Missing? No Its A Blessing! #FridayReflections

To begin with every member of the household was excited. Right from the youngest to the eldest in the family thanked Mrs Chitterchatter for the idea. Receiving them with a dimpled smile, she wore a victorious look. Was it necessary to cook food only in kitchen, she had asked herself before coming up with this plan. So something was cooking in her mind since morning and it was to see the light of the day soon.

“Is it going to be exciting?”, was the doubt raised by the ‘innocent baby’, her daughter.

Mr Balanced, her better half had quizzed, “Will we be connected?”

“I hope its not going to be sweaty affair”, said the ‘giant little kid’ her son, with an air of suspicion.

For all these, she had nodded with affirmation.

The family was on their short break to Goa. From day one, Mr Balanced was seen engaged in the telecon every now and then. The giant little kid was a grumpy bear courtesy growing humidity. Little Ms Innocent Baby had found every other outing as tad boring. And why it shouldn’t be? Most of the site seeing had involved visiting the temples and churches so far.

And the result of all this was pretty disheartening for Mrs Chitterhchatter. The children were busy playing on ipad or watching TV or fighting over trivial matters. They preferred staying in the comforts of the air-conditioned rooms than explorations outside. Thanks but no thanks to the mobile, Mr Balanced was present only physically and was disconnected from the rest. Mrs Chitterchatter took a note. Working in the capacity of the tour manager, she made some changes in the itinerary.

Late in the afternoon, post lunch, she asked every one to follow her. No one knew where they were headed to. She had kept it under wraps. For she feared that once disclosed, she might have to fend the idea of dropping it all together. She already had directed the driver of their hired car about the destination. On the way, they played “Guess the Place”. It added the spice to the surprise!

Before long, the car came to a stop. All could see the shimmering waters of river Mandovi. Suddenly everyone got the idea of the surprise. Mrs Chitterchatter had booked a private, sunset river cruise on Mandovi river. Not giving them much time to reflect, she rushed them towards the entry gate.

The family was welcomed aboard the small boat by the boatman. Once settled, Mrs Chitterchatter beamed at rest of the three. Raised eyebrows and the sweaty look on the giant kid’s face was hard to ignore. Holding her round face with both her hands, the innocent baby looked anything but entertained. Checking his mobile in the upwardly stretched arm, Mr Balanced looked for the availability of the mobile network. He returned with what-a-cheater-you-can-be look. But Mrs Chitterchatter was unfazed.

The cruise began. The gentle breeze, sparkling waters and the light music on board gradually erased the lines of displeasure. Mr Balanced, sans his mobile, was at his playful best. He was singing the rhymes in tune with the innocent baby. One thing led to other and they started playing atlas and memory game. The innocent baby made sure that she was victorious most of the times courtesy help from the giant kid or from mummy dear. Daddy dear was more than willing to be the looser in most of the games. The sights and vistas on the either sides of the banks of the river, gave enough fodder for the giant kid to click the nature. Playing around with the camera settings and making the best use of the props available on the boat, giant kid experimented with clicks. Mrs Chitterchatter was happy to pamper herself with the welcome drink and snacks. Three elusive words, “entertained”, “connected” and “chilled out” no more remained a mirage! The much sought after oasis of “togetherness” had finally arrived.

Missing likes of  mobile network, ipad and TV, captivity of the air-conditioned room, etc proved a blessing!

Linking this post to #FridayReflections by Shalini and Corinne

I have tried to use two prompts this time again. First one is the photo prompt and the second one is the word prompt “Missing”