All mothers, including me, know that. This doesn’t, however, mean that the video is only for mothers […]