The journey

The lady shouted at the boy. “Why is it that you cannot take care of even the simplest of tasks?” She angrily wiped off the crumbs from his shirt and the car’s seat. She then turned to the little girl next to him and snapped, “How many times have I told you not to shout into my ears? Can’t you remember the simplest of rules?”  The face of the kids turned dull. The boy kicked the floor of the car which invited further admonition from his mother. He sulked and looked out of the window with occasional comments which provoked his mother further. The husband then pitched in with his advice that kids need their freedom. “But not at the cost of discipline,” she retorted. “I have asked only for the basic discipline.” This triggered yet another heated argument between them.

I felt uneasy as I realised that I was looking at myself and was filled with remorse. It was only yesterday that we had planned to have a wonderful journey. Both kids had selected their favourite snacks with great interest.  I had resolved that I would keep the perfectionist within me under control. Early next morning, we had a quick breakfast, got dressed up and took the packed bags to the front door. My son was engrossed in using up his last minutes of video games on the tablet before we started. The kids were more interested in the last minute entertainment than starting on time. Jo did not seem to be too bothered about getting late. My resolve was melting and I showed the first sign of it when I snapped at my son for not helping with the luggage. Soon the chain reaction started which finally ended in a tussle of words between all four of us. The bad mood lingered as we got into the car and started the journey.

This was in sharp contrast with our journey to Kathmandu. The visit was planned only for one week, but the joy of it was spread over a full month of planning and preparation. We bought ourselves a traveller’s guide to Nepal. I looked up the places mentioned in the guide on the internet and prepared an itinerary. My son meticulously researched the places chosen for the visit and found good hotels where we could stay and discussed his findings with his father when he returned from work. My daughter made a checklist of things that we would require for the entire journey. Then together with the kids, we made a big list for shopping which also included some items that they wanted for themselves. We spread the shopping over many days and the kids ticked off the items in the checklist as we purchased them. From the joy on their faces, I could see that for them the journey had already started in their imagination. At times they would tell me how they would use their cap and earmuffs and why having a jacket was useful. They were excited to pack the bags and both kids had their personal backpacks also in which they could carry items of their choice. They could also have a quick access to their caps, tissues and candies. Each day my son would come up with a new information he found about Nepal on the internet and would spend hours discussing its specialties and how he found it out with his father. We chose to book the hotel that my son suggested. He was proud that his parents took his advice though he was only nine at that time. My daughter who was seven too was happy to go through the checklist to make sure that we had everything that we needed. We were all happy that the packing was not a chore, but was part of the excitement.

My kids and I were going to board a flight for the first time. My husband was quite used to flights because of his business trips. So we took advice from him so as not to make a fool of ourselves. Kids were excited to be at the airport and they were full of questions on the new things they saw. They went through the clearance section with excitement. The luggage carousel, trolleys, auto walks and the escalators were all sources of excitement for them. The flight change at Chennai and the two-hour wait at the Delhi airport too were part of the fun as it was more like a visit to the mall for them and they were only very happy to walk around. I was tired walking around and I offered to sit and look after the luggage as my husband walked around with the kids.

The experiences at Nepal rejuvenated our spirits. The people, the cuisine, the beautiful hills and lakes and the clean streets were a treat to our senses. The end of the tour did not seem to disappoint the kids since they were again excited to board the flight. As we took off from Kathmandu, we got the final gift of the trip- the enchanting view of the Annapurna ranges that we missed at Pokhara due to the cloudy sky. We were in high spirits even after we reached back as we shared gifts and experiences with near and dear ones.

I snapped back to reality. Here I was in the car with three fuming souls and I realised that it was my responsibility now to change the mood. The message from a cartoon movie resounded in my mind - End definitely matters, but it is the Journey that matters at the end.

I turned back and offered the snack box to kids and said. “Here have this. I shall clean the seats when we stop over for breakfast. And watch out for your favourite restaurant. Make sure to remind papa to take the right turns. We don’t want to miss it.” I saw a smile break on my son’s face and within minutes, both the kids chatted away as they planned the food to be ordered for breakfast.

I exchanged glances with my husband and he gave me a smile indicating I could have done this earlier. He then laid his hand on my lap and started a conversation on one of my favourite topics. I felt my nerves ease up and I smiled to myself.