The lesson that the black board taught! Part - V

Suraj tried his best to calm the ladies down. His first dilemma as a married man began. He wanted to support his wife, but was unsure of what he had to do. As silently as he had entered the place he slipped out.

His father-in-law called him and told him that it was best to leave it to the ladies to sort out their differences.

His in-laws spent two weeks with them before taking their leave. The two weeks were filled with sermons and lectures and lesson in self-discipline. Suraj had arranged for a surprise trip to a holiday destination nearby. His parents-in-law and his father behaved like kids on a school trip!

Shruti was amazed to see her parents let their guard off and enjoy their life!

There was again some silence and calm after their departure. Life revolved around work and home. Shruti did well at office and that motivated Suraj to do well too. 

Shruti’s discipline and strict routine made it easier for Suraj to focus better on his work and Suraj’s ease at creating lighter moments made life happier for Shruti.

They complimented each other well and their post-marriage adjustment, presumably was made easier due to the presence of people around.

Their private moments were well deserved, but far and few in-between!

A month or two later Suraj’s brother and his family were due to arrive on a vacation. Shruti used her free time to plan their visit and had even applied for a break from work for two days.

Their arrival descended upon the household like a storm! They landed with more luggage than the house could possibly hold. Suraj’s sister-in-law had brought gifts for everyone in the household. She had, especially brought a dozen outfits for Shruti.

Shruti was embarrassed to the core! 

She was not fond of clothes and had just five outfits for office and a pair of jeans and two T-shirts. She slowly began,

“Frankly, with more clothes around, I begin to get confused and that is the only complication I cannot handle in life!” she concluded.

The entire gathering started at her in utter disbelief!

“What, you don’t like new outfits!” asked their eight year old daughter.

“No, I am just over-whelmed that I do not know how to react!” she managed.

With Suraj’s help Shruti picked the outfits that best suited her. His sister-in-law had to find those, among other relatives that would best fit into the remaining outfits!

Once done, Shruti and Suraj went down for a walk with the little girl from the fourth generation giving company.

“Aunty, is it difficult to adjust in a new house with unknown people?” she wanted to know.

“Not if you take each day as a new day and gear up to the new situation that you encounter!” Shruti replied.

“Oh, then it must be easy for my teachers. Each day they come to class, erase the black board and start with the new date! Is it something like that?” asked the little girl.

Shruti smiled.

The walk back to the house was a long one.

“We spend twelve years watching the teachers erase the old lessons and begin with new lessons. The lessons of life are not those that are written on the board, but this ritual of erasing the old memories to give way for the new and therefore a fresher one!” said Shruti to Suraj who nodded his head.

The perspectives of the four generations made Shruti wiser and more tolerant. She found it easier to understand varied perspectives and felt that marriage had opened her mind towards life in general and people in particular.

Clean your mind each day, so that you may learn new lessons that comes your way!