Category Archives: Family

My parents are leaving

6 months ago I was so happy and I wrote a post that my parents are coming to stay with us for 6 months. At that time 6 months seemed like a long time but now the time has passed and my parents are leaving this weekend.

Yes, it has been six months since their arrival. After their arrival, they organised my Dahi Chiura ceremony. They were here when we welcomed Chhori into this world and they were here for every small developments with Chhori till now.

Dahi Chiura (15)chhori (4)

We did manage to visit many places around Sydney with them. My mum loved Madame Tussad as well as other attraction like Sydney Sea life, Sydney tower, Featherdale National Park, Manly Sea Life, Sealife Sydney and many other places.

Chhaithi  (6) Nwaran  (8)

We celebrated Chhori’s Chhathi, Nawaran and Pasni, my mum’s birthday, dad’s birthday, their anniversary, our anniversary , Mother’s day and my nephew’s birthday while they were here.

Aama ko Mukh herne (5) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (1) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (12)

I have got so used to having them around. It has been the longest time we have been together since I left Nepal to come here. As I was not working after the birth of Chhori, I got to spend heaps of time with them, I feel so lucky to have them around and see them enjoying their grandchildren.

I loved my mum’s cooking, conversation with my dad and spoiling them with small things. It felt so good to buy them things and see them happy.

Wedding Ceremony

But in few a days, all of these are coming to an end for now. I am not sure how I will manage without them.

Not only I but Chhori and my nephew will also miss them badly as they are so used to seeing and playing with their grandma and granddad.

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (11)

For me it will be a nightmare as it will be the first time I will be left with Chhori on my own for a long period. As AS will be working it will be Chhori and I alone the whole day. Chhori is growing so fast and has started to roll over which means I can’t even seem to blink my eyes or look away from her and she starts to roll over. I am sure I will cry the first few days.

If things work out as planned, they promise to come back again in 6 months’ time. I am hoping it will happen but in the meantime, it will be all alone with my little on.

I know I am extremely lucky to have them here even for a short period as not everyone is as lucky to have their parents here to help them after child birth but even imagining their not being here makes me so sad.

Wish me luck that I will not go crazy. Any tips on how to look after a baby on my own will be highly appreciated. I hope to share the happy news about their arrival again soon.

Until my next post, take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum

Thirty-five years of marriage…wow, that is a long time! That is how many years my parents have been married for. Lucky for us, they were in Sydney so I, my brother along with AS and my SIL decided that this was the time to celebrate.

My parents were not very keen to have a celebration at first but the as we talked about it they came around and finally we decided to have the celebration for their 35 years of union.

Why do I admire my parents and their 35 years of marriage?

First of all they had an arranged marriage as I have talked before in my blog. They met only a couple of times before their marriage. But their marriage has everything a couple needs to have in a successful marriage and I am so proud to call them my parents.

It is said that you don’t really appreciate your parents until you become one, and I have to say that is at least partially true. I admit that I probably never truly appreciated how hard it is to raise a child until I had Chhori. Now I truly understand the sacrifices they made so I and my brother could get the best possible things in our life. I am not sure I will ever be able to match that with my children but I will surely try.

My parents have also taught me many lessons in my life. They have taught me that love is true and that love can last forever. I love my parents and I am proud to be their daughter.

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (1)

So to celebrate the special day, we booked a restaurant, invited 40 – 50 close friends and family and made the day one to remember. I made sure my mum was dressed like a bride in a red saree and dad in his finest suit.

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (15)

We ordered a cake with their old photo on it and decorated the restaurant with banners and balloons.

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (4)

The evening started with a family photo shoot and as guests started to arrive, the fun began. We had lots of fun with drinks, food and dance. Sharing a few photos from the day.

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (2) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (3) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (5) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (6) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (7) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (8) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (9) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (10)

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (16)

Happy anniversary, Dad and Mom!

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (11) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (12) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (13) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (14)

Have a great week everyone.

from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Update time

I have been super busy lately because of Dashian and because AS’s Mama (Mum’s brother) and his family is in Sydney visiting from Nepal.

Dashain (18)Dashain (17)

AS usual, Dashain is already a crazy busy time for us but this time it was busier as we needed to go and visit his mama as well as invite them to our place.

Dashain (7)

Even thought it was busy we still had a great time and I am still tired from the celebration. We had Bhoj (feast) for 5 days straight , played cards and heaps of celebration. Here are some pics from this year Dashain.

Dashain (2) Dashain (3) Dashain (1) Dashain (11) Dashain (12) Dashain (4) Dashain (14) Dashain (10) Dashain (6) Dashain (5) Dashain (16)Dashain (13)

Last weekend was also a long weekend here, so we were able to spend some time with Mama and his family.

Dashain (9) Dashain (8)

One day we went to the temple and a picnic afterwards and another day we went to the city.

Picnic (6) Picnic (7) Picnic (5) Picnic (3)  Picnic (2)Picnic (4) Picnic (1) Mandir

We are hoping they will have great time here and return with beautiful memories.

Dashain (15)

On another news, my in-laws will be here soon (in 10 days) so our Tihar is gonna be super busy as well. I am excited and scared at the same time. I have lived with my in-laws before but for only a short period but this time it will be three months.

I know me and AS have been so independent for so long that it will be nice to have them at home when we go home from work. However, at the same time, I am slightly scared thinking how they will feel in a new place with new people.

We have a long list of places to go and things to do while they are here. If you have any ideas about how to keep them entertained while we are at work that will be highly appreciated. We will be taking time off from work here and there but they will still have many days at home without us.

That is the reason, I am a bit scared as I want them to enjoy Sydney and have lots of good memories when they return. It is the first time for them here so I would love them to have a great time in very possible way so they will want to come back again in the future.

I have a million things going on in my head every time I think of their arrival but I am keeping an open mind and hoping for the best.

Hope everyone had good Dashain and weekend.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

P.S: Do not forget to nominate  your favorite blog .

Nominations open for NEPALIAUSTRALIAN’s Blog Award 2014

My mum, my Super women (Mother’s Day 2014)

Today is Aama ko Mukh herne din ( Mother’s day) in Nepal. Please click here  and here to read more about it. I want to dedicate this post to all the moms of this world.

This article was published in +977 (a Nepalese Lifestyle Magazine in Australia) in April 2014 issue.

Plus977 (2)

When I was young, I didn’t realised that my mum is a super women. But I know now that my mum is my hero and my treasure, she is like a prize I won the day that I was born.

My mum had a normal upbringing but she started working at a very young age. She worked as a teacher and continued working for most of her life.

When she got married to my dad, as in most of the household in Nepal, being a daughter in law, she had to cook, clean and look after the family and at the same time went to her 9-5 job six days a week.

After doing her daily chores, making sure we had breakfast, our lunch packed and everyone else is fed, she would to the school to teach. She usually arrived home late in the afternoon or before dawn and would prepare our food and take care of our needs.

I can’t remember her complaining about anything but remember her willingness and perseverance to help our family and trying to give me and my brother a better life. I really didn’t understand her sacrifices and to make it worst I used to complain about the food we ate, clothes we wore, toys I owned and other things.

It all seemed normal to me as a kid because most of the women around me were doing the same thing while most of the men were working in a job or business and were served hot meal 3 times a day without needing to lift a finger in the kitchen.

As I became more aware of the society in Nepal, I became aware of gender biases as well. I always asked questions if someone treated me different from my brother and I used to hate the answer when they say, “It is because you are a girl

“Girls should not be saying this.”

“Girls should not be doing this.”

“Girls should be learning how to cook.”

The amazing thing is, most of the times, these words were from the mouth of women like grand ma or aunties than men. As a child, it never understood why I have to be different from my brother. I am the same in every way I can think of to my brother so why I can’t do certain things or why I have to do certain things.

Watching Hollywood movies, I was happy to know that at least in some part of the world, women are treated better and equal and this made me dream of running away from Nepal and finding a future in a country where men and women are equal and gender bias didn’t exist.

When my destiny took me to Australia for further study, in my mind I knew that I was going to a developed country. I was sure my future was going to be much better than in Nepal. I had big dreams and was happy that I was taking the first step towards my dream.

Out of many things, I left behind in Nepal; I thought one of them would be gender bias. Living in Sydney for a while made me realise I was wrong. Like my mum, most of the women here were doing their duty at home as well as at work. Only few lucky ones had husbands who would help a lot in the kitchen and with kids but most women were doing 80% of the house chores while their partners were resting, as they were tired from a hard day’s at work.

Even though western society looks like they have no gender biases in movies I soon realised that the wives and mothers in Australia were going through the same story that my mum was going through in Kathmandu. Only a few lucky enough were telling me a different story but most of them had to look after both house and work. Therefore, my dream of living in a gender equal society was scattering into a million pieces.

I realised only when I started working and studying at the same time, how hard life can be. The hardships I went through as a student in Sydney made me think how great my mum is and how she is a super woman, able to do all that for us.

My mum deserves to be cherished because she taught us the values in life that inspired us to live wisely. She showed us how to be strong in times of weaknesses. She took care of us, fed us and did everything for us without complaining whether she was tired or sick. I feel bad that I used to complain about her food and the things she did or did not do.

Now I am a wife I understand her situation much better. I feel blessed to have an understanding husband but still feel a need to take care of many things in our house. Call it a women’s instinct but there are many things I feel I need to do to make sure our house runs smoothly and it is not an easy job. Right now, we are only two adults in the house and I can’t imagine how life going to be when we will have a couple of kids running around.

After a hard day at work, some days I feel exhausted and tired and remember maybe that’s how my mother felt as well when she was raising us. There are days I don’t want to go to the kitchen and then I remember my mum and how she handled two hungry screaming kids when she got back from work. It wasn’t easy for her and I can feel in my heart what she must have felt then. I know now that I should have appreciated all her efforts and all the sacrifices she made. She deserves to be loved and treated special. She is a superwoman.

mum

One day when I am going to be a mum and I hope to come into my own as a strong woman like my mum. I salute women like my mother who have paved the way for me as not only a woman and wife but someday as a mother and super woman to love and give with a big smile.

Please pick up a phone and call your mum and tell her how much you love her because you may not be this lucky one day.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Our Story : Meeting the Parents – Part 13

This is a continuation of my previous post. Please read the previous posts here, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 ,Part 8 ,Part 9 , Part 10 , Part 11 and Part 12.

Once we left the café, we headed towards my home. I told AS not to worry at all as my parents were very cool but I knew that AS and I both were bit nervous. I kind of knew my parents will like him but at the same time I wanted them to love him as well.

It was as a huge milestone in our relationship and it was exciting and promising. After all, it indicated to me that AS felt positive about the future of our relationship together. I knew that it had not been very long ago that we started our relationship but we didn’t have lots of time as both of us were leaving the country in a month’s time.

When we reached home, dad was busy with someone downstairs and mum was in the kitchen, I asked him to wait for them in our living room and went to the kitchen to fetch my mother. Both my parents are not very talkative people so I was a bit worried how the meeting would be.

My mum came to the room and I introduced them. He did Namaste and then they talked for a few minutes. Then my dad arrived as well and my mum left to go to the kitchen as there was a feast being readied for AS. My dad and AS seemed to be getting on well so I was relived. You always want your parents to like your partner as it makes it easy for you to deal with both of them. As I saw AS was comfortable with my dad , I left them for a moment to go to the kitchen and see what my mum was up to.

When I got to the kitchen I saw that she was busy preparing lunch. I told her that we are very full and there is no need for lunch, may be just tea and snacks but she said that it was AS’s first visit so he has to eat some nice food. I knew I was not going to win in this instance so I just gave in.

I asked my mum how she liked AS and she told me that he looked like a nice guy. I took the tea and some snack with me to serve AS and my dad. By then I am sure both of them were feeling comfortable with each other.

AS ate some snacks and had his tea. Then my mum told everyone that lunch was ready so we went upstairs to eat. I couldn’t believe that my mum cooked so many different dishes and AS’s plate seemed to have heaps of every one of them. I felt a bit sorry for AS as I knew both of us were full form our lunch together. So I went and tried to take some things off his plate but my mum caught me in the act and didn’t let me.

My dad and AS sat down for lunch but I decline to eat. My tummy had no room for food and I was bit nervous as well.

To my surprise by the end of lunch AS had finished every item on his plate. And no wonder my mum was so pleased. He even praised my mum’s cooking. But it was not over yet. My mum also served some sweets and knowing AS and his love for sweets, he ate them too.

After lunch, AS stayed for a while and then he had to leave as he had plans at home for the evening. I told him I was sorry that he had to eat so much but he said that he loved it and enjoyed his meal. I accompanied him till the gate of our house and then came back upstairs to hear what my parents thought.

Both my parents were extremely pleased with him and my mum was super happy that her future “jwain” (son in law) was so easy to feed unlike me and my brother. They told me to that they were happy with my choice.

I was over the moon when I heard that as I really wanted my family’s approval to take our relation further. That night I slept well but the next day was a different story.

The next morning I woke up, had breakfast and got ready to meet AS’s parents.

I never knew that meeting your partner’s parents could also be so intimidating.  I was wondering what was in store for the future of your relationship together if his parents didn’t like me.  I had so many conflicting thoughts and emotions that were running through my mind. But I tried to put all negative thoughts behind me and started concentrating on the day.

I know first impressions are often lasting impressions, and I absolutely wanted to dress to impress his parents on the big day of introduction. I wanted to look attractive, presentable, and fashionable so I put on my best Kurta suruwal, did my makeup and hair and waited for AS to pick me up. The plan was to meet his parents and then we would leave to do some shopping in the city. I was really scared to spend a very long time with them in case I stuffed things up. It had sounded like a good idea at the time we had decided to meet each other’s parents but in real life most plans don’t work out as expected so I was a little bit nervous.

When I reached AS’s place, I met his mum and dad. Both or his brothers were not home. Both my future in laws made me feel at ease and talked to me as if they had known me forever but I was nervous in answering them. They asked me some basic questions about where I work or what I studied and what are my plans for the future. AS’s mum talked most of the time while his dad listened and made some comments in between. From time to time, I looked at AS when answering question but he was just there smiling at me. I really wanted things to go well that day. While we were talking, suddenly they had some unexpected visitor, AS’s uncle (his dad’s elder brother) and aunt.

I was now more nervous about what to do and say as it was not in our plan. AS’s mum introduced me to them and they started talking to me too. As they had some other plans, they didn’t stay long.

After they left AS’s mum asked me to stay for lunch (morning Bhat dal). I told her that I am full from breakfast but she said that she was not letting me go without eating something as it was my first time to their home. Seriously every mum seemed to have the same agenda, to feed everyone that they can get their hands on. It was sweet of her but it was not going to be an easy time for me.

First of all, I was full from breakfast and second of all I didn’t prefer eating dal bhat in the morning. But I sat down with AS and his dad while mum served us food. The food was yummy but it took a long time to finish what I had on my plate. AS’s mum wanted me to eat more but I kindly refused. I was just glad when I finished what I had on my plate. I really didn’t want to be rude and not finish my meal.

Finally once we finished, AS got ready and we left. I said my good byes and we were off to the city.

Once we were on our own, I asked how he thought I was. He said I looked so nervous that he felt it was funny. I am a talkative person but I lost all my words when I was in his house.

Later AS told me that his parents were happy to meet me and wanted to meet my parents next.

So after a few days, our parents talked on the phone and decided to meet. AS’s parents came over to our place for dinner. We made sure many varieties were prepared and they had a great time with my parents.

After the meeting, both of us were happy as we had taken the next step in our relationship.

We thought the tough time had passed but there was more to come. I will tell you next time. Till then take care.

Please share your Meeting the Parents story. Were you scared?

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

Go to Part 14

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*10 Questions from Yatin on my “Our Story “post *Our Story: Back to Sydney – Part 3 *Our Story: Good friends again – Part 4