As December rolled in, our world turned busy and complicated. I was preparing to leave for a month-long trip to India with the girls. After much planning and packing, we left for our journey on December 4. We had taken a one-way rental car to Washington Dulles, where we planned to sleep overnight at an airport hotel, before flying out the next day.

Our departure was a bit emotional, especially with Rosie getting so old that we were worried that she wouldn’t be around when we returned. However, we pushed negative thoughts out of our minds and focused on the exciting times ahead. The hotel stay and flight were uneventful except for the usual poor quality airline food and the long 6 hour wait in Dubai. We finally reached Hyderabad on 6th December around 8 pm.

It was a joyful reunion with my parents and sister who had come to the airport. We took a cab back and enjoyed the warmth and fun atmosphere of Hyderabad. Once home, Ramkumar, Priyanka and Bunnu came over to say hello and we hung out for a bit. After a while, sis and family left and we turned in for the night to sleep a disturbed, jetlagged sleep.

The next day was spent resting and recharging after the long haul across the globe. On Friday, Priyanka and sis came over. The kids put up a ridiculous but funny fashion show for our benefit and we had a lot of laughs.

Saturday turned out to be a memorable day. We started it off with a walk. Following this, we decided to go out for breakfast. This turned out to be the best decision. While going to Chutney’s we saw a sign at Mufakkham Jah College of Engineering and Technology announcing an ongoing ham radio convention. We thought that it was a great opportunity for us to do something hammy! So we went over after breakfast. There were talks to attend and a flea market to enjoy. It felt like our kind of place. The local ham radio crowd got interested in us foreigners and generously lent us equipment to participate in their fox hunt. Armed with a handheld radio and a homebrewed yagi antenna, we tried our luck at finding the fox. But a combination of the fox transmitting infrequently and us getting quite fatigued from the jet lag, we gave up after about an hour. In our defense, the fox was foxy and I doubt if any other participants found it! Before leaving, we were invited onstage to share our experiences. Tanya spoke about the activities of Nittany Amateur Radio Club, while I talked about how we found their convention and hoped to stay in touch with their activities. It was altogether a lovely day.

Sunday was interesting as well. My cousin’s son (so, my nephew) came over. He had just moved from Bihar to Hyderabad to join Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). I got to meet him for the first time. He turned out to be a most adorable youngster. He stayed overnight and left the next morning to get to his work.

Monday was truly memorable. From the past year and a half, I have been friends with two awesome ladies, Vandy and Sreeja on the singing platform, Smule. Since I was visiting, Vandy, who lives in Delhi, flew in town. Sreeja conveniently lives in Hyderabad. Vandy was staying at a hotel near my parents’ house. So that morning my dad and the kids dropped me off at the hotel Green Park, where Vandy and I met for the first time. It was beyond exciting to meet her in flesh and blood! Sreeja’s husband had generously arranged for a cab for us. We got in the cab and it took us to Sreeja’s lovely apartment. There we got to see Sreeja for the first time. We have been sharing our lives with each other daily for the past year and a half, and we also sing together. This made for a strong connection and we were beyond thrilled to see each other and to be in each other’s company. We met Ravi and Tarun, Sreeja’s husband and son. The whole family was adorable, but Sreeja with her constant chatter definitely stole the show! Ravi and Tarun just sat back and took in the scene of three super excited ladies and their constant exclamations!

We ate Biryani and had some red wine and chai at Sreeja’s place. We just chatted, exchanged gifts and marveled at the strange circumstances that not only brought us together, but also made us sure that we would like each other. Around 5 pm, we took Sreeja and the cab back to Green Park. It was quite a long ride through parts of Hyderabad that I haven’t seen for a long time. We reached the hotel. The plan was for us three to stay in the room for the night. We opened Smule invites for our friends to join and then just chit chatted the evening away. Late at night we went downstairs to get some food. Interestingly, we ran into my old college mate and the hotel’s owner, Gautam, there.

We finally slept around 1:30 am. The next morning my parents and the kids joined us for breakfast. We all enjoyed conversation and the buffet at Green Park. Following this, Ravi came by and picked up Sreeja. Vandy checked out of the hotel and we went to my parents’ apartment. We enjoyed more time together before Vandy left around 4 pm to catch her flight home. It was a beautiful time together, one that we will always cherish.

Kylo Ren the dog: Now hold it! While mom is going on about how great things were, let me reveal the dark side of this story. It was certainly not all hunky dory. They left me! (Boo Hoo Hoo). What I had feared all of my young life finally happened! The girls were busy all day and I knew something was up. I also knew this was bad news (although they cleverly kept the bags hidden). Rosie wouldn’t listen to me (probably because she can barely hear these days). But just like that, they got into a strange, unknown car, said bye to Rosie and me, and took off. They didn’t even spare a thought for the chickens. Who will feed them everyday? Bwah wah. My life is over.

Crazy Cookie the chicken: Enough with the din, Kylo Ren. The ladies and I are actually super excited. There’s a new rooster in town and he has been feeding us. He is tall and handsome. The ladies have been vying for his attention. We have been working extra hard on our feathers. Sadly, we are partially molted and not looking our best. But we are trying as much as we can. Ooh, here he comes. Step aside, ladies.