Birthday Series: 4 to go: On a night, 29 years ago

"It was around this time, 10:45 pm when father and daughter were happily watching TV" my grandmother remarked out of the blue, as I took some water to her.

"Father? Daddy is sleeping in his room" I said, confused.

"Not your father. Your mother's father"

My grandpas - both of them- had passed away when I was very young. Mom's dad when I was 4 and dad's when I was 2, so they mostly don't figure in my mental recreations of the past.

Then it struck me - twenty-nine years back, she must have been pregnant. Very pregnant!

"And then?" curiosity now piqued.

"And then it was time to go the hospital" [Oh the subtle ways of saying 'Water broke'] She continued; "The car driver had long gone home. We found an auto with great difficulty. Bundled everything up, and off we went to the hospital."

"She had labour pains from around this time till 7:20 in the morning, till I was born?!" Holy crap, how did she ever love me after that!

"Oh no. We got her admitted. And she lay peacefully till morning. The pains started slightly around 5:00 am, and you were born by 7:20" Ha! I knew I've always been nice and considerate like that!

She seemed satisfied with recollecting just that much of that memory, and I've heard the part after that many time, so I let her go to sleep. It was late for her :)

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I walked over to find my dad deeply engrossed in WhatsApp videos. Those are his current obsession.

In a while though, he looked up suddenly and went "This time, 29 years ago, I was getting on a bus from Trichy to Tirunelveli. You were born by the time I reached"

I guess they didn't have super fast, or even fast busses back then. Heh. It was funny how both of them decided to be nostalgic at the same time.

"When I reached," he continued, "All the grandma grandpas were already there. And you were also there!"

Yaay!

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I called my sister a little after that. She certainly didn't have nostalgic moments/ memories to share from that night 29 years ago. If she did, that would have been a tad creepy 😂

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It's wonderful how memories not our own but of us are so precious sometimes :)

Happy Birthday to me ;)